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→Famous Works: Remove "then-fading" with ref. to British Empire, see Talk
==Famous Works==
==Famous Works==
Among the better known works by Gilbert and Sullivan are [[Patience]], [[Ruddigore]], [[Pirates of Penzance]], and [[HMS Pinafore]]. All of the works were written to parody elements of British life in the [[Queen Victoria|Victorian]] era, especially often mocking the [[Royal Navy]], the linchpin of Britain's then-fading [[empire]]. All of the works are subtitled with a phrase illuming the background of the story - often, the subtitles were meant to foreshadow a theme in the opera, the non-existence of which would become a major comic element. For example:
Among the better known works by Gilbert and Sullivan are [[Patience]], [[Ruddigore]], [[Pirates of Penzance]], and [[HMS Pinafore]]. All of the works were written to parody elements of British life in the [[Queen Victoria|Victorian]] era, especially often mocking the [[Royal Navy]], the linchpin of the [[British Empire]]. All of the works are subtitled with a phrase illuming the background of the story - often, the subtitles were meant to foreshadow a theme in the opera, the non-existence of which would become a major comic element. For example:
*Pirates of Penzance, subtitled "The Slave of Duty," foreshadows the main character's conflict between his (illusory) duty and his love of the female lead.
*Pirates of Penzance, subtitled "The Slave of Duty," foreshadows the main character's conflict between his (illusory) duty and his love of the female lead.
*Ruddigore, subtitled "The Witch's Curse," foreshadows the central theme of the curse on the family of the Baronets of Ruddigore, which is resolved comically.
*Ruddigore, subtitled "The Witch's Curse," foreshadows the central theme of the curse on the family of the Baronets of Ruddigore, which is resolved comically.