Originally the two lowest brass parts were assigned to ophicleide and serpent, as those instruments were used in the Birmingham Festival orchestra despite their imminent obsolescence, but Sullivan suggested to the conductor Alfred Broughton in a subsequent 1880s pre-publication performance in Leeds that a tuba be used instead of the ophicleide and a contrabassoon instead of the serpent.
Initially, the two lowest brass parts were assigned to the ophicleide and serpent because they were used in the Birmingham Festival orchestra despite being outdated. Sullivan suggested that a tuba be used instead of the ophicleide and a contrabassoon instead of the serpent during a performance in Leeds in the 1880s.