A sacred musical drama from the poem by Dean Millman
Edited by W S Gilbert

Composed by Arthur Sullivan

The Martyr of Antioch was staged as an opera in the late 1890s, and was toured by Carl Rosa, never by D’Oyly Carte. It never played at the Savoy Theatre, IT IS THEREFORE, NOT OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED AS ONE OF THE ‘SAVOY OPERAS.’

An Oratorio which was first performed at the Triennial Leeds Music Festival on 15th October 1880

A brief synopsis:

The Martyr of Antioch is based on the 1822 epic poem by Henry Hart Milman (the Dean of St. Paul’s) concerning the martyrdom of St. Margaret of Antioch in the 3rd century.

The libretto was adapted for the occasion by Sullivan’s
friend and collaborator, the librettist W. S. Gilbert. Their fifth opera, The Pirates of Penzance, had premièred in London earlier that year.