Who was Cunningham Bridgeman? Part 4: Zelig
In this series on the identity of Gilbert and Sullivan biographer, Cunningham Bridgeman, we have questioned Bridgeman’s claims of special knowledge of Arthur Sullivan, and started to outline Bridgeman’s background. So far, he’s proven to be an interesting young 19th century person, but no one out of the ordinary. Because I fear your interest in […]
Who was Cunningham Bridgeman? Part 3
I know of no book or website that outlines the life of Cunningham Bridgeman, so this narrative is based on public records and newspaper reports. Why am I interested in his life? We saw in Part 2 that Bridgeman claims to have had a “close intimacy” with Arthur Sullivan. And he wrote a popular account […]
Who was Cunningham Bridgeman? Part 2
As we set forth in Part 1 of this series, Cunningham Bridgeman was the coauthor, with François Cellier, of the book Gilbert, Sullivan And D’Oyly Carte: Reminiscences Of The Savoy And The Savoyards. This was an early and influential memoir of the careers of Gilbert and Sullivan, written by a well-known Savoy Theatre insider—François Cellier—and […]
Who was Cunningham Bridgeman? Part 1.5 Sing!
I love living in The Future I’m calling this “Part 1.5” of this story, because it is a short diversion from the main plot. But an exciting one. In Part 1 of this story I began to explore the mystery of Cunningham Bridgeman. The mystery is, who is he, and how did he come to […]
Who was Cunningham Bridgeman? Part 1
The short answer is, he was the coauthor of the early and influential book, Gilbert, Sullivan And D’Oyly Carte: Reminiscences Of The Savoy And The Savoyards (among other titles), written in 1913-1914 with François Cellier. That book, published with the imprimatur of Cellier—one of Sullivan’s closest friends and longest collaborators—is still today quoted by authors […]
10 November, 1899: The Absent Minded Distraction, Part 2
10 November, 1899 Called1. Bosworth. about foreign production & publication of new opera. He to be my representative in Germany & Austria, with Bloch-Erben (Ferenzcy [sic]) as his agents, at 20 p.c. 2. Byng & Coates – latter to sing “Ab: M. Beg” – Today Sullivan notes visits from three gentlemen. Meeting number 1 is […]
7 November, 1899: The Absent-Minded Distraction, Part 1
7 November, 1899 Bendall took printer’s copy of “Ab: Mind: Beg:” to Balch –Daily Mail – also my M.S. to Alhambra for Byng to score.Rehearsal at Savoy. It’s a busy time for Sir Arthur Sullivan. It’s been more than three years since the production of The Grand Duke, his final collaboration with W.S. Gilbert. Since […]
Searching the unsearchable, or What is a Sullivan Diary? Part 2
In my last post on Sullivan’s diaries, I claimed that the only way to positively know when a keyword has made its final appearance in Sullivan’s diaries is to read every subsequent word of every subsequent day of every subsequent year. In a world of Ferraris and easy text searching, this sounds like buggy whip […]
What is a Sullivan Diary? or, Bertie’s Electrical Career, Part 4.
Part 4 of 3. It’s entirely possible that you, Dear Reader, have now heard more than enough about young Herbert Sullivan’s failure to launch a career. (That story begins here.) This post is inspired by my accidental discovery of new information for that story—I do owe Bertie a partial apology—and a realization that most people […]
3 October, 1891: Bertie’s Electrical Career, Part 3.
3 October, 1891 Tom Chappell called with message from Gilbert,decision of “making up” – promised to write to him.Sent letter to Teddington by Louis – dined at Garrick. Having returned from betting on horses, Sullivan is back in London, and suddenly, his diary becomes interesting! His long-time publisher and friend, Thomas Chappell is doing Yeoman’s […]