English.

The composer Arthur Sullivan and the dramatist W. S. Gilbert joined forces in 1871, and over the next .25 years produced a series of 14 comic operas. Sullivan's tuneful and memorable melodies and Gilbert's amusing words and dialogue .- which frequently made fun of British national characteristics and institutions such as the Royal Navy .- are as fresh and amusing today as they were over a hundred years ago. Songs vary immensely in style, and apart from the clearly comical include others, such as 'The flowers that bloom in the spring', that though at first suggesting seriousness, on close examination reveal deliberately ludicrous words and ridiculous sentiments .- all to the delight of the audience!