Premiere of Thespis

Date: December 26, 1871 • Location: London, United Kingdom

Thespis, the first comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, premiered at the Gaiety Theatre in London.

Thespis, or The Gods Grown Old, is an operatic extravaganza that was the first collaboration between dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. No musical score of Thespis was ever published, and most of the music has been lost. Gilbert and Sullivan went on to become the most famous and successful artistic partnership in Victorian England, creating a string of enduring comic opera hits, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.