Princess Ida, or Castle Adamant, was produced at the Savoy Theatre on 5 January 1884, but for some reason it never attained the success of the other operas. Yet when it was revived at the Princes Theatre on 24 January 1922, after a lapse of thirty-eight years, it was received throughout with the thunderous applause it so richly deserves, for it is full of true Gilbertian humour, and contains also some of Sullivan’s most delightful music.

It is perhaps the least known of the operas now regularly performed, but not necessarily therefore the least interesting, and is the only one of the series written in three acts. (G&S Archive)