Making use of archival resources in the United Kingdom and the
United States, Regina B. Oost examines advertisements, promotional
materials, and programs, as well as letters, diaries, and account
books, to reconstruct the ways in which Richard D'Oyly Carte, W.S.
Gilbert, and Arthur Sullivan attracted and shaped the expectations
of theatergoers. Her findings place the Savoy operas in the context
of other West End productions, considering similarities between
Carte's promotional methods and those of managers Henry Irving,
John Hollingshead, and Marie and Squire Bancroft. While all of
these managers astutely understood patronage of a middle-class
audience to be key to their success, the Savoy collaborators made
strategic use of circumstances unique to their situation to
distinguish Gilbert and Sullivan operas from contemporary
theatrical fare. From Trial by Jury (1875) through The Grand Duke
(1896), the Savoy operas celebrated the commodity culture beloved
of the urban middle classes, validated a moral code that secured
the social privileges audience members cherished, and ultimately
provided a new model of British national identity that replaced the
agrarian ideal espoused by earlier generations. Written in
admirably accessible and jargon-free prose, Oost's book will appeal
to scholars of theater history, literature, music, and popular
culture, as well as general readers interested in Gilbert and
Sullivan and the history of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
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