After All!

After All! is a one-act comic opera with a libretto by Frank Desprez and music by Alfred Cellier. It was first performed at the Savoy Theatre under the management of Richard D'Oyly Carte, along with H.M.S. Pinafore and another short piece, Cups and Saucers, from December 1878 to February 1880.

During the original run of After All, in 1879, Richard D'Oyly Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan broke up the "Comedy Opera Company" that they had formed in 1877 to present the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The former directors of that company staged a rival version Pinafore, along with After All, but their versions were not as popular as Carte's. Later, After All played with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company children's Pinafore (and In the Sulks), from February to March 1880; with The Mikado from November 1895 to March 1896; with The Grand Duke from April to July 1896; with The Mikado from July to August 1896; and with The Yeomen of the Guard from May to June 1897. The piece was also performed on tour on numerous occasions until at least 1909, including a 1908 touring revival.

The piece contains only four songs, all of which were separately published (by Metzler) and are in the British Library.

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.W. J. MacQueen-Pope commented, concerning such curtain raisers:

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