In 1871 Gilbert started working with Sullivan. They wrote fourteen comic operas together; Gilbert wrote the words and Sullivan wrote the music. Their fourth opera, "H.M.S. Pinafore" (1878), made the team of "Gilbert and Sullivan" famous all over the English-speaking world. Besides "Pinafore", their best-known operas are "The Pirates of Penzance" (1879) and "The Mikado" (1885). The Gilbert and Sullivan operas are still performed very often, by opera companies, theatre companies, and groups in schools and colleges.