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,
Theatre Royal Haymarket S. Leigh and Arthur Sketchley). Gilbert followed this with a number of his blank verse "fairy comedies", the first of which was "The Palace of Truth" (1870), produced by Buckstone. These starred William Hunter Kendal and his wife Madge Robertson Kendal and also included "Pygmalion and Galatea" (1871), and "The Wicked World" (1873). Gilbert also produced here his dramas, "Charity" (1874), "Dan'l Druce, Blacksmith" (1876), and his most famous play outside of his Savoy Operas, "Engaged", an 1877 farce. Buckstone's ghost has reportedly often been seen at the theatre, particularly during comedies and "when he appreciates things" playing there. In