| Description |
1 online resource. |
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text file |
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PDF |
| Series |
Palgrave studies in British musical theatre
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Palgrave studies in British musical theatre.
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| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Foreword; Note; Acknowledgments; Contents; List of Figures ; Chapter 1: Introduction; Introduction; Chapter 2: The Gilbert and€Sullivan Operas and€'Middle-Class' Ideals; Hierarchical Societies: The Sorcerer and€HMS Pinafore; 'Respectable' Values: The Pirates of€Penzance, the Gondoliers, Patience, The Mikado, Princess Ida and€Utopia, Limited; Entrepreneurship and€Professionalism; Summary; Chapter 3: The West End: 'Middle-Class' Values and€Commercialisation; Remaking the€West End; Remarketing the€Musical Stage: The€Savoy Operas; Summary; Chapter 4: Patience at the€Savoy. |
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Geography and€NeighbourhoodTheatre Architecture; Space and€Place: Sites of€Reception; Space and€Place: The€Auditorium; Public Discourses: Theatre Programmes; Public Discourses: Printed Commentary; Summary; Chapter 5: Savoy Audiences 1881-1909; Pricing and€Social Division; Reserved Seating: Stalls and€Circles; Unreserved Seating: The€Pit; Pit Demographics; Unreserved Seating: Gallery and€Amphitheatre; Audience Diversity: The€'Lower Orders'; Singing in€the€Gallery; The Lower-Middle Classes; Money, Leisure and€Class; Summary. |
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Chapter 6: 'The D'Oyly Carte Boarding School': Female Respectability at the€Savoy*Backstage Decorum; The Right Type of€Girl; Codes of€Conduct; Summary; Chapter 7: 'The Placid English Style': Ideology and€Performance; Evidence: The€Press; Evidence: Visual and€Textual; Evidence: Recordings and€Film; Comic and€Vocal Styles; Gentlemen and€Ladies; Performing Respectability; Gagging 'Gagging'; Summary; Chapter 8: Conclusion. |
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Respectability was harder to achieve in the theatrical sphere than in other professional fields. The theatre had little formalised career regulation, was tainted in the public imagination with immorality, and suffered, in terms of public perceptiBibliography; Nineteenth-Century Newspapers and Periodicals; Other Newspapers and Periodicals Consulted; Manuscripts; Quotations from W.S. Gilbert's Libretti Are Taken from; Primary Sources Cited or Reproduced; Secondary Sources; Index. |
| Summary |
This innovative account of the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership provides a unique insight into the experience of both attending and performing in the original productions of the most influential and enduring pieces of English-language musical theatre. In the 1870s, Savoy impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte astutely realized that a conscious move to respectability in a West End which, until then, had favored the racy delights of burlesque and French operetta, would attract a new, lucrative morally 'decent' audience. This book examines the commercial, material and human factors underlying the Victorian productions of the Savoy operas. Unusually for a book on 'G & S', it focuses on people and things rather than author biography or literary criticism. Examining theatre architecture, interior design, marketing, and typical audiences, as well as the working conditions and personal lives of the members of a Victorian theatre-company, 'Respectable Capers' explains how the Gilbert and Sullivan operas helped to transform the West End into the family-friendly 'theatre land' which still exists today. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Sullivan, Arthur, 1842-1900. Operas.
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Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck), 1836-1911.
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Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck), 1836-1911. |
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Operas (Sullivan, Arthur) |
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Opera -- England -- 19th century.
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Opera. |
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England. |
| Chronological Term |
19th century |
| Subject |
Music -- Social aspects -- England -- History -- 19th century.
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Music -- Social aspects. |
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Social classes -- England -- History -- 19th century.
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Opera -- Production and direction -- England -- 19th century.
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Opera -- Production and direction. |
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History. |
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MUSIC -- Genres & Styles -- Opera. |
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Social classes. |
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Theatre studies. |
| Chronological Term |
1800-1899 |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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History.
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| Other Form: |
Printed edition: 9781137594778 |
| ISBN |
9781137594785 (electronic book) |
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1137594780 (electronic book) |
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1137594772 |
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9781137594778 |
| Standard No. |
10.1057/978-1-137-59478-5 |
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