Cox & Box

Cox and Box had its first performance in 1866. It is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by F. C. Burnand and music by Arthur Sullivan, based on an 1847 farce Box and Cox by John Maddison Morton. It was Sullivan’s first successful comic opera, written five years before Thespis, his first opera with W. S. Gilbert.

Following its premiere, it was seen at various benefits in 1867 and presented professionally in 1869, when it ran for 264 performances.

In the 20th century, it was frequently produced by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company as a curtain raiser for the shorter Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

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July 3, 2026

D'Oyly Carte Island - A Miscellany of G&S Favourites

On July 3rd we presented a concert in the garden of Eyot House on D'Oyly Carte Island

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June 26, 2026

A G&S Workshop for the Royal Academy of Music

Louise Crane and Yvonne Patrick gave a masterclass and workshop for students at the Royal Academy of Music

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April 23, 2026

Trial by Jury and The Zoo double-bill at ENO, London Coliseum in 2027

ENO to revive the 150h Aniversary co=produciton of Trial by Jury in a double-bill with Sir Arthur Sullivan's The Zoo, with words by Bolton Rowe

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