The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan the same time, Gilbert has written a libretto for another comic opera. Sullivan also accepts this libretto, and "The Gondoliers" is another hit. Gilbert, suffering from gout, and in a particularly foul temper, examines the financial accounts of the partnership, seeing a large item for the purchase of a new carpet at the Savoy Theatre. He confronts Carte, at the new theatre, over lavish expenses. He also quarrels with Sullivan, and Gilbert announces that he will write no more Savoy operas. Sullivan's grand opera "Ivanhoe" debuts, and he presents a bound volume to the Queen. She commands a private performance
Gilbert and Sullivan the composer for his successful oratorio, "The Golden Legend", considered the score to "Yeomen" to be Sullivan's finest, including its overture, which was written in sonata form, rather than as a sequential pot-pourri of tunes from the opera, as in most of his other overtures. The "Daily Telegraph" wrote: "Yeomen" was a hit, running for over a year, with strong New York and touring productions. During the run, on 12 March 1889, Sullivan wrote to Gilbert, Sullivan insisted that the next opera must be a grand opera. Gilbert did not feel that he could write a grand opera libretto, but