Sullivan, Sir Arthur (Seymour)

Sullivan, Sir Arthur (Seymour), famous English composer and conductor; b. London, May 13, 1842; d. there, Nov. 22, 1900. His father, Thomas Sullivan, was bandmaster at the Royal Military Coll., Sandhurst, and later prof, of brass instruments at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall; his musical inclinations were encouraged by his father, and in 1854 he became a chorister in the Chapel Royal, remaining there until 1858 and studying with the Rev. Thomas Helmore. In 1855 his sacred song O Israel was publ. In 1856 he received the first Mendelssohn Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with Sterndale Bennett, Arthur O’Leary, and John Goss; then continued his training at the Leipzig Cons. (1858-61), where he received instruction in counterpoint and fugue from Moritz Hauptmann, in composition from Julius Rietz, in piano from Ignaz Moscheles and Louis Plaidy, and in conducting from Ferdinand David. He conducted his overture Rosenfest in Leipzig (May 25, 1860), and wrote a String Quartet and music to The Tempest (Leipzig, April 6, 1861; rev. version, London, April 5, 1862). His cantata Kenilworth (Birmingham Festival, Sept. 8, 1864) stamped him as a composer of high rank. In 1864 he visited Ireland and composed his Irish Symphony (London, March 10, 1866). In 1866 he was appointed prof, of composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. About this time he formed a lifelong friendship with Sir George Grove, whom he accompanied in 1867 on a memorable journey to Vienna in search of Schubert MSS, leading to the discovery of the score of Rosamunde. The year 1867 was also notable for the production of the first of those comic operas upon which Sullivan’s fame chiefly rests. This was Cox and Box (libretto by F.C. Burnand), composed in 2 weeks and performed on May 13, 1867, in London. Less successful were The Contrabandista (London, Dec. 18, 1867) and Thespis (London, Dec. 26, 1871), but the latter is significant as inaugurating Sullivan’s collaboration with Sir W.S. Gilbert, the celebrated humorist, who became the librettist of all Sullivan’s most successful comic operas, beginning with Trial by Jury (March 25, 1875). This was produced by Richard D’Oyly Carte, who in 1876 formed a company expressly for the production of the “Gilbert and Sullivan” operas. The first big success obtained by the famous team was H.M.S. Pinafore (May 25, 1878), which had 700 consecutive performances in London, and enjoyed an enormous vogue in “pirated” productions throughout the U.S. In an endeavor to protect their interests, Gilbert and Sullivan went to N.Y. in 1879 to give an authorized performance of Pinafore, and while there they also produced The Pirates of Penzance (Dec. 30, 1879). On April 23, 1881, came Patience, a satire on exaggerated esthetic poses exemplified by Oscar Wilde, whose American lecture tour was conceived as a “publicity stunt” for this work. On Nov. 25, 1882, Iolanthe began a run that lasted more than a year. This was followed by the comparatively unsuccessful Princess Ida (Jan. 5, 1884), but then came the universal favorite of all the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, The Mikado (March 14, 1885). The list of these popular works is completed by Ruddigore (Jan. 22, 1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (Oct. 3, 1888), and The Gondoliers (Dec. 7, 1889). After a quarrel and a reconciliation, the pair collaborated in 2 further works, of less popularity: Utopia Limited (Oct. 7, 1893) and The Grand Duke (March 7, 1896).

Sullivan’s melodic inspiration and technical resourcefulness, united with the delicious humor of Gilbert’s verses, raised the light opera to a new height of artistic achievement, and his works in this field continue to delight countless hearers. Sullivan was also active in other branches of musical life. He conducted numerous series of concerts, most notably those of the London Phil. Soc. (1885-87) and the Leeds Festivals (1880-98). He was principal of, and a prof, of composition at, the National Training School for Music from 1876 to 1881. He received the degree of Mus.Doc. honoris causa from Cambridge (1876) and Oxford (1879); was named Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur (1878); was grand organist to the Freemasons (1887); etc. He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1883. Parallel with his comic creations, he composed many “serious” works, including the grand opera Ivanhoe (Jan. 31, 1891), which enjoyed a momentary vogue. His songs were highly popular in their day, and The Lost Chord, to words by Adelaide A. Proctor (publ. 1877), is still a favorite. Among his oratorios, The Light of the World (Birmingham Festival, Aug. 27, 1873) may be mentioned. Other stage works (all first perf. in London unless otherwise given) include The Zoo (June 5, 1875), The Sorcerer (Nov. 17, 1877; rev. version, Oct. 11, 1884), Haddon Hall (Sept. 24, 1892), The Chieftain (Dec. 12, 1894), The Martyr of Antioch (Edinburgh, Feb. 15, 1898; a stage arrangement of the cantata), The Beauty-Stone (May 28, 1898), The Rose of Persia, romantic opera (Nov. 29, 1899), and The Emerald Isle (completed by E. German, April 27, 1901). He also composed 2 ballets: L’Ile enchante (May 14, 1864) and Victoria and Merrie England (May 25, 1897).

Bibliography

A. Lawrence, Sir A. S.: Life Story, Letters and Reminiscences (London, 1899); W. Wells, Souvenir of Sir A. S., Mus.Doc., M.V.O.(London, 1901) B. Findon, Sir A. S.: His Life and Music (London, 1904; second ed., rev., 1908, as Sir A. S. and His Operas); F. Cellier and C. Bridgeman, Gilbert, S., and D’Oyly Carte (London, 1914; second ed., 1927); H. Walbrook, Gilbert and S. Opera (London, 1922); A. Godwin, Gilbert and S.(London, 1926); H. Wyndham, A.S. S.(London, 1926); N. Flower and H. Sullivan, Sir A. S.: His Life, Letters and Diaries (London, 1927; second ed., 1950); T. Dunhill, S.’s Comic Operas: A Critical Appreciation (London, 1928); I. Goldberg, The Story of Gilbert and S.(London, 1929); H. Pearson, Gilbert and S.(London, 1935); G. Dunn, A Gilbert and S. Dictionary (N.Y., 1936); C. Purdy, Gilbert and S.: Masters of Mirth and Melody (N.Y., 1947); W. Darlington, The World of Gilbert and S.(N.Y., 1950); A. Jacobs, Gilbert and S.(London, 1951); L. Bailey, The Gilbert and S. Book (N.Y., 1952; third ed., 1966); A. Williamson, Gilbert and S. Operas: A New Assessment (N.Y., 1953); A. Powers-Waters, The Melody Maker: The Life of Sir A. S.(N.Y., 1959); M. Green, Treasury of Gilbert and S.(London, 1961); N. Wymer, Gilbert and S.(London, 1962); C. Bulla, Stories of Gilbert and S. Operas (N.Y., 1968); J. Helyar, ed., Gilbert and S. International Conference: Kansas 1970 (Lawrence, Kans., 1971); P. Young, Sir A. S.(London, 1971); L. Ayre, The Gilbert & S. Companion (N.Y., 1972); M. Hardwick, The Osprey Guide to Gilbert and S.(Reading, 1972); P. Kline, Gilbert and S. Production (N.Y., 1972); L. Baily, Gilbert & S. and Their World (London, 1973); R. Allen and G. D’Luhy, Sir A. S.: Composer & Personage (N.Y., 1975); I. Bradley, ed., The Annotated Gilbert and S.(2 vols., London, 1982, 1984); A. Williamson, Gilbert & S. Opera (London, 1983); A. Jacobs, A. S.: A Victorian Musician (Oxford, 1984; second ed., rev. and enl, 1992); J. Wolfson, S. and the Scott Russells (Chichester, 1984); D. Eden, Gilbert & S.: The Creative Conflict (Rutherford, N.J., 1986); C. Hayter, Gilbert and S.(N.Y., 1987); I. Asimov, ed., Asimov’s Annotated Gilbert & S.(N.Y., 1988); M. Ffinch, Gilbert and S.(London, 1993); M. Saremba, A. S.: Ein Komponistenleben im viktorischen England (Wilhelm-shaven, 1993); I. Bradley, ed., The Complete Annotated Gilbert and S.(N.Y., 1996); R Dillard, Sir A. S.: A Resource Book (Lanham, Md., 1996).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire