The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas) Romantic genre of programmatic music, which composers like Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, Jean Sibelius and Richard Strauss increasingly explored as an alternative to earlier symphonic forms. Unlike other tone poems, such as "La mer" by Debussy or "Finlandia" by Sibelius, Dukas's work is, like works such as "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" by Strauss, descriptively programmatic, closely following the events described in the Goethe poem. It was customary, in fact, to publish the poem as part of the orchestral score. The instrumentation of the piece consists of two flutes and piccolo, two oboes, two soprano clarinets and bass clarinet, three bassoons
The Sorcerer Gilbert was completing "Engaged", a "farcical comedy", which opened on 3 October 1877. He also was sorting out the problems with "The Ne'er-do-Weel", a piece he wrote for Edward Sothern. Meanwhile, Sullivan was writing the incidental music to "Henry VIII"; only after its premiere on 28 August did he begin working on "The Sorcerer". The opening was originally scheduled for 1 November 1877; however, the first rehearsals took place on 27 October, and the part of J. W. Wells was filled only by that time. "The Sorcerer" finally opened at Opera Comique on 17 November 1877. The villagers of Ploverleigh