Cut Song: After the opening night, Sullivan left for France and Gilbert took the opportunity to cut "Come, bumpers," "Take my advice when deep in debt" and "Well, you're a pretty kind of fellow," as well as sections of several other numbers, but Sullivan apparently disagreed and retained all of them in the vocal score. There is a consensus that The Grand Duke is too long, but no consensus on what to cut.note Frequent candidates include "Pretty Lisa, fair and tasty", the middle of "How would I play that part", "Strange the views some people hold", a verse's worth of lines from "As o'er our penny roll we sing", "When you find you're a broken-down critter", "Ah, pity me, my comrades true", "At the outset I may mention", "Now Julia, come", "Come, bumpers", "Take my advice when deep in debt", and "Well, you're a pretty kind of fellow", none of which do much to further the plot or characterisation (although, as both "Strange the views some people hold" and "Well, you're a pretty kind of fellow" are quoted in the Medley Overture, cutting them turns the quotes into Orphaned References). "If the light of love's lingering ember", Ernest and Julia's duet from Act II, is sometimes swapped out for "With wily brain upon the spot" from Utopia, Limited, re-framed as a trio for Ernest, Rudolph, and the Notary as they plot to undo Ludwig's renewal of the statutory duel law.
