[amazon text=Amazon&cat=local&last=5&wishlist_type=Similar]Fans of Gilbert and Sullivan immediately get Gilbert’s sense of humor and wordplay. He was famous for his wit. But when it came to the music, Sullivan was every bit as elegant a humorist. Throughout his collaboration with Gilbert, Sullivan added touches of musical humor to their operas – references which Victorian audiences might have picked up on quicker than we do today. It’s not that recognizing musical references is some kind of lost art; it just depends on how familiar we are with the music that’s being quoted.  Today, we understand allusions to recent songs and musical styles. For instance, many of us would catch the reference to…