Productions

In contrast to its predecessor, The Mikado, Ruddigore had a comparatively short original run of 288 performances. The provincial tour was very brief, closing by early June 1887. Gilbert designed the ladies' and principals' costumes himself, while C. Wilhelm created the Ancestors' costumes. The set was by Hawes Craven.^[62] Six portraits of the ancestors that appeared in Act II of the original London production have survived and are on display at Normansfield Hospital Entertainment Hall, southwest London.^[63] A production in New York with D'Oyly Carte personnel ran for 53 performances. The opera was not revived during Gilbert and Sullivan's lifetimes.
The first revival was in December 1920 in Glasgow, and the first London revival was the following year. The opera was cut and heavily revised, including a new overture and a new second-act finale. The revival was a success, and from that point on, Ruddigore was a permanent fixture in the D'Oyly Carte repertory. New costumes were designed by Percy Anderson in 1927.^[62] It was included in every season until the winter of 1940–41, when the scenery and costumes (along with those of three other operas) were destroyed in enemy action. In Australia, no authorised production of Ruddigore was seen until 23 June 1927, at the Theatre Royal, Adelaide, produced by the J. C. Williamson company. A new D'Oyly Carte production debuted on 1 November 1948, with new costumes and an Act II set designed by Peter Goffin.^[62] From then on, it was played in every season through 1976–77, aside from 1962–63 (a season that included a lengthy overseas tour). New touring sets were designed by Goffin in 1957.^[62] In the late 1970s, the Company started to play a reduced repertory. Ruddigore was included in the 1976–77 tour, then for five months in 1978–1979; and finally in 1981–82.
In 1987, the New Sadler's Wells Opera produced Ruddigore using a new edition of the text that restored many of the passages that prior productions had cut.^[64] Among recent professional productions, the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company has mounted the opera at the Buxton Opera House, and both Britain's Opera North and America's New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players mounted well-regarded stagings in 2010.^[65][66] Opera North revived its production in 2011^[67] and 2012.^[68]
The following table shows the history of the D'Oyly Carte productions in Gilbert's lifetime:

Theatre	Opening date	Closing date	Perfs.	Details
Savoy Theatre	22 January 1887	5 November 1887	288	First London run.
Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York	21 February 1887	9 April 1887	53	Authorised American production.

Historical casting

The following tables show the casts of the principal original productions and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company touring repertory at various times through to the company's 1982 closure:

Role	Savoy Theatre 1887[69]	Fifth Avenue 1887[70][71]	D'Oyly Carte 1920 Tour[72]	D'Oyly Carte 1930 Tour[73]	D'Oyly Carte 1939 Tour[74]
Robin Oakapple	George Grossmith	George Thorne	Henry Lytton	Henry Lytton	Martyn Green
Richard Dauntless	Durward Lely	Courtice Pounds	Derek Oldham	Charles Goulding	John Dean
Sir Despard	Rutland Barrington	Fred Billington	Leo Sheffield	Sydney Granville	Sydney Granville
Old Adam	Rudolph Lewis	Leo Kloss	Douglas Kirke	Leo Kloss	L. Radley Flynn
Sir Roderic	Richard Temple	Frederick Federici	Darrell Fancourt	Darrell Fancourt	Darrell Fancourt
Rose Maybud	Leonora Braham	Geraldine Ulmar	Sylvia Cecil	Sylvia Cecil	Margery Abbott
Mad Margaret	Jessie Bond	Kate Forster	Catherine Ferguson	Nellie Briercliffe	Marjorie Eyre
Dame Hannah	Rosina Brandram	Elsie Cameron	Bertha Lewis	Bertha Lewis	Evelyn Gardiner
Zorah	Josephine Findlay	Aida Jenoure	Marion Brignal	Sybil Gordon	Marjorie Flinn
Ruth	Miss Lindsay	Miss Murray[75]	Mary Athol	Murielle Barron	Maysie Dean

Role	D'Oyly Carte 1948 Tour[76]	D'Oyly Carte 1958 Tour[77]	D'Oyly Carte 1966 Tour[78]	D'Oyly Carte 1975 Tour[79]	D'Oyly Carte 1982 Tour[80]
Robin Oakapple	Martyn Green	Peter Pratt	John Reed	John Reed	Peter Lyon
Richard Dauntless	Leonard Osborn	Leonard Osborn	David Palmer	Meston Reid	Meston Reid
Sir Despard	Richard Watson	Kenneth Sandford	Kenneth Sandford	Kenneth Sandford	Kenneth Sandford
Old Adam	L. Radley Flynn	John Banks	George Cook	Jon Ellison	Michael Buchan
Sir Roderic	Darrell Fancourt	Donald Adams	Donald Adams	John Ayldon	John Ayldon
Rose Maybud	Margaret Mitchell	Jean Barrington	Ann Hood	Julia Goss	Jill Washington
Mad Margaret	Pauline Howard	Joyce Wright	Peggy Ann Jones	Judi Merri	Lorraine Daniels
Dame Hannah	Ella Halman	Ann Drummond-Grant	Christene Palmer	Lyndsie Holland	Patricia Leonard
Zorah	Muriel Harding	Mary Sansom	Jennifer Marks	Anne Egglestone	Jane Stanford
Ruth	Joyce Wright	Beryl Dixon	Pauline Wales	Marjorie Williams	Helene Witcombe