Kirkus Reviews QR Code
CILBERT AND SULLIVAN by Norman Wymer

CILBERT AND SULLIVAN

By

Pub Date: March 29th, 1963
Publisher: Dutton

The stormy partnership between Gilbert, the temperamental literary genius, and Sullivan, the aggressive, musical mastermind, deserved a defter and more dramatic handling than this. After briefly describing the early life of each man and the events leading to their partnership, Wymer turns to a methodical discussion of each operatta, its conception in Gilbert's mind, its development at the hands of Sullivan, its audience reception. While the material presented appears to be factually sound, a freer hand with the sources, more dialogue and action, less straight narration would have contributed to a better sense of interpretation, even possibly at sacrifice of objectivity. Young people today are being exposed again to the classic operettas, and this will give them some of the background.