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.
The initial assignment of the lowest brass parts to the ophicleide and serpent was due to their use in the Birmingham Festival orchestra despite their obsolescence. Sullivan suggested replacing them with a tuba and contrabassoon during a performance in Leeds in the 1880s.