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,
Pygmalion and the Image series strongly evocative of Michelangelo's "Creation" painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the goddess adds colour and sensuality to Pygmalion's austere studio and Galatea's soft flesh. The rich-colour drapery, wrapped suggestively around an intricately carved pole at left, is noticeably absent from the other images in the series. When Pygmalion returns home, he finds that his statue has come to life and humbles himself at her feet. This was not Burne-Jones' only series of pictures: others include "The Briar Rose" series (1885–1890), which was based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale, "Sleeping Beauty" (as retold by the Brothers Grimm), and