Gilbert and Sullivan place a piece like this on the stage in so complete a fashion." The opera enjoyed a run longer than any of their other joint works except for "H.M.S. Pinafore", "Patience" and "The Mikado". There was a command performance of "The Gondoliers" for Queen Victoria and the royal family at Windsor Castle in 1891, the first Gilbert and Sullivan opera to be so honoured. "The Gondoliers" was Gilbert and Sullivan's last great success. Gilbert and Sullivan sometimes had a strained working relationship, partly caused by the fact that each man saw himself as allowing his work to be subjugated to
Gilbert and Sullivan their repertories. In 1980, a Broadway and West End production of "Pirates" produced by Joseph Papp brought new audiences to Gilbert and Sullivan. Between 1988 and 2003, the revived D'Oyly Carte Opera Company revived the operas on tour and on the West End. Today, many professional repertory companies, such as NYGASP, Opera della Luna, Opera a la Carte, National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company Opera North, Ohio Light Opera and other small opera companies, and numerous amateur societies, churches, schools and universities continue to produce the works. The most popular G&S works also continue to be performed from time to