A Record of Thirty-five Years’ Experience on the English Stage, by Himself

Abstract

Apart from my business associations, it was my privilege to see something of all the great Triumvirate, as they have been called, in their private life, though a great deal less of Sullivan than of the other two. I have had the pleasure of being a guest in the houses of all, and could not wish for better hosts, albeit so dissimilar in tastes and pursuits.

George Rutland Barrington Fleet (1853–1922) began his sensational career under D’Oyly Carte’s management in 1877, continued until 1888, and then returned for a second engagement at the Savoy from 1889 to 1894. In addition to playing in comedies and dramas written by Tom Taylor, Sydney Grundy and Gilbert, he wrote a successful play Bartonmere Towers (1893) and contributed a column under the pen-name ‘Lady Gay’ to Punch for several years. He was best known for initiating some of the most famous roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas: Dr Daly in The Sorcerer, Captain Corcoran in H. M. S. Pinafore, the sergeant of police in The Pirates of Penzance, Archibald Grosvenor in Patience, the Earl of Mountararat in Iolanthe, King Hildebrand in Princess Ida, Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, and Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore.