:55:00
- How, pray?
- By simply writing another libretto.
:55:07
It's out of the question. I have worked
for many long months at this play...
:55:11
...which I have every confidence will be
the best we have produced at the Savoy.
:55:16
To abandon it would be
both criminal and wasteful.
:55:18
I see.
:55:20
Had the complaint been lodged earlier,
that might have been different.
:55:23
I did so when you presented the libretto.
:55:26
I was unable to present you
with the libretto...
:55:28
...until you returned from your grand tour!
:55:31
- That is neither here nor there.
- No, Sullivan. Indeed.
:55:34
I was here and you were there. Ha!
:55:37
What I don't understand, Arthur...
:55:39
...is why you cannot set this piece.
:55:41
You're our greatest composer.
Surely you can do anything?
:55:44
How very kind you are, Helen.
:55:46
But I say again to you all,
I am at the end of my tether.
:55:49
I have been repeating myself in this...
class of work for too long...
:55:53
...and I will not continue so to do.
:55:56
Neither of us runs any risk
of repeating himself.
:55:59
This is an entirely new story,
quite unlike any other.
:56:02
It's markedly similar to "The Sorcerer".
:56:04
People say we're repeating ourselves.
:56:07
How is it similar to "The Sorcerer"?
:56:09
Obviously both involve characters...
:56:11
...who are transformed
by the taking of a magic potion.
:56:14
A device which I continue to find
utterly contrived.
:56:17
Every theatrical performance is
a contrivance by its very nature.
:56:20
Yes, but this piece consists entirely
of an artificial and implausible situation.
:56:26
If you wish to write a grand opera
about a prostitute...
:56:30
...dying of consumption in a garret...
:56:32
...I suggest you contact Mr lbsen in Oslo.
:56:35
I'm sure he can furnish you
with something suitably dull.
:56:38
- Gilbert, please.
- Hmm?
:56:41
I do beg your pardon, Miss Lenoir.
:56:43
Oh, no. Granted.
:56:44
The opportunity to treat a situation
of tender, human and dramatic interest...
:56:49
...is one I long for
more than anything else in the world.
:56:52
If that is your sincere desire, I would
be willing, with Carte's permission...
:56:56
...to withdraw my services
whilst you write a grand opera...
:56:59
...with a collaborator
with whom you have more affinity.