THE HUMOUR OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
feel sure that if your correspondent were to visit Cambridge during one of the periods that the masterpieces of
Gilbert and Sullivan were being presented by the D'Oyley Carte Company, he, would be surprised at the overwhelming popularity with which these operas are received by the younger members, of the University.
I myself have waited to book tickets at the New Theatre in. a queue,- composed mainly of undergraduates, of over a quarter of a mile in length, stretching from the booking office to a considerable distance beyond the main gates of Emmanuel 'College. The first person in this queue was an undergraduate
of Trinity College who had taken up his position at half past six in the morning. He alone bought over £70 worth of tickets. Within a few hours the whole of the available tickets for the week had been disposed of. During the performances the pit and gallery were thronged by students of both sexes who had not been fortunate enough to secure booked seats.
I think this one example in itself will go to disprove the illusion that the Gilbert and Sullivan opera is losing favour in the eyes of" the young people who represent the intelligentsia." —I am, Sir, &c,, M.A. (Cantab.).
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