Arthur Seymour Sullivan
Born: 13th May 1842, London
Died: 22nd November 1900, London
Nationality: English
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. His works include 24 operas, 11 major orchestral works, ten choral works and oratorios, two ballets, incidental music to several plays, and numerous church pieces, songs, and piano and chamber pieces. His hymns and songs include "Onward, Christian Soldiers" and "The Lost Chord".
The son of a military bandmaster, Sullivan composed his first anthem at the age of eight and was later a soloist in the boys' choir of the Chapel Royal.
Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sullivan
Browse: Sullivan, A
Further Reading: Sullivan, A
-
David Webb and John Andrews on Arthur Sullivan
23rd Jul 2026
The tenor and conductor discuss their new album of Sullivan's sacred and secular music for tenor (including extracts from the Savoy Operas), recorded with the Academy of Ancient Music and released last month on Resonus Classics.
-
Gilbert & Sullivan's Utopia, Limited from Scottish Opera
27th Jun 2025
The duo's penultimate collaboration - a satire on British imperialism and nineteenth-century corporate law - comes up as fresh as paint in a sparkling new recording conducted by Derek Clark, with a cast headed by Neal Davies as King Paramount and Ellie Laugharne as his Cambridge-educated daughter Zara.
Popular Genres: Sullivan, A
Orchestral
Chamber
Opera
Vocal
Choral
Popular Works: Sullivan, A
- Cox and Box Overture (4)
- HMS Pinafore (11)
- HMS Pinafore: Overture (11)
- I would I were a King (4)
- Iolanthe (6)
- Iolanthe Overture (10)
- It came upon the midnight clear (8)
- L'Île Enchantée (5)
- Macbeth (4)
- Macbeth Overture (8)
- Mary Morison (4)
- My Dearest Heart (4)
- Onward! Christian soldiers (St Gertrude) (16)
- Orpheus with his Lute (7)
- Overture 'In Memoriam' (5)
- Overture di Ballo (12)
- Patience (5)
- Patience Overture (6)
- Pineapple Poll (7)
- Pineapple Poll Suite (10)
- Princess Ida Overture (5)
- Ruddigore (4)
- Symphony in E major 'Irish' (5)
- The flowers that bloom in the spring (from The Mikado) (4)
- The Gondoliers (10)
- The Gondoliers Overture (7)
- The long day closes (23)
- The Lost Chord (44)
- The Mikado (18)
- The Mikado Overture (12)
- The Mikado: extracts (5)
- The Pirates of Penzance (10)
- The Pirates of Penzance: Overture (13)
- The Sorcerer Overture (6)
- The Sun Whose Rays (from The Mikado) (5)
- The Yeomen of the Guard (6)
- The Yeomen of the Guard: Overture (14)
- Three little maids (from The Mikado) (5)
- Trial by Jury (9)
- Victoria and Merrie England (4)
Recent Best Sellers: Sullivan, A
-
Arthur Sullivan: Songs For Tenor
David Webb, Jennifer France, Charles Rice, Academy of Ancient Music, John Andrews
-
Presto Team Choices, June 2026
CD: $18.75Download from $10.00 -
-
Overtures from the British Isles, Vol. 1
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Rumon Gamba
CD: $20.00Download from $10.00 -
A Prayer For Deliverance
Tenebrae, Nigel Short
-
BBC Music Magazine, August 2025, August 2025
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
-
BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2026, Winner - Choral
CD: $17.25Download from $10.00 -
-
Sounds and Sweet Airs - A Shakespeare Songbook
Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Roderick Williams (baritone), Joseph Middleton (piano)
SACD: $17.75
