Pygmalion (play) Pygmalion (play) Pygmalion is a play by George Bernard Shaw, named after a Greek mythological figure. It was first presented on stage to the public in 1913. In ancient Greek mythology, Pygmalion fell in love with one of his sculptures, which then came to life. The general idea of that myth was a popular subject for Victorian era English playwrights, including one of Shaw's influences, W. S. Gilbert, who wrote a successful play based on the story called "Pygmalion and Galatea" that was first presented in 1871. Shaw would also have been familiar with the burlesque version, "Galatea, or Pygmalion
Acis and Galatea (Handel) work's text. The libretto also borrowed freely from John Dryden's English translation of Ovid published in 1717, "The Story of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea". "Acis and Galatea" was first performed in the summer of 1718 at Cannons with local tradition holding that the work was performed outside on the terraces overlooking the garden. This is the period in which the gardens at Cannons were being extensively 'improved' with water features that included an impressive "jet d'eau", and so the choice of "Acis and Galatea" at this time, given that the conclusion requires a fountain, seems particularly apt. It is not