Customer Reviews

The Complete Gilbert & Sullivan: Librettos from All Fourteen Operettas (Complete & Unabridged)

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If you are a Savoyard, or even if you know what that means, this jumbo collection is one you will treasure. With a preface by esteemed music critic, Deems Taylor, and illustrations by W. S. Gilbert himself, the complete librettos from all fourteen Gilbert & Sullivan operettas is the perfect companion at a great low price. You'll find yourself humming the Arthur Sullivan melodies as you read "I polished up the handles so carefully," "Let the punishment fit the crime," and "I'm called little Buttercup, Sweet little Buttercup." In one attractive volume are the complete and unabridged texts of "The Mikado," "The Pirates of Penzance, "H.M.S Pinafore," and the eleven other operettas that set a world standard for intelligent musical theatre.

When I compare this edition of the libretto to the Ian Bradley edition of the collected librettos (Oxford), I find that this has more weak points compared to the Bradley book. Of course, both books suffer from inaccuracies in the libretto, but here is a more serious case. Also, the print of the book is a little bit hard to read, because of its age from many years ago. The Bradley book seems to be easier. Yet even despite these shortcomings I am happy to know that you can still sing along to ANY G&S song in here, or find your favourite passage, be it from MIKADO, PIRATES or PINAFORE, or any other opera. But this book still has two advantages to it - containg the librettist's drawings, and its cheaper price compared to the Bradley book. As well as the libretto for the never-before-heard THESPIS opera. Overall, while I am prepared to recommend this to the true Savoyard, I am not really prepared to recommend this to a beginner, except those who cannot afford to spend more money on the Bradley book. Still, this edition is an easy one with which you can live.

I was introduced to G&S by my sixth-grade teacher, mr Miller, who was more interested in music than teaching, and later came to a bad end. I did not, but survived to read the complete libretti (not "librettos"). Gilbertian humour suited my taste, and Sullivan's music was delightful. I used to listen to recordings. There was a time when I could sing from memory a number of the songs, such as "The Duke of Plaza Toro."

THE USED BOOK ARRIVED ON TIME IN GOOD CONDITION EXCEPT THAT IT HAD ONCE BEEN VERY WET AND ALL PAGES WERE LIGHTLY STUCK TOGETHER AND RUMMPLED. AFTER SEPERATION OF PAGES ITS OK.

FRED