Gilbert and Sullivan the theme from "Iolanthe" of the war between the sexes. The opera is based on Tennyson's poem "The Princess: A Medley". Gilbert had written a blank verse farce based on the same material in 1870, called "The Princess", and he reused a good deal of the dialogue from his earlier play in the libretto of "Princess Ida". "Ida" is the only Gilbert and Sullivan work with dialogue entirely in blank verse and is also the only one of their works in three acts. Lillian Russell had been engaged to create the title role, but Gilbert did not believe that she
The Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island Mill Road School in Merrick, taking up residence at the Roland Chatterton School in Merrick, which remains its Tuesday-night home to the present day. The 1980s brought major changes to the group, beginning with its name: In 1980, due to a consensus that the group had evolved into something larger in scope and more professional than the word “Workshop” suggested, the group’s name was officially changed to The Gilbert & Sullivan Light Opera Company of Long Island. Two years later the first of the three founding members left the group, as Norman “Buddy” Packer retired to Coconut Creek, Fla., where