The country's premier composer, Sir Arthur Sullivan, was immediately asked to set the poem to music. Sullivan had written some 20 operas, including fourteen comic operas with W. S. Gilbert, and a large volume of songs, orchestral pieces and other music.
Sir Arthur Sullivan, the country's top composer, was immediately commissioned to write music for the poem. With more than 20 operas under his belt, including 14 comic operas with W. S. Gilbert, and a vast array of songs, orchestral pieces, and other musical compositions, Sullivan took on this task.