The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan ed. by Ian Bradley (review)

Revisiting W. S. Gilbert’s lyrics in Ian Bradley’s new edition of The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan, I was reminded of the old and ongoing debate about whether song lyrics are poetry or not. Many argue that lyrics are not poetry because they are not meant to stand without music. Others believe that song lyrics have the same components of lyric poetry. Enjoying Gilbert’s lyrics on the page (and trying not to hear the music that comes to mind with the most famous songs), it seems to me that Gilbert’s lyrics can be considered with the best light verse in English. As delectable as they are heard from a stage or on a recording, seeing them naked on the page allows you to better appreciate Gilbert’s craftsmanship and inspired wordplay.

The same can be said about The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan. Bradley explains the many references in the Victorian operettas, allowing one to better understand and enjoy the Savoy operettas without drowning them in footnotes. Sometimes a speech made in Parliament or a statement in the press will give Gilbert an idea for some prose or a lyric. Bradley has searched these out with such diligence that it is almost like following Gilbert’s thought process. Like many writers, Gilbert often stole from himself. The operettas are filled with examples of characters, speeches, and plot devices from his earlier pre-Sullivan works. The light verse pieces known as the Bab Ballads are the most common source of old Gilbert being reused or refashioned into new Gilbert. Bradley often quotes from these ballads in his annotations. In most cases, Gilbert improved upon Gilbert. This borrowing from oneself does not detract from the quality of the librettos but, as presented by Bradley, enhances one’s appreciation of the later work.

Although Bradley is a life-long Gilbert and Sullivan fan and scholar (his first book on the duo appeared in 1985), his annotations are neither pedantic nor dry. His explanation of outdated terms, once-famous figures in the news, and details of Victorian life, are clear and often fascinating. One does not need to know that Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore was patterned after the politician W. H. Smith but knowing something about Smith certainly adds to the enjoyment of the operetta. Similarly, knowing the story behind Victorian catch-phrases and contemporary expressions is far from dull reading. The annotations throughout the book are thorough but, in most cases, to the point.

I most appreciate the way Bradley always views the operettas as stage pieces, not music literature on the page. His comments are about the practicalities of presenting the Gilbert and Sullivan works in a theatre in the nineteenth century as well as today. As pleased as Gilbert might be knowing his words, both prose and lyric, are preserved in books, his eye was always on the stage and Bradley follows this point of view. The Savoy operettas are living and breathing entities, not relics from the past, and Bradley sees them this way. The introduction to each operetta discusses famous productions over the decades, including recent ones that deconstructed or parodied the works. It seems that all-male and all-female versions of the operettas are not such a rare thing in Great Britain these days. The original productions were social commentaries and, in their own way, so are these non-traditional productions. Bradley’s condensed history of the productions of each of the operettas from Victorian times to the present may be the book’s most unique and useful feature.

Since the Savoy operettas have been annotated and published by Bradley and others over the years, what need is there for a new edition? Has Bradley managed to come up with new references and previously undiscovered tidbits concerning the works? In a few cases, yes. He seems...