Customer Reviews

Gilbert & Sullivan - Ruddigore / Michell, Price, Trevelyan, Opera World

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As a veteran of a wonderful college production of RUDDIGORE (I was one of the ghosts in the portraits, and one of the "bucks and blades" in Act I), I think the previous reviewers are all wrong.

While some of the productions in this series show serious miscasting (e.g. Joel Grey attempting Jack Point in YEOMEN), this one makes a success of the difficult business of mixing operatic singers with singing actors. Mezzo-soprano Ann Howard's Mad Margaret would be enough to make this dvd worth owning; when she's partnered in the great "It Really Doesn't Matter" patter trio with singing-actor Keith Michell and non-singing-actor Vincent Price, the result is surprisingly smooth and completely delightful.

Michell and Price are totally charming in their portrayals, and it's a treat seeing John Treleaven, who is now a prominent Wagnerian tenor, in the oily role of Dick Dauntless. Donald Adams is a little under-powered as Sir Roderic, and the contralto who sings Dame Hannah is a better actress than singer; yet when they come together for the "Little Flower, Great Oak Tree" duet, the music carries them through it successfully.

The staging of the Ghost Scene is superb: not only do the ancestors emerge from paintings (we managed this effect on the live stage in college), but statues and suits of armor also come to life.

The production is full of semi-fantasy cutaways during the musical numbers; e.g. when Robin, Rose, and Dick sing "When Sailing O'er Life's Ocean Wide," suddenly they're in a skiff out on the ocean. Some viewers find this contrived, but it's arguably better for video purposes than simply filming a set of traditional D'Oyle Carte dance moves.

Why four stars rather than five? Only because of the (minor) cuts: the overture is severely curtailed, and Dick's "I Shipped D'Ye See in a Revenue Sloop" is omitted.

This is by far the best of the 1982 Brent Walker Gilbert & Sullivan series produced for world-wide television distribution. You may recall the late Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. narrating the series for American PBS. A spoof on British Gothic mellodrama, Gilbert wrote a typically clever book with some colorful characters, and Sullivan's music is very evocative of everything from sea songs, hornpipe dances, English madrigals, pastoral love songs, rousing choruses, sweet ballads and good old mustache-twirling mellerdrammer-type music. Although not considered a success by the author/composer in its day, Ruddigore still had a long, respectable run. The problem was it followed their great light opera The Mikado, a tough act to follow. Vincent Price is virtually type-cast here in the spooky role of Sir Despard Murgatroyd, and he plays it to the hilt. His singing is rudimentary, but, who cares? He's great in the part, and worth the price of the video alone. Keith Michel (PBS's Henry VIII in the early 1970's) is fine as Robin Oakapple, Sandra Dugdale a lovely Rose Maybud and we get to see the great Donald Adams of D'Oyly Carte fame do his stuff as Roderick Murgatroyd. There are some cuts, as this series was wont to do. The costumes are fantastic, the sets and special effects just right. This is also the only Ruddigore available, at this writing. Don't miss this one if you like period operetta or musical comedy. A winner!

I have mixed feelings about this film. On the positive side, it was kind of fun to see this send-up of hammer films, complete with Vincent Price (who surprisingly holds his own in the G&S environment). In this respect, it is an amusing halloween treat that I admittedly enjoy watching every October. On the negative side, like so many other incomplete films in this "complete G&S" series, several favorite songs are missing and some of the attempts at horrific humor fall very flat. The chorus was rather annoying to watch, and the ghosts tried to be funny instead of ghostly, which made them almost as annoying as the chorus. And yet for all of that, it is a highly enjoyable film to watch. The best scene? The opening of Act Two with the banter between Ruthven Murgatroyd and Old Adam.

Hmm, seems like a lot of Gilbert and Sullivan viewers are spoiled indeed. Is this a dazzling world-class production? Definitely not. Is it fun? Definitely! Not all of us have access to high quality stage productions, and it's not like we have a lot of choice in this arena.

One reviewer pointed out that the Beeb did some other G&S works much better than Ruddigore, which is great if you're looking for, y'know, other G&S works, but the point isn't supposed to be to compare this production of Ruddigore to the Mikado, but to compare it to other available productions of Ruddigore. And, well ... the pickings, they are slim. I would say this is definitely the best of a mediocre lot.

The flaws are numerous, that's true. The set is super low budget; the special effects ditto, obviously conceived and executed by someone whose idea of true graphic sophistication is probably clip art. But the costumes, orchestration, and singing are great, and the story shines through in a way that it simply can't on CD. For people who claim to love the music of G&S, a lot of them are sure getting hung up on cosmetic issues -- let go of the Type A for a while and enjoy this silly, broadly played, melodramatic story.

While this video is worrth seeing, and perhaps owning, so that you have a copy of Ruddigore (which is hard to find) in your Gilbert and Sullivan library; I couldn't help but feel that the production of this opera suffered from the low-budget video tricks used to make it feel like other than a stage production. This was clearly a made-for-TV special that only a true G&S fan could love.

There is also way too much shameless mugging and general hammery in the production; Vincent Price is the exception to this, as his acting performance is fine, although his singing voice would never get him into D'Oyly Carte.

Other than this, the singing performances are fine. The staging interferes with the performance; picture a college stage production set interspersed with video bits reminiscent of the worst British pop videos of the late 1970s, and you get the idea.

Do NOT be misled by some of the poor ratings herewith. This Acorn Media production, made for TV c. 1982, is a SPLENDID, well-cast performance. Having seen four superior Ruddigores prior to viewing this DVD, I wondered how "the special effects" would be handled. The answer is 'very cleverly and effectively.' The biggest plus is the fact this video contains all the dialogue, which is vial to understanding and appreciating the accompanying arias. It's a mistake to buy any G&S CD or DVD that omits dialogue.

The scene where the ancestral portraits in the Great Hall come to life is
a scream--in more ways than one. Likewise, the scene in the ancient cemetery--with the spirits swirling about--is SO much more impressive than can be accomplished on the stage. Beyond the aforementioned, there are authentic Victorian props all over the place--inside and outside the castle--that fascinate and add much to the totality of the production.

If you've never seen or heard Ruddigore, this is the performance you want, as of all the G&S operas, this one benefits enormously from seeing the stage action. FIVE STARS without hesitation.

This is one of the 1982 series of G&S productions produced by the BBC.
It's a charming opera but largely overlooked and this is probably one of the only way most people will see it.

Shy young Robin is in love with sweet Rose Maybud, but can't bring himself to confess his feelings. Plus, he has a secret--he's really the rightful Baronet of Ruddigore, but faked his death to escape the title and its curse.

His younger brother, Despard (played with campy style by Vincent Price, who is clearly having fun with the role), is the current title-holder and dutiful executor of the terms of the curse: He must commit a crime a day or perish in agony inflicted by his ancestors, who all exist as portraits in his Portrait Gallery.

Robin's foster-brother Dick Dauntless comes back from the sea, falls in love with Rose Maybud, and reveals the truth about Robin's identity. He says his conscience made him do it (Awfully convenient, that!).

Robin must become Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, thereby losing Rose Maybud and gaining a curse. The Act I finale is abbreviated in this production and a lot of good singing is left out. I regretted the omission but don't know how other people might feel about it.

Robin (now Sir Ruthven) tries his hand at being bad, but he's really not cut out for it. The Portrait Gallery comes to life and Donald Adams sings Sullivan's gloriously creepy "When the night wind howls". Vincent Price makes his reappearance as a reformed Baronet and sings the super-fast patter song "my eyes are fully open" with Sir Ruthven and the formerly mad Margaret, and in the end everything gets sorted out in typical Gilbertian topsy-turvy fashion.

This is my favorite of the G&S operas, and the production is a good one--although I don't have much to compare it to. Worth a watch.

The scenery is excellent, novel use of old fashioned bicycles.
Keith Mitchell and Vincent Price both take superb parts.
Bridesmaids are VERY athletic ! maybe a bit too much so (and maybe not quite irritating enough with 'Hail the Bridesmaid')
Worth adding to your library.

This is a studio production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Ruddigore, by which I mean it was staged for the camera rather than in a theater for a live audience. I expected that the freedom a studio production provides would have allowed this version to surpass theater productions as far as the dramatic element goes, but sadly it did not. The orchestra was excellent and most of the singing was good.

I strongly recommend the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society's 2011 production instead, which should be available soon from them directly. The Seattle G&S recordings are always excellent, and having seen it twice in person, I am certain this production will be excellent on DVD like it was in the theater, just as their other DVDs are.

Everyone has a favorite Gilbert and Sullivan this is not mime. However it is well designed and well acted. I will not go into detail as the fun is watching the story unfold for the first time then watching again for missed details. Each production is unique bringing with it different nuances and that goes for this production also. We can take advantage of the abilities of T.V. that cannot be produced on the stage.

There is an introduction by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and he returns for an update on information after the first act. The recording clarity leaves something to be desired; however soon you will not notice the worn out copy that there was no attempted to clean up.

The story has all the G&S twists and ironies. Who is the good guy, the bad guy and does anyone get the girl?

Keith Michell steals the show. But the surprise is how well Vincent Price adapts to singing and dancing in this production.