16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crackling "Trial" and "Ruddigore," disappointing "Mikado", March 17, 2005
This review is from: Mikado Ruddigore Trial By Jury (Audio CD)
Source: The three performances in this set are the first electronically recorded versions of the G&S comic operas. The earliest of them, the 1926 "Trial by Jury" is the first complete recording.
Sound: In phonographic terms, these recordings are ancient and it is surprising to hear how very good they sound--or at least it is for "Ruddigore" and "Trial." It is pretty clear that almost pristine albums of 78s have been transferred onto CD with little or no remastering. The effect is very like that of listening to a very fine phonograph player with a totally silent record changer. While the sound quality is, naturally, compressed by digital standards, it is still very good and full of detail. There is a slight hiss, probably inherent in the original matrices, which is easily ignored if you offer the performances a little good will.
Unfortunately, this is not true of "The Mikado." In comparison with the other two shows, the 78s of "The Mikado" seem to have been battered and clapped out. Or it might be that the difference was inherent in the original issues. "The Mikado" was the only one of the G&S shows issued in HMV's plebeian Black Label series rather than the more up-market Red Label. Perhaps quality standards were different for the two series. Some of the big ensemble passages are ground into mush, as, for example, the repeated "O ni! bikkuri shakkuri to!" used by the chorus to drown out Katisha's voice in the first act finale. There are annoying faults scattered here and there, the worst being a loud WOW in "A more humane Mikado."
Text: All spoken words, except for a couple of interpolated lines that Gilbert would probably have despised, have been omitted.
--"Trial by Jury" is a brief gem that has not been subject to fiddling over the years.
--"Ruddigore," on the other hand, has been subjected to some very false fiddles, not the least wielded by W. S. Gilbert himself. The overture is the second (and still standard) version. A duet, "The battle's roar is over," is omitted (not to be re-instated until the 1970s.) The second act finale is the revised, half-hearted and much too-short version cobbled together in the 1920 revival.
--The text of "The Mikado" is the standard one adopted during the original run. "So please you sir, we much regret" is performed by the Three Little Maids with Pooh-Bah, rather than with both Pooh-Bah and Pish-Tush as originally conceived. Even as early as this recording, the insidious hands of the updaters are present. Among those who'd never be missed in Ko-Ko's little list was originally the lady novelist. She had already given way to the red-hot socialist and he or she, on this recording, became the prohibitionist.
(WARNING FOR THE EASILY SHOCKED: Both Ko-Ko's "Little List" song and the Mikado's "My object all sublime," are given in authentic but decidedly non-PC versions. Among other things, the strong reactions of American troops stationed in England during the war to certain words then in casual use by the English led to revisions in all subsequent recordings.)
Performance: All three of these comic operas offer terrific performances. Malcolm Sargent's conducting of Ruddigore is bright, tight and sometimes downright brisk, in marked contrast to his lugubrious stereo recordings made thirty years later. Dick Dauntless' hornpipe is given a wicked little accelerando and "Ruddigore" whizzes by in just over 69 minutes--a full five minutes faster than in Isadore Godfrey's lively versions of 1951 and 1962 (when the second overture and "The battle's roar is over" are omitted.) The other two shows are conducted by Harry Norris who allows freer rein to his soloists and chooses blindingly fast tempi throughout.
These recordings embody the authentic British tradition of G&S performance. Henry Lytton, Ko-Ko, joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as a chorister prior to the first run of "The Mikado," understudied George Grossmith as the comic lead during the original production of "Ruddigore," and starred in D'Oyly Carte touring companies well before the turn of the Twentieth Century. Bertha Lewis and Leo Sheffield joined the D'Oyly Carte Company in 1906, five years before Gilbert's death.
Some of the individual performances are unmatched. When it comes to tenors, normally I prefer the inelegant but forceful Leonard Osborn (1940s and 50s) to Derek Oldham, but in "Ruddigore" I am much impressed by Oldham's Welsh-accented Dick Dauntless, preferring it to Osborn's Cockney. W. S. Gilbert was co-producer, stage director and casting director for the Savoy operas. He famously preferred competent actors over competent singers. Leo Sheffield is a sterling example of that preference. As the ladies of "Patience" might remark, legato was to him a seal-ed book. As the Learned Judge, Pooh-Bah and Sir Despard Murgatroyd he offers at best an impressionist version of the score ("I'll tell you how I cay-hay-hay-hame to be-hee-hee a judge") but he is still terrific. He was a much-loved performer and the recordings let you hear why. The same is true of Nellie Briercliffe, especially as Mad Margaret in "Ruddigore," no singer she but a powerhouse performer, nevertheless.
(A note on price: When this version of "Ruddigore" first went on sale in 1932, the list price for the single show was $13.75. These four CDs are a bargain.)
Three G&S comic operas. Three excellent performances. Two decent recordings. Two out of three ain't bad--four stars.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
