Pygmalion and Galatea:
A Mythological Comedy in Three Acts

by W. S. Gilbert

William Schwenk Gilbert, known to most as the first half of comic opera team Gilbert and Sullivan, was, in many ways, one of the most influential men in English Theatre through the latter portion of the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth. The dialogue and the lyrics to the incidental songs in this early work suggest Gilbert's later writing with Sullivan. “Pygmalion and Galatea” opened December 9, 1871 at the Haymarket Theatre in London.

Gilbert used the Pygmalion story for this comedy in blank verse (not a musical). In this story the sculptor is a married man. His wife, Cynisca, at first encourages his interest in his statue, Galatea. Cynisca is away quite a bit and she doesn't want her husband to be bored. When the statue comes to life, however, matters become very complex. Under the fire of Cynisca's jealousy, Galatea decides that her original state was happier, and turns back into a statue.