Carl Rosa

[4] He travelled to America in 1866 as a member of a concert troupe promoted by the Baltimore impresario Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman that also included the Scottish operatic soprano Euphrosyne Parepa.

Gilbert expanded one of the comic Bab Ballads that he had written for Fun magazine[8] into a one-act libretto titled Trial by Jury.

[6] For the next fifteen years, under Rosa's guidance, the company prospered and earned good notices, with provincial tours and London seasons, frequently in conjunction with Augustus Harris at the Drury Lane Theatre.

"[11] In 1892, Rosa's Grand Opera Company gave a command performance of La fille du régiment at Balmoral Castle.

Besides Santley and Hersee, Minnie Hauk, Joseph Maas, Barton McGuckin and Giulia Warwick were some of the famous singers associated with the company during its early years.

Frederic Hymen Cowen's Pauline (1876), Arthur Goring Thomas's Esmeralda (1883), Alexander Mackenzie's Colomba (1883) and The Troubabour, and Charles Villiers Stanford's The Canterbury Pilgrims (1884) were commissioned by the company.

[5] An obituarist noted, "He had long looked forward to the time when Sir Arthur Sullivan would have undertaken a grand opera, and to the last had hoped to have been able to produce such a work.

"[2] Shortly before his death, Rosa launched a light opera company that debuted with Robert Planquette's Paul Jones.

"[7] Both during his life and after his death, his company had much to do with popularizing opera in England, encouraging native composers and training many singers who went on to international careers.