Cirrus@Austlit

H.M.S. Pinafore ; Or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts. The fourth operatic collaboration between composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist W. S. Gilbert, it premiered at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances.

Set aboard the British ship H.M.S. Pinafore, the captain's daughter, Josephine, is in love with sailor, Ralph Rackstraw. Her father intends marrying her to Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of the Admiralty, however. Josaphine at first abides by her father's wishes but Sir Joseph's advocacy of the equality of humankind encourages Ralph and Josephine to declare their love for each other. The Captain discovers their plan to elope but a surprise disclosure changes things dramatically.

Written in 1873 by W. S. Gilbert and Gilbert à Beckett, The Happy Land is a blank verse comedy with music that burlesques The Wicked World, a play written by W. S. Gilbert and produced earlier the same year (1873).

Pygmalion and Galatea: An Original Mythological Comedy is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts based on the Pygmalion story.

Gilbert's story sees the sculptor producing many copies in the image of his wife, Cynisca. She at first encourages his interest in one of these statues, Galatea. Cynisca is often away, and she doesn't want her husband to be bored. When the statue comes to life, however, matters become complex, as she falls in love with her creator. Galatea is born so innocent that she appears wayward and disrupts the lives she touches during her one day in the flesh. Under the fire of Cynisca's jealousy, and seeing the difficulty in which she has placed Pygmalion, Galatea decides that her original state was happier, and turns back into a statue.