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,
Alfred Grünwald (librettist) Alfred Grünwald (librettist) Alfred Grünwald (16 February 1884 in Vienna – 24 February 1951 in New York City) was an Austrian author, librettist, and lyricist. Some of his better-known works were written in conjunction with the composers Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Paul Abraham, and Robert Stolz. After the "Anschluss" the family emigrated to the United States in 1940 via France. During World War II he was employed for a time with the Office of War Information translating American songs for transmission by radio to Germany. Alfred Grünwald worked for a theatrical agency before turning to libretto writing. A