Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of Thespis was ever published, and most of the music has been lost. Gilbert and Sullivan went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership in Victorian England, creating a string of enduring comic opera hits, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.
First night programme, 26 December 1871
John Hollingshead had a lot of balls in the air: This engraving shows him juggling ballet, opéra bouffe, and drama.
Interior of the Gaiety, 1869
J. L. Toole, about 1874
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most famous of these include H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre, The Mikado. The popularity of these works was supported for over a century by year-round performances of them, in Britain and abroad, by the repertory company that Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer Richard D'Oyly Carte founded, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. These Savoy operas are still frequently performed in the English-speaking world and beyond.
Cabinet card of W. S. Gilbert in about 1880 by Elliott & Fry
One of Gilbert's illustrations for his Bab Ballad "Gentle Alice Brown"
Poster for Ages Ago, 1870
Sir Arthur Sullivan