D'Oyly Carte Opera Company be released from the partnership on several occasions. Nevertheless, they coaxed eight comic operas out of Gilbert and Sullivan in the 1880s. When "Princess Ida" closed after a comparatively short run of nine months, for the first time in the partnership's history, the next opera was not ready. To make matters worse, Gilbert suggested a plot in which people fell in love against their wills after taking a magic lozenge – a scenario that Sullivan had previously rejected, and he now rejected the "lozenge plot" again. Gilbert eventually came up with a new idea and began work in May 1884.
National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company August and September 2010, the G&S Opera Company presented its first production outside of the festival, "The Yeomen of the Guard", at Oxford Castle. Two of its 2012 productions were repeated in Harrogate late in August, and all three of its 2013 productions transferred there in late August. The company toured three of its 2014 productions in repertory from June to August 2014, giving seven performances in each of six cities. Since 2015, besides Harrogate, the company has toured its productions to several cities and towns in the UK, including the Festival's previous home, Buxton. "Sky Arts" called the Gilbert