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
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan together to produce a Christmas entertainment, "Thespis", at his Gaiety Theatre, a large West End house. The piece was an extravaganza in which the classical Greek gods, grown elderly, are temporarily replaced by a troupe of 19th-century actors and actresses, one of whom is the eponymous Thespis, the Greek father of the drama. Its mixture of political satire and grand opera parody mimicked Offenbach's "Orpheus in the Underworld" and "La belle Hélène", which (in translation) then dominated the English musical stage. "Thespis" opened on Boxing Day and ran for 63 performances. It outran five of its nine