Savoy Theatre

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Savoy Theatre, London

The Savoy Theatre, which opened on 10 October 1881, was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte (1844–1901) on the site of the old Savoy Palace in London as a showcase for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, which became known as the Savoy Operas as a result. It was the first theatre and the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. Later, the Savoy Hotel was built next to it.

1 History of the site
2 Richard D'Oyly Carte's theatre
3 Rupert D'Oyly Carte's theatre
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History of the site

The House of Savoy was the ruling family of Savoy descended from Humbert I, Count of Sabaudia (or "Maurienne", who became count in 1032). Piedmont was later joined with Sabaudia, and the name evolved into "Savoy" (or "Savoie"). Count Peter (or Piers or Piero) of Savoy (d. 1268), was the maternal uncle of Eleanor of Provence, queen-consort of Henry III of England, and came with her to London. King Henry made Peter Earl of Richmond and gave him (in 1246) the land between The Strand and the Thames where Peter built the Savoy Palace in 1263.

The Savoy Palace became the London residence of John of Gaunt, 2nd Duke of Lancaster, until it was burned down by Wat Tyler's followers in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. King Richard II was still a child, and his uncle John of Gaunt was the power behind the throne and so a main target of the rebels.

In about 1505, Henry VII had a hospital built in the palace ruins, and part of the old palace was used for a military prison in the 18th century. In 1864 a fire burned everything except the stone walls, and the property sat empty until D'Oyly Carte bought it in 1880 to build the Savoy Theatre there.

[edit] Richard D'Oyly Carte's theatre

The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps, built by the firm of Patman and Fotheringham, and decorated by Collinson and Locke. There were three tiers with four levels: stalls and pit, balcony, gallery, and amphitheater at the top with a total seating capacity of over 1,250. The stage was a gigantic 60 feet wide by 52 feet deep. The theatre originally had its main entrance on the Embankment. The parcel on which it was built was steep, stretching from the Strand down to the Embankment along Beaufort Street. In 1903, when Carte built the Savoy Hotel, the entrance to the theatre was moved to the hotel's courtyard off the Strand, where it still is today.

Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera Patience, which had opened at the Opera Comique, moved to the Savoy on October 10, 1881 and was the first production at the new theatre. The Savoy was the first public building in the world to be lit entirely by electricity. At a performance shortly after the theatre opened, Carte stepped on stage and broke a glowing lightbulb to demonstrate the safety of the new technology. Gaslights had also been installed as a backup, but they rarely had to be used.

The last eight of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas were premiered at the theatre,^[1] and the term Savoy Opera has come to be associated with all their joint works. After the end of their partnership Carte, and later his widow, Helen, and her manager William Greet, staged other comic operas, notably by Ivan Caryll and Edward German. In 1903, the theatre closed and was reopened under the management of Edward Laurillard in February 1904. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company returned to the Savoy for repertory seasons between 1906 and 1909, in which year C. H. Workman took over the management of the theatre, producing, among other works, Gilbert's final opera, with music by German, Fallen Fairies, which ran for only 51 performances.

[edit] Rupert D'Oyly Carte's theatre

In June 1929, Carte's son and successor, Rupert, closed the theatre, and the interior was completely rebuilt to designs by Frank A. Tugwell with décor by Basil Ionides. The new auditorium has two tiers leaving three levels: stalls, dress, and upper circle, with a capacity of 1,138, and the new stage was much smaller at 29 feet, 4 inches wide, by 29 feet, 6 inches deep. It reopened on 21 October 1929 with a new production of The Gondoliers that was designed by Charles Ricketts and conducted by Malcolm Sargent.

There were further Gilbert and Sullivan seasons in 1929–30, 1932–33, 1951, 1954, 1961–62, 1975, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Other works presented at the Savoy included Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, Robert Morley in The Man who Came to Dinner, and several comedies by William Douglas-Home starring, among others, Ralph Richardson, Peggy Ashcroft and John Mills

While the theatre was being renovated in February 1990, a fire gutted the building, except for the stage and backstage areas. Tugwell's and Ionides's designs had been preserved, however, allowing the accurate restoration of the theatre under the direction of the architect Sir William Whitfield. It reopened on 19 July 1993. The present theatre has a capacity of 1,158. During the renovation an extra storey was added above the theatre that includes a health club for the hotel and a swimming pool above the stage. The reopened theatre was the venue for the World Chess Championship in 1993, won by Garry Kasparov.

In 2005, the Savoy was bought by the Ambassador Theatre Group who aim to produce large-scale musicals at the venue in the future. The current production is The Rat Pack, which will close in October 2006 to make way for a new production of Porgy and Bess to be directed by Trevor Nunn.