THE HUMOUR OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN' [To the Editor of
the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—May I as a member of the orchestra during some of the palmy days of Savoy opera assure Mr. Clifford Bax that he is mistaken in his assumption that the D'Oyly Carte Company acts these operas in a traditional style. It was Gilbert's intention that they should be acted an grand sirieux, and his wishes were enforced with an iron hand during those years in which his personal supervision controlled production. From
this resulted a certain harshness and angularity of style which gave a very characteristic " tang " to performance, in the loss of which I find the cause for my own preference for the printed word as a means of renewing delightful memories of these operas. A hint of the great librettist's intentions is on record in his inclusion of " funny men " on the Mikado's little list of people who " never would be missed."
In a social period where frank acceptance of middle age was frefused, Gilbert occasionally satirized middle-aged (not elderly) women. But their younger sisters fared no better at his hands : the heroines of Savoy opera are invariably pretty little fools. These were the tricks of the playwright. During rehearsals, as I was often able to observe, his attitude towards the sex was distinguished by grave (if occasionally severe) courtesy : a high chivalry was exhibited by more than one episode of his private life. —I am, Sir, &c.,
S. T. CARDER.
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