We are delighted to have been working with our friends at D’Oyly Carte Opera over the last few weeks to bring the extensive music hire library of Gilbert and Sullivan to our Elmbank Crescent offices in Glasgow, which also houses an extensive library of scores, orchestral and vocal parts.
Our team have been working hard to unpack the incredible 86 creates of music we have acquired from D’Oyly Carte Opera. We are thrilled to now be the only location to hire the material from the original performers of Gilbert and Sullivan, with some of the rarer items being sent down to join the D’Oyly Carte collection in the British Library.
Scottish Opera Head of Music, Derek Clark said: ‘It's not often that an opera company gets the chance to help another opera company, so it's great for Scottish Opera to be able to offer the space and the manpower to take over the running of the D'Oyly Carte library. For me, personally, as a lifelong Gilbert and Sullivan devotee, it is wonderful to have this resource available to explore - it's a bit like being let loose in Aladdin's cave. So, I’m very much looking forward to seeing whether any undiscovered gems lie lurking in its depths.’
The music hire library provides orchestral parts and other musical material to anyone in the UK and Europe looking to perform Gilbert and Sullivan, including professional companies, amateur dramatic societies, and school groups.
By hiring the material from our library, companies will have the opportunity to buy into the great tradition of amateur performance and access the original D’Oyly Carte works of Gilbert and Sullivan.
We are excited to be able to continue our work with D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in this way, having established a relationship with them in 2013. Since then we have co-produced productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado and we were due to have productions of The Gondoliers and Utopia, Limited this year.
During lockdown we also delved in to the whimsical world of Gilbert and Sullivan with our Spotlight on The Gondoliers. An online project which looks further in to the musical intricacies of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera, as well as featuring performances, in-depth articles and exclusive archive photography.
General Manager, D'Oyly Carte Opera Trust General Manager, Ian Martin said: ‘I'm really happy that the D'Oyly Carte Music Hire Library is to be managed by Scottish Opera. Our co-producing partnership with Scottish Opera has been successful for over seven years now and we still have our greatest project to look forward to. I have looked after the library for over 32 years now and have moved it no less than seven times to various addresses around the UK- London, Birmingham and Wolverhampton. I hope that it has found a more stable and consistent home now and for the future.’
Scottish Opera Music Librarian, Gordon Grant said: ‘I’m excited to take over the running of the D’Oyly Carte Music Hire Library and I can’t think of a better project to work on until we can return to doing what we do best – putting on shows. We, at Scottish Opera, are a company who knows first-hand the joy of performing Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas, so it’s fantastic to be able to share our enthusiasm by providing sheet music to performing societies and organisations across the UK and Europe. By hiring from The D’Oyly Carte Music Hire Library, you are also helping both Scottish Opera and D’Oyly Carte bring you more brilliant opera.’