Composer—The Pirates of Penzance

Previously at the Festival: The Mikado (1977, 1996), The Pirates of Penzance (2001), H.M.S. Pinafore (2006)

Other Operas/Operettas: Thespis (1871), Trial by Jury (1875), The Zoo (1875), The Sorcerer (1877, revised 1884), H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), The Pirates of Penzance (1879), Patience (1881), Iolanthe (1882), Princess Ida (1884), The Mikado (1885), Ruddigore (1887), The Yeomen of the Guard (1888), The Gondoliers (1889), Ivanhoe (1891), Haddon Hall (1892), Utopia Limited (1893), The Chieftain (1894), The Grand Duke (1896), The Beauty Stone (1898), and The Rose of Persia (1899)

Education: Royal Academy of Music

Awards: first recipient of the Mendelssohn Prize, knighted by Queen Victoria

Compositions: The Prodigal Son and the popular hymn “Onward, Christian Soldiers”

Background: born May 13, 1842, in London; died November 22, 1900, in London