# Gilbert & Sullivan **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711 "2013-05-19T01:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/21 "2013-05-19T19:32:08Z")
Let me see. I have MP3s of all scores, but I’ve only actually seen Pirates of Penzance (one stage and the movie, and that thing with Kristy McNichol); the Mikado (two stage, two TV), H.M.S. Pinafore (one stage, two TV), The Sorceror (one TV), Yeoman of the Guard (one TV) and Ruddigore (one TV). But I first fell in love with 'em in old Mighty Mouse cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/22 "2013-05-19T20:19:00Z")
Using this thread to share: [Smothers Brothers’ Gilbert and Sullivan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRuPIfs70rM) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/23 "2013-05-19T21:40:09Z")
I live in Topeka, Kansas, where the rock that the Westboro Baptist church hides under is located. A few years back there was a full production of _The Mikado_ at Wasburn University. The guy playing Koko got a huge ovation from the audience when he included the following lyrics in the song “I"ve Got a Little List” _And those that walk Topeka streets with signs that hate insist I’ve got them on my list, They never will be missed!_ ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/24 "2013-05-19T22:50:48Z")
My daughter’s middle school did _Pirates_ (my second-favourite) a few years ago. I’ve also seen _Iolanthe_ (my favourite) and _Yeomen_ live, and videos of _Pirates_, _Yeomen_, _Mikado_ and _Pinafore_. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/25 "2013-05-19T22:55:59Z")
No, never! I don’t _like_ G&S, I _love_ Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. My favorites are the Mikado and the Pirates of Penzance. [This](http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=1402816&CAWELAID=1567456332&gclid=CODP6Yaio7cCFdKe4AodBDUAJw&cagpspn=pla&KPID=1161735) was my favorite Christmas present a couple years back 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2013, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/26 "2013-05-19T23:56:29Z")
My only knowledge of G&S comes from their occasional reenactment on **Magnum, PI**. But that was enough to put them high on my “to be researched someday” list. Looks like a lot of fun with lots of authentic historical context. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/27 "2013-05-20T00:43:18Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > They’re quotes from “I am the captain of the Pinafore”. > > No, never!= No, nay. > Hardly ever!= Yes, yay. I cannot help but hear _Monty Python_ when listening to those lyrics. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/28 "2013-05-20T01:01:52Z")
So, does anybody else remember The Pirates? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_4Xw8zJIvTc/hqdefault.jpg "Mighty Mouse - The Pirates (1945)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4Xw8zJIvTc) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/29 "2013-05-20T01:22:14Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > What’s with the poll, man? > > I love Gilbert and Sullivan more than anyone else in the world does. My friend Don Markstein used to tell the tale of when he was with several others, each insisting he was the most enthusiastic G&S aficionado. Person A had at least five recordings of every opera, Person B had original D’Oyly Carte programs, Person C had performed on three different continents … Don asked his daughter, “What’s your middle name?” “Iolanthe,” she answered. And the others went on to discuss who was the second-most enthusiastic G&S aficionado… ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/30 "2013-05-20T01:30:13Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > [Alone Again (Naturally)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alone_Again_(Naturally)) was one of the sappiest songs ever written. I laughed. I think it’s likely given my age and when that song was released that I actually knew of GO’S before I knew of G&S! ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/31 "2013-05-20T04:59:26Z")
I wish they’d re-publish “Isaac Asimov’s Guide to Gilbert and Sullivan!” You find it occasionally on Ebay…for hundreds of dollars! I think there’s a market! I’m also tremendously fond of Anna Russell’s spoof of G&S, set in New York’s “upper crust,” where the chorus are “The Great Four Hundred.” Flanders and Swann also took their satirical cut. You know a classic has staying power when even the parodies are excellent! (And, yeah, I also liked “The Pirate Movie.” A bit schlocky, but still fun!) ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/32 "2013-05-20T06:31:47Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Anybody else seen _Topsy-Turvy_? It’s a brilliantly produced and amazingly historically accurate portrayal of the making of the Mikado. Everytime I watch it my family winces, 'cause I’m G&S’ing for weeks! I love the movie, but I was a bit annoyed that they very deliberately included profanity and nudity. I’m normally big fans of both vices, but it meant that the film could never be shown uncut in schools. I’m sure they did it to avoid the dreaded “G” rating, but this story could have been told perfectly well without them. I recently videotaped a school production of Pirates. They had no budget for sets or costumes, so the director had a clever idea - updating the 1880s to the 1980s. [So all the Generals Daughters were dressed in their moms old 80s duds looking like various vintages of Madonna and the Pirates were dressed as Punks.](http://youtu.be/yjrit-SXRjg) ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/33 "2013-05-20T10:01:37Z")
March of the Peers [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCupcEJYPJ4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCupcEJYPJ4) one of the great fanfares of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/34 "2013-05-20T12:23:13Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I recently videotaped a school production of Pirates. They had no budget for sets or costumes, so the director had a clever idea - updating the 1880s to the 1980s. [So all the Generals Daughters were dressed in their moms old 80s duds looking like various vintages of Madonna and the Pirates were dressed as Punks.](http://youtu.be/yjrit-SXRjg) I did not see, but read about, a version of Mikado which opened with the men of Titipu assembled dressed as stereotypical Japanese tourists, many with cameras around their necks. “If you want to know who we are…” ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/35 "2013-05-20T12:56:18Z")
Hey, I dislike your poll. THere is a difference between “hardly ever” and “often frequently.” My wife and I love\* G&S. The reasons? Well, it’s good to great music and the comedy is still funny. And there’s an attraction to things Victorian – note the popularity of Sherlock Holmes, still. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/36 "2013-05-20T14:04:43Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Using this thread to share: [Smothers Brothers’ Gilbert and Sullivan](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRuPIfs70rM) That was hilarious! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/37 "2013-05-20T14:27:11Z")
I wish Princess Ida was performed more often. Yes, I know, the storyline is kind of weird, making fun of both feminism and evolution as it does. Yes, I know it’s the longest. But the music - oh my goodness, the music! It contains the most beautiful music of any G&S show. It’s like if you take the beauty level of every other operetta, and combine them, and then turn it up a notch. The music is to die for - and yes, I would die for it in an instant, if it meant I would die happy. Here’s my favourite song from Princess Ida: [Princess Ida (2003) - Sing Hoity Toity - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK-wnT1q1hg) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/38 "2013-05-20T14:41:37Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Hey, I dislike your poll. THere is a difference between “hardly ever” and “often frequently.” I thought the distinction was between often as in “frequently” and orphan as in “a child who has lost his parents”. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/39 "2013-05-20T14:42:23Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > My only knowledge of G&S comes from their occasional reenactment on **Magnum, PI**. But that was enough to put them high on my “to be researched someday” list. Looks like a lot of fun with lots of authentic historical context. Watch _Topsy Turvy_. Streaming on Netflix, last time I checked… (Just noted I’m not the first to recommend this excellent film.) ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711/40 "2013-05-20T15:48:16Z")
WARNING: music-nerdy post. Something great about G&S is that it can be enjoyed on so many levels. Some enjoy Gilbert’s clever jokes. Some enjoy the way the words go with the music. Some really like the music. Some like the satire. One of my favourite things about G&S, though, is the fact that Sullivan hides a lot of little musical jokes into the music itself. Being a musician, and having studied music, I love catching these little music jokes. For example, there’s a song in Act III of Princess Ida that copies Handel’s musical style nearly perfectly. The opening chorus of Iolanthe mimics Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” music, because it’s about fairies. For simple-minded characters, Sullivan often writes simpler music. And in a song in The Mikado which mentions Bach, buried in the orchestra texture is a short musical quotation from an obscure Bach fugue. I remember being ridiculously excited when I discovered that. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gilbert-sullivan/658711.md?page=3)