Gilbert and Sullivan or "entertainments", for Thomas German Reed. At a rehearsal for one of these entertainments, "Ages Ago", in 1870, the composer Frederic Clay introduced Gilbert to his friend, the young composer Arthur Sullivan. Over the next year, before the two first collaborated, Gilbert continued to write humorous verse, stories and plays, including the comic operas "Our Island Home" (1870) and "A Sensation Novel" (1871), and the blank verse comedies "The Princess" (1870), "The Palace of Truth" (1870) and "Pygmalion and Galatea" (1871). Sullivan was born in London on 13 May 1842. His father was a military bandmaster, and by the time
Gilbert and Sullivan time by major opera companies, and recordings of the operas, overtures and songs from the operas continue to be released. Since 1994, the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival has been held every August in England, with some two dozen or more performances of the operas given on the main stage, and several dozen related "fringe" events given in smaller venues. The Festival records and offers videos of its most popular professional and amateur productions. In connection with the 2009 festival, a contemporary critic wrote, "The appeal of G&S’s special blend of charm, silliness and gentle satire seems immune to fashion."