Page "Arthur Sullivan" Paragraph 5

Carte used his profits from the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership to build the Savoy Theatre in 1881, and their joint works then became known as the Savoy operas.

Later hits in the series were Iolanthe ( 1882 ), The Mikado ( 1885 ), The Yeomen of the Guard ( 1888 ) and The Gondoliers ( 1889 ).

Sullivan was knighted for his contributions to music in 1883.

His infrequent serious pieces during the 1880s included two oratorios, The Martyr of Antioch ( 1880 ) and The Golden Legend ( 1886 ), his most popular choral work.

Sullivan's only serious opera, Ivanhoe, though initially highly successful in 1891, was little-heard after that.

Gilbert broke from Sullivan in 1890, quarrelling over expenses at the Savoy.

They reunited in the 1890s for two more operas, but those did not achieve popularity.

Sullivan continued to compose comic operas with other librettists and a number of other major and minor works throughout the decade.

After the death of his brother Fred in 1877, Sullivan supported Fred's widow and children financially for the rest of his life, effectively adopting his nephew Bertie.

Sullivan died at the age of 58, regarded as the finest British composer of the 19th century.

His comic opera style served as a model for the generations of musical theatre composers that followed, and his music is still frequently performed, recorded and pastiched.