ABSTRACT
Through the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Richard D’Oyly Carte nurtured a unique genre of musical and theatrical entertainment which has become known as the Savoy Opera. From the very beginning, when seeking to raise funds for what became the Comedy Opera Company, his plan was “for a series of light and amusing but interesting ‘comedy operas’” by the most distinguished authors and composers. What he envisaged was work of quality, respectability and refinement 148which (as his pre-performance statement of November 1877 put it) would “depend for its success simply on its merits, and not on any meretricious displays of costume – or rather absence of costume – or any objectionable suggestiveness of motive or dialogue.” Ideally, this was to be a home-grown product of English words and English music.
