Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed Galatea, or Pygmalion Re-Versed is a musical burlesque that parodies the Pygmalion legend, and specifically W. S. Gilbert's 1871 play "Pygmalion and Galatea". The libretto was written by Henry Pottinger Stephens and W. Webster. The score was composed by Wilhelm Meyer Lutz. The work was premiered at the Gaiety Theatre, London on 26 December 1883. It starred Nellie Farren and Edward Terry. This type of work, Victorian burlesque, was popular in Britain in the late 19th century. Other examples include "The Bohemian G-yurl and the Unapproachable Pole" (1877), "Blue Beard" (1882), "Ariel" (1883, by F. C.
The Merry Zingara V). The success of "Dulcamara" and "La Vivandière" had shown that Gilbert could write entertainingly in this form, peppered with the dreadful puns traditional in burlesques of the period. The libretti also, at times, show signs of the satire that would later be a defining part of his work. They led to Gilbert's more mature "fairy comedies", such as "The Palace of Truth" (1870) and "Pygmalion and Galatea" (1871), and Gilbert's six German Reed Entertainments which, in turn, led to the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Although Gilbert gave up direct parodies of opera within a couple of years of