Collecting Gilbert and Sullivan
The Early American Librettos

Between 1871 and 1896, W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan collaborated on fourteen comic operas, all but one under the aegis of producer-manager Richard D’Oyly Carte. These operas enjoyed huge popularity in both England and America. Gilbert, arguably the greatest of all librettists, provided the book and lyrics for Sullivan, and in doing so provided us with a body of literature that is gratifying to read as well as to experience in performance. In both England and America, librettos were printed for sale in theaters for audiences to follow during performances. The librettos printed for the earliest American productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas provide a special challenge and interest for collectors. First, they document the tremendous popularity of the operas, and record many of the specific productions for which the librettos were printed. Secondly, many contain variant lyrics and text not found in the British librettos. It was W. S. Gilbert’s custom to make important textual changes up until the last minute, and to revise his operas during the few days following the London premiers. Early American librettos therefore may contain prepublication material, as well as deleted material, since his corrections were delayed in the trip across the Atlantic. It is of interest to note the Americanizations that crept into some of the librettos, as well as illustrations, advertisements, and other material that provide insights into American productions and social history.

Gilbert knew that his lyrics were too good to miss, and the librettos allowed audiences to be sure they caught all of his intricate rhymes and twists of phrases. When the perfectionist author made revisions to his lyrics prior to and after opening nights, new librettos were printed for audiences, (thereby happily providing variant states for future collectors). Several American librettos contain very early lyrics that were sent across the Atlantic prior to Gilbert’s changes. These lyrics were never set to music by Sullivan, nor ever performed. The earliest American libretto for Princess Ida, for example, is unique in its preservation of six sets of variant lyrics, including two complete songs. Similarly, the first American libretto for The Gondoliers contains early lyrics for two songs, as well as additional dialogue, which were never published in its British counterpart.

An additional point of interest for collectors is the large number of librettos printed for specific productions. For example, in America, the popularity of H.M.S. Pinafore became extreme. An estimated 150 unauthorized and often altered productions spread quickly across the United States, and it was not unusual for several competing productions to play simultaneously in the larger cities. Of thirty-five known librettos for this opera alone, a full thirteen have specific cast lists so that the productions can be identified. One libretto in my collection was handsomely printed in Brooklyn for a production that was scheduled to be performed only once!

It is also of interest to scholars and collectors to find how Americanizations were deliberately included in these librettos by American publishers. In an 1875 libretto for Trial By Jury (New York: Richardson & Foos), the Judge’s song was changed to tell how he was elected on a platform of “Free Whisky.” In some American editions of Ruddygore, “Buffalo” and “Baltimore” are substituted for their British counterparts “Basingstoke” and “Birmingham.” The first New York production of The Gondoliers was so unprofitable for Richard D’Oyly Carte, that the production was revised, complete with a second printing of the libretto, for which Carte’s wife oversaw the insertion of Americanized dialogue.

Several of the librettos are illustrated. Six portraits of principal actors in the first New York production of H.M.S. Pinafore are included in Carleton’s (New York 1879) libretto, while charming wood-cuts of scenes from a children’s version of Pinafore illustrate Ford’s Miniature Edition (Philadelphia: Ledger Job Print, 1879). A libretto printed for the first New York production of Patience (Stoddart, 1881) has illustrated covers and five full-page drawings. Advertisements in some of the librettos provide additional social interest. Librettos printed specifically for advertising products include Boston’s Nonotuck Silk Company (Ruddygore, ca. 1887), Royal Elixir (The Mikado, 1886 issued with ten illustrated cards), and the Denver and Rio Grande Railway (The Mikado, ca. 1886, with four scenes along the railway interspersed with text). Louis Klopsch’s Miniature Libretto provides not only a tiny version of H.M.S. Pinafore, but also advertisements on alternating pages for Turkish baths, dumb waiters, orguinettes, singing birds, and other New York essentials.

A listing of known early American librettos for the Gilbert and Sullivan operas is on-line at math.boisestate.edu/GaS/american_librettos/index.html.

An exhibition of memorabilia from the earliest British and American productions on loan from my collection was mounted in 2004 by the University of Rochester Library Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. An online version of the exhibit is available at www.library.rochester.edu/rbk/exhibits/gs and a printed exhibition catalogue “Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America” is available by contacting RareBks@library.rochester.edu.

Hal Kanthor
175 Dorchester Road
Rochester, NY 14610
hkantho1@rochester.rr.com