Customer Reviews

Gilbert & Sullivan:The Mikado; The Yeomen of the Guard

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

 

 

This recording is, unlike Amazon's link to the CD Format version suggests, not the 1950 Martyn Green recording with Isidore Godfrey conducting. This is the Godfrey's 1957 D'Oyly Carte recording in all its splendor -- well, not ALL its splendor, as this MP3 download comes only in acceptable Mono, whereas the original recording was made in full-fledged Stereo.

The cast is wonderful in every way:

The Mikado - Donald Adams (his first recording in a major role, and a very fine one)
Nanki-Poo - Thomas Round (a excellent tenor who incidentally just celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary)
Ko-Ko - Peter Pratt (Martyn Green's forgotten, underrated successor)
Pooh-Bah - Kenneth Sandford (much fresher than in his 1973 traversal of the same role)
Pish-Tush - Alan Styler (I love Alan Styler's voice; it's unique in the best sense)
Go-To - Owen Grundy
Yum-Yum - Jean Hindmarsh (lovely voice and quite comfortable in "The sun whose rays")
Pitti-Sing - Beryl Dixon (a characterful singer at her best here, even though she never played P-S on stage)
Peep-Bo - Jennifer Toye
Katisha - Ann Drummond-Grant (plays a very human Katisha, one of her few recordings in a role she played on stage)

"Peter Pratt as Ko-Ko?" You may say, "But I want John Reed!" Go ahead, buy the dreadful 1973 recording if you really want to. But for a fraction of the cost, this recording is available as a much more pleasant recollection of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Companies abilities. Peter Pratt won't have the universal appeal that John Reed had in the patter roles, but I rather like his Ko-Ko. Godfrey gives him the quickest tempo I've heard for the List Song, and it works very well indeed.

Donald Adams is an excellent Mikado -- a pity there is a transfer error in the second verse of his song. Thomas Round is amazing-wonderful-perfect as Nanki-Poo. His contribution to "Were you not to Ko-Ko plighted" is the best I've heard (and I own five complete Mikados, and have heard three others through my library). He is matched well by Jean Hindmarsh's Yum-Yum.

The only annoyance comes from the mono recording quality, which crackles at climaxes (particularly the end of Act 1) and just sounds dated. But what a performance! Unless you're willing to sniff out the expensive Sounds on CD release, this is probably the best transfer you're going to get for some time. It is worth noting that Decca put out a highlights disc of this recording in the original Stereo (a pity it only lasts for 49 minutes including the 8-minute overture!).

Point is, this recording is an amazing deal -- what are you waiting for?

This is the absolutely first class 1957 performance of The Mikado, at a bargain price. It's got all the music including the Overture, but omits the spoken parts. The performance gets 5 stars, but the recording quality only 3 stars. (Averages out to 4 stars.) This is the mono recording of this wonderful performance, and aside from being mono, it has some background noise that's apparent during quiet passages. Nevertheless, this is an entirely enjoyable listening experience.

Another reviewer mentioned the Sounds on CD release -- yes, it's the brilliant stereo Decca recording of the same performance with superb sound quality, even measured by today's standards. I happily paid an expensive price for it after falling in love with the performance on this mono recording.

Amazon also has numerous other performances of The Mikado as downloads. This one is a terrific performance, but you should check out these alternatives especially if you're looking for a recording in stereo.

-- how can you possibly go wrong? I don't know the technical stuff like the previous reviewer, but in terms of wonderful, wonderful songs per penny it's gotta be the best deal on the web.

I knew it was too good to be true when I saw a download of my favorite performance of The Mikado for $1.97(US) but since I have never seen a CD of this one (and my turntable is getting old) I thought I would try it. Previous reviews mention that this is a monaural recording. According to the London discography, the only monaural recording released of this performance was in 1958 on an LP. I suspected I was listening to a record someone had played into his computer when I heard a little surface noise, but I became convinced when I heard the needle skip, twice, in act 2 toward the end of the Mikado's solo. Now, I know what you're thinking: What is this guy complaining about? It didn't even cost 2 dollars. That's correct, it didn't inflict any financial hardship at all on me, and I got to listen to The Mikado again so there is not much downside, but I like to know what I'm buying, even if it only costs a couple dollars.

I still will give a three star rating because the performance is wonderful.

This is the best recording of the Mikado I have owned, far better than the later 1960's D'oyly Carte London/Decca version. The original stereo sound was London FFSS and sounded wonderful. However, the endings of Act 1 and 2 did have shattering from being recorded to loud and close the microphones. I always thought this was an LP problem, but apparently it's on the original recording. This download is in mono which does nothing to enhance the performance.