As you read this, somewhere in the English-speaking world a production of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta is being rehearsed or presented. It may be taking place in an elementary, secondary or high school; a university; an amateur musical theater group; a summer-stock ensemble; a professional light-opera company. The musical accompaniment may consist of a piano or two - perhaps plus a few other instruments - or a full orchestra.

Audiences, be they first-time listeners or dyed-in-the wool G&S fanatics, will be captivated by the scintillating melodies and effervescent lyrics of those highly unlikely collaborators: Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan and Sir William Schwenck GIlbert.

Incredibly, despite the seemingly endless popularity of these works, which have been published, staged, recorded, broadcast, televised and cinematized over the years since their first performances by the D'Oyly Carte Opera in London in the 1870s and 1880s, there has never been an edition which permitted the guitar-playing masses to enjoy these Victorian gems. Until now. Here, for the first time, are 52 G&S favorites (or, if you will, favourites), drawn from five of their most popular operettas: H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, The Mikado. arranged with guitar chords - in guitar-friendly keys! The very model of a modern music manuscript! All selections include melody, lyrics and guitar chords.

 

H. M. S. Pinafore

We Sail The Ocean Blue  

I’m Called Little Buttercup  

A Maiden Fair To See  

I Am The Captain Of The Pinafore  

Sorry Her Lot  

I Am The Monarch Of The Sea  

When I Was A Lad  

Fair Moon, To Thee I Sing  

Never Mind The Why And Wherefore  

The Merry Maiden And The Tar  

A Many Years Ago  

Oh Joy, Oh Rapture Unforseen!  

 

The Pirates Of Penzance

When Frederic Was A Little Lad  

Oh Better Far To Live And Die  

Climbing Over Rocky Mountain  

Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast  

Poor Wandering One  

Model Of A Modern Major-General  

Ah, Leave Me Not To Pine  

A Policeman’s Lot Is Not A Happy One  

With Catlike Tread  

 

Patience

Twenty Love-Sick Maidens We  

I Cannot Tell What This Love May Be  

If You Want A Receipt  

When I First Put This Uniform On  

If You’re Anxious For To Shine  

Prithee, Pretty Maaiden  

Silvered Is The Raven Hair  

The Magnet And The Churn  

Love Is A Plaintive Song  

When I Go Out Of Door  

 

Iolanthe

Good Morrow, Good Lover  

The Law Is The True Embodiment  

Of All The Young Ladies I Know  

When I Went To The Bar  

Young Strephon Is The Kind Of Lout  

When All Night Long  

When Britain Really ruled The Waves  

When You’re Lying Awake  

Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady  

 

The Mikado

If You Want to Know Who We Are  

A Wand’ring Minstrel I  

Behold The Lord High Executioner  

I’ve Got A Little List  

Three Little Maids From School  

For He’s Going To Marry Yum-Yum  

The Moon And I  

Here’s A How-De-Do  

From Every Kind Of Man  

My Object All Sublime  

The Flowers that Bloom In The Spring  

Tit Willow