Customer Reviews

Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado; The Sorcerer

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sir Henry Lytton joined the D'Oyly Carte company with his wife as a chorus member in the original production of Princess Ida. In Ruddigore he skyrocketted to the top two weeks after the opening to take the part of Robin Oakapple when Grossmith fell sick. There can be no question that when we listen to him and his companions on this recording that we are hearing the style that Gilbert and Sullivan invented and wanted. It's one of the great losses to history that Lytton recorded only four G&S roles. But what we have shows how spontaneous and deeply charactered performances were earlier in the last century. True, musical values were often sacrificed to dramatic and comic ones, but if you want the spirit of G & S as it was originally conceived, you'll find more of it here than on any recording in stereo. This is true of George Baker in The Sorcerer as well. He's at the opposite extreme interpretively from Lytton, but, though he was never a member of the company he knew the style very well, and had one of the longest recording careers in history, ranging from accoustical recordings to stereo. Melt Lytton and Baker together and take off the scum and the G&S style is the residuum.

The 1926 Mikado is, historically, one of the most important records to G&S history. This was the first electrical Savoyard recording, and features several people personally familiar with the authors and thier designs on their most popular opera. The chorus is very clean, with better balance than on many modern recordings. The principal singing is terrific, from Elsie Griffin's sweet and capable Yum-Yum to Darrell Fancourt, inventor of the Mikado's blood-curdling laughs in "My Object All Sublime". Bertha Lewis is a mighty powerful Katasha, and Leo Sheffield's effortlessly condescending Pooh-Bah proves a worthy successor to Rutland Barrington, the original. (Both Lewis and Sheffield, incidentally, had joined the D'Oyly Carte Company early enough in the century to have learned their parts from Gilbert himself.) But the undeniable star is the Ko-Ko of Sir Henry Lytton, the last remaining Savoyard who worked under both authors. Though already about sixty, his wit and nuance are still apparent - and wonderful. The recording was directed and supervised by the hand-picked successors to Gilbert and D'Oyly Carte, and every effort was made to preserve the authors' original intentions, making this the closest to what Gilbert and Sullivan had in mind as we're likely to get. The accompanying Sorcerer Highlights - the complete score not recorded until the fifties - makes a nice companion piece, showing how underrated an opera it really is. Pearl's restoration is clean, brilliant, and gives minimal record-crackle. Don't fear this record because of it's age - the perfomance, like the opera is timeless.

You might wish to know that the Sorcerer part of this set is an abridged version and not the complete score. Do you agree that some mention should be made of this fact along with the price and so on?

A brilliant performance not only from the pre-stereo era, but of all time. For those who really cannot abide CDs transferred from 78s, then I would recommend Mackerras' recording with the Welsh National Opera but for sheer brio, this has a class all of its own. Bertha Lewis' performance of Katisha is not only an object lesson in clarity of diction but a superb testiment to one of the great contralto voices of the twentieth century who is sadly overlooked as she specialised only in this repertoire. Nevertheless her performance can strongly be recommended to classical vocal students for showing how 'light' music can be executed with great vocal quality. Leo Sheffield, incredibly light-toned as Pooh Bah, gives a rendition brimming with humour (what musical liberties he gets away with!). It's not hard to understand why HMV dispensed with the services of Henry Lytton in favour of George Baker as it is definately not a pretty sound, but stick with it as Lytton's artistry does shine through. Baker has his moment as Pish Tush and is a splendid Wellington Wells in the accompanying Sorcerer. Harry Norris as the maestro starts the proceedings in a somewhat stately manner but by a quarter of the way in, things are moving along nicely. The recording is accompanied by a shortened Sorcerer which manages to give much of the piece in the remainder of the second CD and is a thoroughly enjoyable performance. Once you can open your ears and bypass Pearl's "frying tonight" sound quality, an extremely delightful experience awaits!

I grant his recording 5 stars in spite of myself. As an ardent Savoyard I had to have this item for my collection. I have never been a big fan of Henry Lytton's voice. I am sometimes truly shocked at his complete lack of musicality. That said,I do prefer him to the mannered stylings of John Reed. Lytton's Ko-Ko charmed me from beginning to end. Leo Sheffield's Pooh-Bah has never been equalled, as this recording will attest. His cadenza during the Act I finale is a highlight. Bertha Lewis' Katisha is worth the price of the CD alone. She truly was a remarkable talent. The D'Oyly Carte never quite managed to fill the void left by her passing. As regards the pops and hisses on the recording all I can say is: This is a seventy five year old recording. What did you expect? Consider yourselves lucky that this has been rescued for posterity.

I listened to Mikado last night (Sorcerer excerpts still to come) and was absolutely enthralled by the performance! I know and possess virtually every recording of the opera, but -on the whole- this one is way above every other. Any reservations I have with Lytton (humour a bit "contrived"? - I prefer Martyn Greene) and Sheffield (although a great character, he just can't sing!) are swept away by the sheer verve and theatricality of the whole thing. Much of the success has to lie with the conducting of Harry Norris; great stuff and a world away from the often routine Isidore Godfrey. Sound, despite frying-pan crackles, is very acceptable and Pearl have done a magnificent restoration job, so audiophiles should stop moaning and be grateful. Whatever the price, just buy this!
P.S. Guess what I'm going to listen to tonight?

THE MIKADO is likely Gilbert and Sullivan's best loved operetta and it's heard here in a splendid recording. True, there is some surface noise, as this was originally released as a set of 78 rpm records, but the sound is sharp and clear and the surface noise doesn't distract. Best of all, this 1926 recording preserves superb musical performances by many members of the D'Oyly Carte Company (With one ad-libbed exception, there is no spoken dialogue). Henry Lytton (Koko), Leo Sheffield (Pooh Bah), and others (before or behind the microphones) had the good fortune to work with Gilbert and/or Sullivan, so we can assume the performances are generally faithful to the Savoy tradition. Also included is an abreviated 1933 recording of THE SORCERER. It's also an excellent recording, but only a few D'Oyly Carte principals appear. The comic lead of John Wellington Wells is taken by George Baker, a singer who was never a member of the DOC, but gives a performance worthy of any Savoyard (In the MIKADO section, he sings the role of Pish Tush). After hearing this "highlights" version of THE SORCERER, you may well wonder why it isn't staged more often.

This recording may be important historically. Only buy this CD if you are a diehard history buff of Gilbert and Sullivan and enjoy listening to cylinders or 78's. The hiss and pops are dominant and cannot be ignored. Save your nerves, ears and money and buy a more recent recording.