Title   The Yeomen of the Guard (or The Merryman and his Maid) Composer   Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842 - 1900) Librettist   William S. Gilbert (1836 - 1911) Genre   Light opera. Two acts. First performance   Savoy Theatre, London, 1 October, 1888. Time of action   Sixteenth century. Place of action   Tower Green, London. Main parts   Colonel Fairfax, under sentence of death tenor     Sergeant Meryll, of the Yeomen of the Guard baritone   Leonard Meryll, his son tenor     Jack Point, a strolling jester baritone or tenor     Wilfred Shadbolt, head jailer bass     Sir Richard Cholmondeley, lieutenant of the Tower baritone or tenor     Elsie Maynard, a strolling singer soprano     Phoebe Meryll, Meryll's daughter mezzo-soprano     Dame Carruthers, housekeeper  to the Tower contralto Prominence of chorus   Large. Orchestra   2 flutes, 1 oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns,              2 trumpets, 3 trombones, kettle-drums, percussion, strings. Special demands   The work contains passages for double chorus. Performing companies should have a considerable number of men. See also Dress. Full score and orchestral parts   Available. Level   It is one of the more taxing G&S works, but experienced amateurs should be able to tackle it. Length   About 2½ hours. Two acts. Music   In this work the composer rises to unprecedented heights. Splendid numbers for chorus and double-chorus (a riot, a near-beheading, a  chorus for ladies scoffing at the Yeomen, a wedding etc.) are alternated by ensembles and solos that bear witness of the composer's genius (a spinning-wheel song, the two ballads of the condemned man, magnificent coloraturas, a dreamy madrigal etc.). Story   An executioner in love, a jester whose jests are unappreciated, a condemned man who escapes; self-sacrifice, deceit, unanswered love and blackmail - such are the ingredients of this unique opera. Costumes   Sixteenth-century costumes, beef-eaters' uniforms (at least twelve, for four-part male chorus).