Richard DOyly Carte

Richard D'Oyly Carte , 1844-1901, English impresario. His choice of presentations did much to raise the level of English musical theater. In 1875 he produced Trial by Jury, the first operetta of Sir William S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan , and he subsequently produced all their other works. In 1881 he built the Savoy Theatre (the first to be lighted electrically), which the operettas made famous. The D'Oyly Carte company, suspended from 1982 to 1988, continues to perform Gilbert and Sullivan's works.

D'Oyly Carte, Richard (b London, 1844; d London, 1901). English impresario and producer of light operas, who brought together the librettist Gilbert and the composer Sullivan for Trial by Jury, 1875. Partnership so successful he built theatre, the Savoy, which opened 1881 with Patience. His attempt to launch English grand opera with Sullivan's Ivanhoe, 1891, failed. His widow Helen (d 1913) continued management of ‘Savoy operas’, followed by son Rupert (1876–1948) and granddaughter Bridget. The Gilbert and Sullivan operas were generally presented in Britain professionally by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Co. until 1982 (they were known more widely as ‘D'Oyly Carte operas’ than as ‘Savoy operas’) but the D'Oyly Carte's exclusive ownership of them ended with expiry of Sullivan's copyright in 1950 and other opera companies have produced them, e.g. ENO, with prods. by Jonathan Miller and Ken Russell.

Carte, Richard D'Oyly (1844–1901) English impresario and producer of the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He founded the Savoy Theatre, London (1881).