Marie Studholme and George Grossmith, Jnr.,
in Haste to the Wedding at the
Criterion Theatre, 1892.

The plot of Haste to the Wedding is, in Gilbert's his own words, "a very free adaption" of Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel's 1851 farce Le Chapeau de Paille d'Italie. Gilbert had adapted this French play in 1873 under the title The Wedding March, and later wanted to collaborate with Sullivan on a musical setting of the piece, but nothing came of the project. Eventually, Gilbert got George Grossmith, the Savoy's principal comedian, to compose the music. Haste to the Wedding opened on July 27, 1892.

• Synopsis, by Arthur Robinson.

• Review from The Times, 28th July, 1892.

• Libretto: Submitted to the G&S Archive by Ian Bond. In Microsoft Word [124Kb] and PDF [162Kb] formats.

• Vocal Score: Submitted to the G&S Archive by Ian Bond. This may be downloaded in two parts: Act I [PDF, 6.08Mb] and Acts II & III [PDF, 7.84Mb]

• Web Opera: As usual, you can follow the libretto and hear all the music as MIDI files.

• Source of Scores: Vocal scores and libretti of Haste to the Wedding may be rented from St. David's Players of Cullompton, Exeter, England. Send queries to Ian Bond at Ian@kentisview.freeserve.co.uk