Gilbert and Sullivan was dedicated enough, and when she missed a rehearsal, he dismissed her. "Princess Ida" was the first of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas that, by the partnership's previous standards, was not a success. A particularly hot summer in London did not help ticket sales. The piece ran for a comparatively short 246 performances and was not revived in London until 1919. Sullivan had been satisfied with the libretto, but two months after "Ida" opened, Sullivan told Carte that "it is impossible for me to do another piece of the character of those already written by Gilbert and myself." As "Princess
The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan is pleased by the acclaim that he receives for the music to the short comic opera "Trial by Jury", a collaboration with dramatist W. S. Gilbert. Grace leaves him, telling him that he is wasting his musical gifts on triviality, foreshadowing criticism from the musical establishment that will follow Sullivan for the rest of his career. Still wrestling with this dilemma, Sullivan joins Gilbert and the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte in a partnership to create more light operas. Their subsequent operas, "The Sorcerer" and, especially, "H.M.S. Pinafore", become so popular that they are pirated extensively in America. The entire company