Gilbert and Sullivan were among the most successful collaborators in all music. Their British operettas are enjoyed for their satirical wit, comic plots and characters, and tuneful music. William Schwenk Gilbert, b. Nov. 18, 1836, d. May 29, 1911, wrote drama criticism, verse, and stage pieces before working with Sullivan, as well as being a contributor to the satiric magazine Fun for which he wrote verses later collected as the famous Bab Ballads. Arthur Seymour Sullivan, b. May 13, 1842, d. …showed first 75 words of 510 total…

…showed last 75 words of 510 total…the Guard (1888), and The Gondoliers (1889). A quarrel between them temporarily halted (1890-93) their production, to the public's dismay. Reconciled, they attempted two more operettas, Utopia Limited (1893) and The Grand Duke (1896), but without their earlier deftness. Knighted in 1883, Sullivan was under pressure to compose more serious works; he responded with his grand opera Ivanhoe (1891) and five more operettas, and died exhausted. Gilbert was knighted in 1907, and at age 74 he died trying to save a drowning woman.