Purple silk programme with black typography mounted on cream cardboard. Gilbert and Sullivan, keen to follow the success of H.M.S. Pinafore, presented The Pirates of Penzance in both England and America at the same time. Its New York premiere for which this programme was produced, was conducted by Arthur Sullivan himself. To protect the British copyright of the work, the production was staged the day before at the Royal Bijou Theatre, Paignton, England and was eventually run at the Opera Comique in London for 363 performances. The Fifth Avenue Theatre was built in 1868 and was demolished in 1939. The theatre was well-known for hosting the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, premiering H. M. S. Pinafore as well as The Pirates of Penzance under the manager and lessee John T. Ford. Silk programme for The Pirates of Penzance, Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York, 1879