Customer Reviews

Gilbert & Sullivan - Operettas / Pro Arte Orchestra · Sir Malcolm Sargent

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The Duke of Plaza-Toro's instruction to the heirs to the throne of Barataria to preserve a demeanor "still sufficiently dignified" fits a criticism levelled at this series of Savoy Operas recorded under the direction of Sir Malcolm Sargent. Lacking dialogue, and using major British singers who never actually performed on stage in Gilbert and Sullivan, the presentation, especially of the first two of the series to appear, was considered too sedate. A great improvement was made when veteran singer George Baker was invited to participate in the remainder of the series. Although never a member of the D'Oyle Carte Opera company that regularly staged these works until 1961, he had featured in an earlier recorded series, also conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent, and could still in his 70s deliver the patter songs with inimitable clarity and snap. His work as the learned judge in "Trial By Jury" and Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd in "Ruddigore" is especially fine, making these two recordings top recommendations.

These recordings have been my preferred G & S listening ever since they first appeared. Sullivan's music deserves the attention of the major singers such as Richard Lewis in most of the leading tenor roles, and the Australian Elsie Morison in all the leading soprano roles. I prefer to reserve Gilbert's dialogue, not included in these recordings, for appreciating in live stage productions.

This boxed set must be the ultimate representation of the word "compact". It occupies no more than one quarter of the space on my shelves that the separate CD sets occupied. As with them, no librettos are provided. The CDs comprise exactly the same contents as before, providing here and there some additional Sullivan music as well as the nine operettas.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, as soon as the copyright on Gilbert's lyrics expired, EMI began to issue what could have been the complete series of Gilbert & Sullivan collaborations but never quite finished. Of the 14 operettas from "Thespis" to "The Grand Duke," only 9 found their way into the EMI series. In order of composition rather than recordings, they were "Trial by Jury," "HMS Pinafore," "The Pirates of Penzance," "Patience," "Iolanthe," "The Mikado," "Ruddigore," "The Yeomen of the Guard," and "The Gondoliers."

They are all played by the Pro Arte Orchestra under the baton of veteran G&S conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent (who conducted most of the RCA Victor/HMV electric recordings) and feature the soloists and chorus of the Glyndebourne Festival. The only voice familiar to devotees of the earlier recordings is that of George Baker, who had assumed most of the comic roles on many an acoustic and electric recording, although he himself had never appeared in any of those roles on a stage.

Once the days of the mono LP were over, the Decca (overseas) and London (over here) labels were busily issuing stereo versions with D'Oyly Carte casts while EMI was giving them stiff competition with their Glyndebourne people. While the D'Oyly Carte singers were not quite up to their rivals vocally, several of their recordings included the dialogue, which was a bane to some, a blessing to others. However, now that both companies have reissued their complete Gilbert & Sullivan sets in a budget format, you can judge for yourselves which is superior. But it is of the EMI set that I wish to comment here.

It comes in a box of 16 CDs, arranged in the order of composition, except for "Trial by Jury" which follows rather than precedes "Pinafore" as part of the same set. My only quarrel with the series as a whole is the lack of a good basso profundo, especially for the role of Pooh-Bah. Using opera star Geraint Evans as Ko-Ko, Jack Point, and the Duke of Plaza-Toro was not a good idea, since he does not have that lightness of voice and sparkle the roles require. But George Baker takes over in the other comic leads; and it is difficult to believe that this man had made a "Mikado" recording back in 1917 and was still going strong. Oh, of course, now and then the patter songs take their toll. But Baker is a G&S legend and I am one of the thousands who love him.

The leading tenor (in 7 of the 9 recordings) is Richard Lewis, whose voice may not be as characterful as some of the D'Oyly Carte tenors of old but is beautiful to hear. The leading soprano is Elsie Morison, who can tackle the coloratura of Josephine ("Pinafore") and Mabel ("Pirates") with no trouble. Sounding a little too mature, perhaps, for some of the other roles, her vocalizing more than makes up for it. Now remember that most of these singers have long operatic backgrounds and approach Sullivan's music in that mode.

When the EMI LPs were transferred to CDs, the extra time each disc could carry called for several "fillers" or what is now called "bonus" tracks. So as an added inducement to purchase this set, you will also hear Sullivan's symphonic alone in his overtures to three of the works not included, "Overture in C," "Symphony in E," "Overture di Ballo," incidental music to "The Tempest" and to "The Merchant of Venice," and the "Cello Concerto in D." They are taken from more recent recordings with different orchestras and conductors.

The booklet gives all the casts and tracking, along with synopses cued to the tracks. However, newcomers are advised to find a good edition of the plays so they can follow the words and perhaps pause between songs to read the equally clever dialogue as a group entertainment.

So even if you own other recordings of these immensely popular works, I am sure you will enjoy this EMI set very much indeed. And yes, some of the sets are still available separately in their individual jewel cases.

Actually, its not! But it is a complete edition of the last recordings he ever made of the operettas in question.

The evidence of pre-war Sargent recordings (for instance his earlier "Princess Ida") shows that when he was a little younger he appoached these works with vigour and a stong sense of musical humour. As he mellowed (or got older, anyway) his interpretation of G&S definitely became more personal and reverent (or, if you like, slower). Whether you like this or not is absolutely a matter of taste. There are times when those of us more used to other productions may find a mellow geniality in the music rather than the razor sharp wit we are used to. On balance it has to be said that Sullivan comes off better than Gilbert when you slow things down a bit.

My own personal opinion is that if you only want one performance of each operetta I would look elsewhere. If you love G&S enough to want several recordings of each one - then get these - if only to enjoy a "different" slant on the music.

I give this set somewhat mixed reviews. On the positive side, it is a great value, is well-recorded (especially given that some of the recordings go back to the 50s) , and includes come unusual orchestral works, in addition to 9 operettas. On the negative side, I just don't think these are the best performances of the operettas, in that Sargent really does adopt tempos that often just too slow and the singers sometimes sound just a bit too serious for the roles. My favorite G&S are the recent Telarc performances (Pirates, Pinafore, Mikado, Trial by Jury, and Yeoman) -- great sound, fine singing, and very lively performances.

More years ago than I care to remember I purchased Sir Malcolm Sargent's recording of H.M.S. Pinafore and it sold me on Gilbert and Sullivan. Considering its age the sound on this collection has held up wonderfully well and is actually far better than I remember my old LPs sounding. The cast and performances for these works is consistently excellent. Although the set doesn't provide librettos, that's a minor complaint since they can be downloaded at several sites on the web. All in all, this set is a major bargain at the price.

Although I have enjoyed this gargantuan set beyond all measure and enthusiastically recommend it for its musical charms, the prospective purchaser should be aware of two potential problems: no dialogue and, more importantly, no librettos. The latter deficiency may be determinative for those persons considering purchasing this set. (And before someone castigates my favorable opinion of the performances, I am well aware of the entirely different D'Oly Carte productions on Decca and enjoy them as well.)

This may not be a complete discography of their works, but what a pleasure it is to have. Forget about the librettos, since they're public domain and can be easily found on the web. By the time you've finished listening to a few of these masterpieces, wonderfully conducted by Malcolm Sargent, you'll be like me; whistling and humming 'till you drop over with euphoria. Enjoy it!

This boxset is really a gem for Gilber & Sullivan fans and all operetta lovers. I am not going to add more good words on its excellent performance and nice recording, 'cos it has already got enough of them.
I am not complaining about the price of Amazon, but I purchased this boxset in Hong Kong at an extremely attractive price of HK$218, ie US$28. This price is not only for this boxset, but for all EMI boxsets with the same packing, no matter how many CDs are in one box (from 6pcs to 16pcs). I can't understand how this astounding price gap comes into being. Maybe Amazon should contact EMI for a better promotional price.

This is an excellent purchase if you either want an almost complete collection of the G & S operetta, or if you want a listening alternative to the D'Oyle Carte productions. The only important operetta not included is Princess Ida, though its Oveture is included. The Sorceror is represented only by the Overture as well, while The Grand Duke and Utopia Limited are omitted. The conducting is vigourous but consertive, and the singing crisp and articulate. None of the dialogue is included, but several orchestral pieces by Sullivan are. It is a 16 CD set bargain priced and compactly packaged.

The Saint highly recommends this set of CDs.

Very special to finally be able to obtain a complete G & S
Collection by one (if not the best) of the outstanding
production companies of G & S Operettas - a pleasure to own
and enjoy - a fine recording by outstanding artists.