Product Details

• Actors: Maureen Forrester, Eric Donkin, Marie Baron, Paul Massel, Katharina Megli
• Writers: Jim Betts, John Banks, William S. Gilbert
• Producers: James Guthro
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Acorn Media
• VHS Release Date: February 8, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1569382514
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,920 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From a 1984 performance (live, but with many voices dubbed) at Canada's Stratford Festival comes this version of Iolanthe, the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta in which the residents of Fairyland confront the House of Lords. A work in its authors' most whimsical vein, Iolanthe combines satire with fantasy, acid humor with voluptuous melodies, in the improbable way that G&S could pull off so skillfully.

Stratford's production places the story within a frame--a 19th-century theater company's performance of Iolanthe. The device doesn't serve much purpose, except to imply the director's uncertainty that audiences can swallow this material without mediation. That anxiety shows in the production's overwrought style. The performers try hard, though: The distinguished contralto Maureen Forrester, while not exactly funny as the Queen of the Fairies, is as game as can be, letting herself be flown in on a swing and dressed up as the god Mars. As the Lord Chancellor, Eric Donkin is amusing but restrained, perhaps laboring to keep up with the ferocious lyrics he has to get through.

Productions of Gilbert and Sullivan these days often include rewritten lyrics and dialogue; this one is loaded with them. The extent of the updating will alarm some viewers, but it's wholly in the spirit of the piece, since Gilbert's script is full of topical allusions that he wouldn't have expected to be meaningful more than a century later. Many of his political asides have, of course, been replaced with Canada-specific references, which will be of only limited value to non-Canadians. --David Olivenbaum

From the Back Cover

The highly acclaimed Stratford Festival gives Iolanthe - the 1882 comic opera that was considered a scathing contemporary satire caricaturing the leading political figures of its day - a refreshing update. The story involves a band of fairies that become enmeshed with the House of Lords in an effort to unite the half-fairy, half-mortal son of Iolanthe with his true love. The production, which was a runaway hit when originally performed, features world-renowned contralto Maureen Forrester as the Queen of the Fairies. Enchanting sets unfold with the magic of children's pop-up books and imaginative choreography lends to the witty, high-stepping good fun.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what Gilbert had in mind, May 4, 1999

By 

F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - Iolanthe [VHS] (VHS Tape)

First of all, so many of the lyrics have been reworded that one can scarcely call this a Gilbert and Sullivan at all! Sullivan, yes; Gilbert,no. For some reason, the director has decided to use a framing device: a fairly inept troupe is putting on a production of "Iolanthe." This works to the extent of a few mild laughs but the whole concept ruins the beauty of the work and detracts from the intended satire. Now and then, as in the Act I finale, Sullivan's music is distorted into something entirely at odds with his score: in this case, a minstrel-show beat for no particular reason. So while this is a visually pleasing venture, it is not what the box advertizes. Caveat emptor, you know.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Much Sullivan and less Gilbert, March 16, 2003

By 

R. L. Wexelblat (Merion Station, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - Iolanthe [VHS] (VHS Tape)

While I agree for the most part with the other review, I'll add that the G&S purist will be very disappointed by the arbitrary changes and additions to Sullivan's contribution and very, very disappointed by the pretty much irrelevant local references and such arbitrary re-wordings (e.g. to allow a needless change of "five and twenty" to "twenty five". If you really, really like G&S, give this recording a pass.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stratford demonstrates zero respect for beautiful theater, January 17, 2003

By 

Jonathan Ichikawa "cool dude" (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - Iolanthe / Forrester, Donkin, Stratford Festival (DVD)

In 1882, W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan introduced a beautiful opera at the Savoy theater. Iolanthe was at once human and funny, moving and satirical. Unfortunately, this Stratford production seems to have latched onto the phrase "comic opera" and decided that drama and acting are insignificant, and that each scene -- in some cases, each line -- should be considered in a vacuum to maximize comic effect. The result is a series of scenes that betray characters as massively inconsistent and unbelievable, and a show that is much less than the sum of its parts.

I don't generally mind rewrites in cases where the original lyrics would be unintelligible; I think it's perfectly reasonable to write "Captain Shaw" or "Ovidius Naso" out of Iolanthe. But to a modern American audience, many of the dated political jokes are no better understood.

All told, the musical changes, the lyric changes, and especially the (lack of nuanced) acting indicates a complete disrespect for the original product, and makes one wonder why Stratford is (at least nominally) doing G&S at all.