The Princess (W. S. Gilbert play) College, the first university-level women's college in Britain, had been established at the University of Cambridge in 1869. However, by the time Gilbert and Sullivan collaborated on "Princess Ida" in 1883, a women's college was a well-established concept. Westfield College, London's first women's college, had opened in 1882 and is cited as a model for Castle Adamant, the women's college in "Princess Ida". The lyrics to the songs in "The Princess" were set to popular tunes from popular operetta and grand opera of the time, including works by Hervé and Jacques Offenbach. The three young men are played by women,
New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players to each of the 5th and 6th grade classes in the school district, to acquaint the students with some of the material and any special concepts they may need to understand (such as "apprenticeship" in "The Pirates of Penzance" or the British class structure in "H.M.S. Pinafore"). Sometimes the children also travel to New York City to see a full-scale NYGASP production. New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players (often known as NYGASP) is a professional repertory theatre company, based in New York City that has specialized in the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan