Ian Gledhill Gilbert & Sullivan - the birth of the English Operetta, presented by The Arts Society, Halifax

Ian Gledhill
Gilbert & Sullivan - the birth of the English Operetta
In the 1860s the British musical stage was dominated by the operettas
of Jacques Offenbach and his French contemporaries. However,
French operetta in its original form was considered too risqué for
British audiences, and the shows had to be bowdlerised to a
considerable extent. It was the unique partnership of Gilbert and
Sullivan that produced a home grown answer to the French which
was, in Gilbert's words,"free of anything that could give the slightest
offence". Dominating the London musical stage for over 15 years,
they showed that the British could match the French and Viennese
in musical theatre, and paved the way for later composers such as
Sidney Jones, Lionel Monkton and Ivor Novello.
Unreserved Seating – Seats are unreserved and you will need to choose your seat as you enter the venue. If
you wish to sit together with people you have arrived with, we recommend arriving at doors open time to
choose consecutive seats although we do not guarantee this is possible. Ushers may also ask you to move or
condense your group to free up seating for other audience members to be seated.