Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America

Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America

An Exhibition Celebrating the Earliest Productions of their Operas



The hilarity of Gilbert and Sullivan's comedic operas are something most people are familiar with, whether they realize it or not. This online exhibit is "The online exhibit is based on the physical exhibit, "Gilbert and Sullivan: From London to America," that was on display from October 2, 2004 to March 15, 2005. This exhibit was presented in the Rare Books and Special Collections Library in the University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library (2nd Floor). (Source)"

This collection is a true delight to fans of Gilbert and Sullivan. It contains scans of programs, set designs and depictions of dance arrangements, all items drawn from the personal collection of Hal Kanthor. Mr. Kanthor intends to ". . . keep the collection together, and eventually to make it available as a regional research collection within the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. (Source)"

The collection is arranged by item type and comedic opera. There are several paragraphs of background for each section, which describe the context of the original production, as well as how the production evolved. The items are then arranged with thumbnails on the right and its metadata on the left. The metadata identifies the item by name and its original source. Further information may be obtained upon request.

Each thumbnail, upon clicking on it, opens a new window with the metadata repeated and a higher resolution version of the picture. If there is a second page attached to the item, it is here that it may be found. It is also worth note that a handful of the images have a magnifier option. This magnifier, of which two sizes may be selected, opens a rectangular box that may be dragged around the image so that greater detail may be seen.