While it is difficult to rank these, as I think just about every one is a masterpiece, here is my order of preference. This is not to say that I think that HMS Pinafore is in any way a bad work, since it is a masterpiece. Only that I would rather listen to something higher up on the list. If anyone must know, I think that it feels too "music hall" like to be a genuine light opera, and perhaps a bit too silly. One can't relax into HMS Pinafore like on can with the top ranked ones. The same would be true of the Sorcerer if it weren't for the revisions made to the Act I finale and Act II opening.
The first five I would probably hold as about equal in their virtues, but the Gondoliers is musically the most satisfying. Once again, each rating is so close as to almost make no difference in my mind. The only surprises here, for G&S aficionados, may be my rankings for The Grand Duke and Utopia Limited. I happen to love the Austrian Waltz feel to The Grand Duke, and while I love all the songs in Utopia Limited, some of the music is not quite as satisfying, and while every plot has its holes, Utopia Limited has an extremely unsatisfying unresolved plotline.
Patience is fantastic, but it's just not to my tastes, there are only a few songs from the work that I can truly say I enjoy.
- The Gondoliers (1890)
- Princess Ida (1884)
- The Yeoman of the Guard (1888)
- The Pirates of Penzance (1880)
- The Mikado (1885)
- The Sorcerer (1877)
- Ruddigore (1887)
- Iolanthe (1883)
- The Grand Duke (1896)
- Trial by Jury (1875)
- Utopia Limited (1893)
- Patience (1881)
- HMS Pinafore (1878)
