W. S. Gilbert

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A charming short story by W. S. Gilbert, best known for his collaboration with Arthur Sullivan on their beloved operettas, Angela offers a delightful twist on romance. Set in Venice, the story follows an Englishman who falls in love with his enigmatic...

Bab Ballads (version 2)

Bab Ballads (version 2)

The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic drawings. Gilbert wrote the Ballads before he became famous for his comic opera librettos with Arthur Sullivan. In writing the Bab Ballads, Gilbert...

Bab Ballads Of WS Gilbert

Bab Ballads Of WS Gilbert

Before Gilbert was part of the famous Gilbert & Sullivan opera team, he wrote light verse that was very odd but arrived at a logical conclusion...we think! Luckily, the joyous Stanley Holloway is on hand to read and make sense of it all. Author - W....

H.M.S. Pinafore; Or, The Lass That Loved A Sailor

H.M.S. Pinafore; Or, The Lass That Loved A Sailor

Not Yet Available Author - W. S. Gilbert. Narrator - LibriVox Community. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.

Iolanthe is a fairy banished from fairyland for the crime of marrying a mortal. Her half-fairy, half-human son Strephon is a fairy down to the waist, but his legs are human. He loves Phyllis, but she is courted by the whole House of Lords and the Lord...

More Bab Ballads

More Bab Ballads

This is a subset of the second collection of Gilbert’s “Bab Ballads” – light verses poking fun at the life and people of his time in Gilbert’s unique “topsy-turvey” style. The epitaph on his memorial on the Victoria Embankment in London is “HIS FOE...

O Hollow Hollow Hollow

O Hollow Hollow Hollow

LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 recordings of O Hollow Hollow Hollow by W.S. Gilbert. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 8, 2012.Here is a poem by the "fleshly" poet, Bunthorne, from the opera Patience, by Gilbert and Sullivan. Who better...

Patience (Bunthorne's Bride)

Patience (Bunthorne's Bride)

A comic operetta which is a satire on the themes of fashion and pretension and hero-worship. Bunthorne is a poet who pretends to be highly "idealised" in order to impress the ladies. They all worship him, except for Patience, the dairy maid, who is...

Poetry Everywhere

Poetry Everywhere

Sir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for the fourteen comic operas (known as the Savoy operas) produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan. The most famous of these...

Sweethearts is a comic play billed as a "dramatic contrast" in two acts by W. S. Gilbert. The play tells a sentimental and ironic story of the differing recollections of a man and a woman about their last meeting together before being separated and...

The Bab Ballads

The Bab Ballads

The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic drawings. Gilbert wrote the Ballads before he became famous for his comic opera librettos with Arthur Sullivan. In writing the Bab Ballads, Gilbert...

The Disagreeable Man

The Disagreeable Man

LibriVox volunteers bring you 26 recordings of The Disagreeable Man by Sir W. S. Gilbert. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for June 10, 2012.The Bab Ballads are a collection of light verse by W. S. Gilbert, illustrated with his own comic...

The Ghosts' High Noon

The Ghosts' High Noon

LibriVox volunteers bring you 19 recordings of The Ghosts' High Noon by W. S. Gilbert. This was the Weekly Poetry HALLOWE'EN project for October 24th, 2010. Author - W. S. Gilbert. Narrator - LibriVox Community. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January...

The Mikado, Or The Town Of Titipu

The Mikado, Or The Town Of Titipu

Not Yet Available Author - W. S. Gilbert. Narrator - LibriVox Community. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.

The Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The story concerns Frederic, who, having completed his 21st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band...

The Pirates Of Penzance; Or The Slave Of Duty (Version 2)

The Pirates Of Penzance; Or The Slave Of Duty (Version 2)

Not Yet Available Author - W. S. Gilbert. Narrator - LibriVox Community. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.

The Story of H.M.S. Pinafore

The Story of H.M.S. Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run...

The Story of the Mikado

The Story of the Mikado

The Mikado is the ninth of the 14 Gilbert and Sullivan musical collaborations. It opened in 1885, had the second longest run for any work of musical theatre of the time, and remains the most frequently performed Gilbert and Sullivan. It was adapted as...