Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / ENO · Robison [Highlights]

Arthur Sullivan (Artist), W.S. Gilbert (Artist), Peter Robinson (Artist), Eric Idle (Artist), Lesley Garrett (Artist), English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Artist), Richard Angas (Artist), Bonaventure Bottone (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jay Records
• ASIN: B00000J7XS
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,246 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. If You Want to Know Who We Are [Gentlemen's Chorus]

2. A Wand'ring Minstrel [Nanki-Poo, Gentlemen's Chorus]

3. Our Great Mikado [Pish-Tush, Gentlemen's Chorus]

4. Young Man Despair [Pooh-Bah, Nanki-Poo, Pish Tush]

5. Behold the Lord High Executioner [Gentlemen's Chorus]

6. I've Got a Little List

7. Comes a Train of Little Ladies [Ladies Chorus]

8. Three Little Maids [Yum-Yum, Peep-Bo, Pitti-Sing, Pooh-Bah, Pish-Tush]

9. So Please You Sir [Yum-Yum, Peep-Bo, Pitti-Sing, Pooh-Bah, Pish-Tush,]

10. Were You Not to Ko-Ko Plighted [Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo]

11. Finale, Act 1-The Threatened Cloud Has Passed Away [Katisha, Company]

12. Braid the Raven Hair [Pitti-Sing, Ladies' Chorus]

13. The Sun, Whose Rays [Yum-Yum]

14. Here's a How-De-Do [Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo, Ko-Ko]

15. A More Humane Mikado [The Mikado Company]

16. The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring [Nanki-Poo, Ko-Ko-, Yum-Yum, Pitti-Si]

17. Alone, and Yet Alive [Katisha]

18. On a Tree by a River ('Tit Willow')

19. There Is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast [Katisha, Ko-Ko]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Innocent merriment indeed., July 2, 2006

By 

illusion "Erin" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / ENO · Robison [Highlights] (Audio CD)

This is actually a wonderful recording. Its only drawback is that it isn't a complete recording. This cast's performance of "Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day" was strikingly beautiful, and I would've liked to have it on this recording. Also, "I Am So Proud" is mysteriously absent, which was upsetting because Richard Van Allan is absolutely stunning when he performs this. One more song that is MIA is "The Criminal Cried," which this cast also performed to perfection.

Bonaventura Bottone is a superb Nanki-Poo. He has a lovely, smooth voice and is extremely entertaining to listen to. His performance on "A Wand'ring Minstrel I" is flawless (especially at "but if patriotic sentiment is wanted..."), and he is generally a very good performer. He even manages to sing louder than the deafening Lesley Garrett sometimes. And I LOVE his accent.

You might not have expected Eric Idle to make a very good Ko-Ko. He isn't exactly famous for his singing voice, and this recording kind of shows why. His range seems to be about one octave. However, he is stunning in this performance. His diction is absolutely perfect, and his voice is generally very charming. The role of Ko-Ko is traditionally given to a comic actor who has a passable singing voice, so it makes sense for Idle to take this part. His voice could've been more refined, but I think he's wonderful.

Lesley Garrett is wonderful as Yum-Yum. She has a slightly shrill, very pretty voice that fits her role quite well. Her "The Sun, Whose Rays" is flawless. However, she tends to stand out when she sings with a group. Her voice is always far louder than everyone else's, and while I really like her, I would prefer to be able to hear the entire ensemble instead of just Lesley.

Jean Rigby really is a great Pitti-Sing; she's far superior to Ethna Robinson, who sings on the DVD that this cast put out. She has a very full, operatic voice. Susan Bullock is equally good as Peep-Bo, but there isn't really much to say about her, asthe role doesn't allow her to show off very much.

I can't even begin to praise Richard Van Allan's interpretation of Pooh-Bah. He has such a handsome, deep voice and a very charming accent. His performance on the live DVD was far more entertaining simply because of the live aspect of it, but he is still wonderful here.

Mark Richardson is a very good Pish-Tush. It's difficult for a performer to give such identity to a character who only has two real solos, but Richardson succeeds admirably. His "Our Great Mikado, Virtuous Man" is very amusing, and his fake laughter is convincing.

Felicity Palmer is exquisite, that's all I can say. First off, she has an amazing range--she can hit pretty much any note. The role of Katisha is hard to really nail, but Palmer pulls it off with a flourish. I was particularly struck by the full, menacing quality in her voice. Her best performance is during the finale of Act I, particularly when she gets to "pink cheek, that rulest where wisdom serves." She's amazing, and she and Eric Idle play off each other wonderfully. If you're a Palmer fan already, you'll want to check out this recording as opposed to the Welsh National Opera CD she sang for. At the time this CD was recorded, she was in her prime, but when she did the WNO performance, she had aged a bit and lost some of her energy.

Richard Angas is a lovely Mikado. He has a very jolly air, a nice accent and a very animated way of singing. His performance on the DVD was slightly better, but he's still very good.

Overall, this is a slightly more perfected version of the DVD. It's a great recording, and worth a listen for G&S fans.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A one-CD version of "The Mikado" with bleeding hunks missing, November 8, 2007

By 

L. E. Cantrell (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / ENO · Robison [Highlights] (Audio CD)

The simple fact is that all the music of G&S's "The Mikado" cannot be squeezed onto a single, traditional CD.

This recording admittedly shoehorns in most of the score. Nevertheless, there are gaping omissions which are, to put the best possible face on it, misleading to the casual listener and acutely painful to a G&S fan. Among them are the missing overture, the trio, "I am so proud;" the madrigal, "Brightly dawns our wedding day" and the entrance of the Mikado with his Daughter-in-Law Elect treading right on his heels.

The performance is a perfectly competent one. If you want neither more nor less than a sound recording of this particular cast and you are indifferent to the disappearance of bleeding hunks, then this is the recording for you. If you want what is essentially this cast in the complete comic opera, than acquire the DVD; it's a very good and visually impressive performance.

If you want a single-CD sound recording of almost the complete show (sans overture, alas), that's available here on Amazon, too, with the Welsh National Opera Chorus--if memory serves--and soloists at the very least equal to those on this recording.

Otherwise, go for one of the two-disk versions. There are several available, dating from the first electronic recordings of about 1930 and reaching forward almost to the present day. All of them are good. A couple are superb.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I want more!, June 9, 2005

By 

K. E. Bonsell "Tolkien Fanatic" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / ENO · Robison [Highlights] (Audio CD)

I love the movie of the ENO Mikado, and I was slightly disappointed that this is not a live recording. I think the casting is perfect. The girls don't sound like they are over fifty which is unusual, but amazing. I love Pish-Tush in the movie, but he sang better there. The worst thing about this recording is that it does not have "To sit in solemn silence" on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was shocked. That is my favorite song, and I really want the recording of Idle, Van Allen, and Richardson singing it. They do the best job of it in my opinion. But, like I said, it isn't on the cd.

This is a studio recording, and in my opinion fairly lifeless. It is a big disappointment after the movie, but still worth getting if you are like me and really want to hear this cast singing.