Page "Gilbert and Sullivan" Paragraph 27

H. M. S.

Pinafore ran in London for 571 performances, the second longest run of any musical theatre piece in history up to that time ( after the operetta Les cloches de Corneville ).

Hundreds of unauthorised, or " pirated ", productions of Pinafore appeared in America.

During the run of Pinafore, Richard D ' Oyly Carte split up with his former investors.

The disgruntled former partners, who had each invested in the production with no return, staged a public fracas, sending a group of thugs to seize the scenery during a performance.

Stagehands successfully managed to ward off their backstage attackers.

This event cleared the way for Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan to form the D ' Oyly Carte Opera Company, which then produced all of their succeeding operas.