The Yeomen of the Guard

:For the British military corps, see Yeomen of the Guard

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The Yeomen of the Guard, or The Merryman and his Maid, is the eleventh of Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy Operas. It premièred at the Savoy Theatre on 3rd October 1888 and ran for four hundred and twenty three performances. It is set in the Tower of London during the 16th century and is the darkest of the Savoy Operas, though it does contain considerable humour and substantial traces of Gilbert's trademark satire and topsy-turvydom. The dialogue, though in prose, is somewhat Shakespearian in its language, being in early modern English. Despite its title, the operetta is clearly about the Yeomen Warders rather than the Yeomen of the Guard.

Related Topics:
Gilbert and Sullivan - Savoy Operas - Savoy Theatre - Tower of London - 16th century - Gilbert - Satire - Shakespearian - Early modern English - Yeomen Warders - Yeomen of the Guard

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Yeomen is not among the most popular of Gilbert and Sullivan's works today (lagging somewhat behind the 'big three', HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado), perhaps because it is not as light-hearted, topsy-turvy and immediately enjoyable as a 'comic opera' as the other Savoy Operas. It is thought, however, to have been Sullivan's favourite (for much the same reason) and Gilbert listed it among his top three, along with Ruddigore and Utopia, Limited, and commented shortly before the opening of their next piece, The Gondoliers (which pre-dated Utopia but not Ruddigore), "I thought The Yeomen of the Guard the best thing we had done, but I am told that the public like the topsy-turvy best, so this time they are going to get it."

Related Topics:
HMS Pinafore - The Pirates of Penzance - The Mikado - Sullivan - Ruddigore - Utopia, Limited - The Gondoliers

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