Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert was questioning his good faith, and in any event, Sullivan had other reasons to stay in Carte's good graces: Carte was building a new theatre, the Royal English Opera House, to produce Sullivan's only grand opera, "Ivanhoe". Gilbert brought suit, and after "The Gondoliers" closed in 1891, he withdrew the performance rights to his libretti, vowing to write no more operas for the Savoy. Gilbert next wrote "The Mountebanks" with Alfred Cellier and the flop "Haste to the Wedding" with George Grossmith, and Sullivan wrote "Haddon Hall" with Sydney Grundy. Gilbert eventually won the lawsuit, but his actions and
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival G&S and the performing arts in schools in Britain. On several occasions, the Festival added a week of performances in the United States. The founders believe that the Gilbert and Sullivan works are an important national heritage and legacy, especially as performed in the tradition of the venerable, year-round D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which performed Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy Operas continuously, year-round, for over a century until 1982. When that company closed in 1982, greatly diminishing the amount of Gilbert and Sullivan produced in Britain, Ian Smith "had a burning anger" that the English Arts Council had not subsidised the