From Deseret News archives:
Outdoor operetta Gilbert & Sullivan's 'Gondoliers' to take the stage at Deer Valley
In the 25 years they worked together, they wrote 14 stage works that brilliantly skewered the English aristocracy, society and mores. Most of these operettas, beginning with "Trial by Jury" in 1875 their second joint venture were hugely popular.
That the two actually managed to work together for so many years is remarkable, given that Gilbert and Sullivan hardly ever socialized, and their professional partnership was riddled with petty bickering and artistic disputes.
Despite their turbulent relationship, they left some of the most endearing works in the English language. Their three most popular operettas "H.M.S. Pinafore," "The Pirates of Penzance" and "The Mikado" have found a permanent place in professional and amateur theater since their premieres, while the others are occasionally dusted off and revived.
Next weekend, the outdoor festival will present "The Gondoliers," one of Gilbert & Sullivan's last works and the last that was an unqualified success when it premiered in 1889.
"It was the fifth longest-running musical when it closed," said Gerald Steichen, who will conduct the two performances next Friday and Saturday at the Deer Valley Outdoor Amphitheater. "It was also Queen Victoria's favorite."
She liked it so much that she had the Savoy production brought to her. "She put the entire cast, sets and musicians on a train for a command performance at Windsor Castle," Steichen said.
"The Gondoliers" is a typically convoluted tale, of which Gilbert was a master.
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