Mr. Jericho

[3] When the Gilbert and Sullivan partnership disbanded after the production of The Gondoliers in 1889, impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte needed new works to fill the Savoy Theatre.

The fashion in the late Victorian era was to present long evenings in the theatre, and so producer Richard D'Oyly Carte preceded his Savoy operas with curtain raisers.

To create the piece, Carte had selected a composer that he knew could get the job done: Ford had studied under Arthur Sullivan and written several operas up to that point.

Michael de Vere, the Earl of Margate, has squandered his money, and so he lives in a small cottage and must do his own gardening, while his son Horace, Viscount Ramsgate, is reduced to working incognito as an omnibus driver.

When they meet, Jericho recognizes the Earl and is delighted to offer him a generous allowance in return for his statement about his love for the jam.