Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack Dulcamara, or the Little Duck and the Great Quack, is one of the earliest plays written by W.S. Gilbert, his first solo stage success. The work is a musical burlesque of Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore", and the music was arranged by Mr. Van Hamme. It opened at the St James's Theatre on 29 December 1866, the last item in a long evening, following a farce and Dion Boucicault's new play "Hunted Down". "Dulcamara" ran for a successful 120 nights. The popularity of the piece encouraged further commissions for opera burlesques from Gilbert,
Gianni Schicchi Villi", or with other two-act operas which might be used to round out the evening's entertainment. Finally, librettist Giovacchino Forzano presented the composer with two works of his own, which became "Suor Angelica" and "Gianni Schicchi". The latter would be Puccini's first setting of a comic text; although his earlier operas, for example "La bohème", contain comic episodes, these are merely ancillary to the drama to provide contrast. Forzano wrote to Tito Ricordi, Giulio's son, on 3 March 1917: I sent the libretto of "Suor Angelica" to Maestro Puccini some days ago. He has declared himself – kind as he