It is quite like old times at the Savoy again—a libretto provided by Sir William Gilbert, and containing all his customary quips and cranks, as well as lyrics that are as dainty and finished as any to which he has put his name; a score which though, alas! it is not Sullivan’s, is the next best thing, the work of a master of melody and of dance rhythms, and of the fantastic and playful in music—Mr. Edward German; and, lastly, a company of interpreters trained and drilled under the Gilbertian discipline, and made to speak with the clear and precise enunciation on which he has always insisted.

And the enthusiasm at the premiere was like that of the former days—the eagerness of the audience to “encore” every number, the laughter that punctuated the author’s sallies of wit and whimsicality, the wild cheers that went up at the last for the librettist and composer. Yes, it really looks as if this new Gilbert and German opera may have inaugurated another era of success at the Savoy, and certainly the literary distinction and poetic fancy of the play, the avoidance of buffoonery and inartistic interpolations, the gracefulness of the music, and the distinction, refinement, and comedy of the whole entertainment afford a striking contrast with what is only too often provided in musical comedy.

The duet, “When a Knight Loves Ladye,” a song and dance which falls to vivacious Miss Jessie Rose, the ditty of the comic fairy Lutin, “A Lady in the Case,” which Mr. Workman rattles off with delightful glibness, another duet about the reformation of man, in which Miss Maidie Hope has a share, and various concerted pieces, seem assured of popularity, while plenty of opportunities fall to Mr. Claude Flemming and Mr. Leo Sheffield, the sturdy representatives of the knights who are transferred to fairyland, as well as to Miss Nancy McIntosh, who acts even better than she sings as a tragic fairy-queen. The Savoy, in fact, is itself once more, and should need no change of bill for many a long day.