Although not written for sale, the song became the biggest commercial success of any British or American song of the 1870s and 1880s. The American contralto Antoinette Sterling premiered the piece on 31 January 1877 at a Boosey concert, and she became one of its leading proponents, as did Sullivan's close friend and sometime mistress, Fanny Ronalds, who often sang it at society functions. Dame Clara Butt recorded the song several times, and many famous singers recorded it, including Enrico Caruso in 1912. A copy of the music was buried with Ronalds, who bequeathed the manuscript to Butt in 1914. Butt's husband, baritone Kennerley Rumford, gave the manuscript to the Worshipful Company of Musicians in 1950.