W.S. Gilbert

W. S. Gilbert was an English dramatist and librettist born in London who began his career in the mid-19th century writing verse, short pieces and plays and became chiefly associated with comic opera and operetta. His work features satirical, topsy-turvy plots, precise rhyming verse and parlour wit that engaged with Victorian social institutions, and his libretti were influential in the development of British comic opera and musical theatre.