The Royal Command staging of The Mikado was the first theatrical performance at Balmoral Castle. Although the D'Oyly Carte Company (in the midst of a tour of Scotland) was currently rehearsing The Gondoliers, Queen Victoria had already seen the opera at Windsor Castle a few months earlier. The company faced several logistical difficulties in performing at Balmoral, travelling from Aberdeen to Ballater and rehearsing on the small ballroom stage before the performance at 9:30pm. After a midnight supper, the company travelled back to Aberdeen at 3:00am for two performances of The Gondoliers the following day. Cream silk fringed programme, with metal thread braiding and two pom-poms. The programme is mounted on cream cardboard. Silk programme for The Mikado, Balmoral Castle, 1891