The Savoy Operas by W. S. Gilbert (paperback book)

The complete libretti of one of the most celebrated and enduringly beloved partnerships in the history of musical theatre, gathered in one magnificent volume. W. S. Gilbert’s brilliantly witty words, written to accompany Arthur Sullivan’s irresistible melodies, gave the world a string of comic masterpieces that have never gone out of fashion — from the swaggering pirates and bumbling policemen of The Pirates of Penzance and the topsy-turvy Japan of The Mikado, to the nautical absurdities of H.M.S. Pinafore and the fairy-tale politics of Iolanthe. Gilbert’s genius lay in his ability to skewer Victorian society — its class pretensions, its legal absurdities, its military pomposity — with a lightness of touch and a perfection of comic verse that has rarely been equalled. This comprehensive collection, containing all fourteen Savoy Operas, is an essential volume for lovers of theatre, literature, and the Great British tradition of magnificent silliness.