The Complete Gilbert & Sullivan (Box Set)
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Music CD Cover
Composer: Arthur SullivanConductor: Charles Mackerras
Conductor: Isidore Godfrey
Conductor: Malcolm Sargent
Conductor: Royston Nash
Orchestra: New Symphony Orchestra of London
Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra of London
Orchestra: Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra Covent Garden
Orchestra: Royal Opera House Orchestra Covent Garden
Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Performer: Alan Styler
Performer: Ann Hood
Performer: Anne Eggleston
Performer: Anthony Raffell
Performer: Barbara Lilley
Performer: Beti Lloyd-Jones
Performer: Ceinwen Jones
Performer: Christene Palmer
Performer: Colin Wright
Performer: Daphne Gill
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set
CD Release Date: 2003-05-13
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Overture
- Act 1. List and learn
- Act 1. Good morrow, pretty maids
- Act 1. For the merriest fellows are we
- Act 1. See, see at last they come to make their choice
- Act 1. Buon' giorno, signorine!
- Act 1. We're called gondolieri, but that's a vagary
- Act 1. And now to choose our brides!
- Act 1. Are you peeping?
- Act 1. Thank you gallant gondolieri
- Act 1. From the sunny Spanish shore
- Act 1. In enterprise of martial kind
- Act 1. O rapture, when alone together
- Act 1. There was a time, a time for ever gone
- Act 1. I stole the Prince
- Act 1. But, bless my heart, consider my position!
- Act 1. Try we life-long we can never
- Act 1. Bride-groom and bride!
- Act 1. When a merry maiden marries
- Act 1. Kind sir, you cannot have the heart, our lives to part
- Act 1. Do not give way to this uncalled-for grief
- Act 1. Then one of us will be a queen
- Act 1. Now pray, what is the cause of this remarkable hilarity
- Act 1. Replying, we sing as one individual
- Act 1. For ev'ryone who feels inclined
- Act 1. Come let's away - our island crown awaits me
- Act 1. Now, Marco dear, my wishes hear
- Act 1. Then away they go to an island fair
- Act 2. Of happiness the very pith
- Act 2. Rising early in the morning
- Act 2. Take a pair of sparkling eyes
- Act 2. Here we are, at the risk of our lives
- Act 2. After sailing to this land
- Act 2. Dance a cachucha, fandango, bolero
- Act 2. There lived a king, as I've been told
- Act 2. In a contemplative fashion and a tranquil frame of mind
- Act 2. With ducal pomp and ducal pride
- Act 2. This polite attention
- Act 2. To help happy commoners
- Act 2. Small titles and orders for mayors and recorders
- Act 2. I am a courtier grave and serious
- Act 2. Here is a case unprecedented!
- Act 2. Now let the loyal lieges gather round
- Act 2. Speak woman speak, we're all attention!
- Act 2. The royal prince was by the king entrusted
- Act 2. Luiz! Casilda!
- Act 2. One more, gondolieri
- Overture
- Act 1. Won't it be a pretty wedding
- Act 1. Pretty Lisa, fair and tasty
- Act 1. By the mystic regulation
- Act 1. Were I a king in very truth
- Act 1. How would I play this part
- Act 1. My goodness me! What shall I do?
- Act 1. Ten minutes since I met a chap
- Act 1. About a century since
- Act 1. Strange the views some people hold
- Act 1. Now take a card, and gaily sing
- Act 1. The good Grand Duke of Pfennig Halbpfenning
- Act 1. A pattern to professors of monarchial autonomy
- Act 1. As o'er our penny roll we sing
- Act 1. When you find you're a broken-down critter
- Finale. Come hither, all you people
- Act 2. As before you we defile
- Act 2. Your loyalty our ducal heart-strings touches...At the outset I may mention
- Act 2. Yes, Ludwig and his Julia are mated!
- Act 2. Take care of him - he's much too good to live!
- Act 2. Now Julia, come, consider it
- Act 2. Your Highness, there's a party at the door
- Act 2. Now away to the wedding we go
- Act 2. So ends my dream...Broken ev'ry promise plighted
- Act 2. If the light of love's lingering ember
- Act 2. Come, bumpers - aye, ever so many
- Act 2. Why, who is this approaching?
- Act 2. The Prince of Monte Carlo
- Act 2. His Highness we know not
- Act 2. We're rigged out in magnificent array
- Act 2. Dance
- Act 2. Take my advice - when deep in debt
- Act 2. Hurrah! Now away to the wedding
- Act 2. Well, you're a pretty kind of fellow
- Act 2. Finale. Happy couples, lightly treading
- March & Graceful Dance: Allegro moderato alla marcia
- March & Graceful Dance
- Act 1. Refrain, audacious tar
- Act 1. Can I survive the overbearing
- Overture
- Act 1. We shall sail the ocean blue
- Act 1. Hail! Men o'war's men
- Act 1. The nightingale sighed
- Act 1. A maiden fair to see
- Act 1. My gallant crew, good morning
- Act 1. Sir, you are sad
- Act 1. Sorry her lot who loves too well
- Act 1. Over the bright blue sea
- Act 1. Sir Joseph's barge is seen
- Act 1. Now give three cheers
- Act 1. When I was a lad
- Act 1. A British tar
- Entracte
- Act 2. Fair moon to thee I sing
- Act 2. Things are seldom what they seem
- Act 2. The hours creep on apace
- Act 2. Never mind the why and wherefore
- Act 2. Kind Captain, I've important information
- Act 2. Carefully on tip-toe stealing
- Act 2. Farewell, my own
- Act 2. A many years ago
- Act 2. A joy! Oh rapture unforseen
- Overture
- Act 1. Tripping hither, tripping thither
- Act 1. Iolanthe
- Act 1. Good morrow, good mother
- Act 1. Fare thee well, attractive stranger
- Act 1. Good morrow, good lover
- Act 1. None shall part us
- Act 1. Loudly let the trumpet bray
- Act 1. Entrance of the Lord Chancellor
- Act 1. The law is the embodiment
- Act 1. My well-beloved Lord
- Act 1. Nay, tempt me not
- Act 1. Spurn not the nobly born
- Act 1. Lords, it may not be
- Act 1. Said I to myself, said I
- Act 1. When darkly looms the day
- Act 2. When all night long a chap remains
- Act 2. Strephon's a member of Parliament
- Act 2. When Britain really ruled the waves
- Act 2. In vain to us you plead
- Act 2. Oh, foolish fay
- Act 2. Though p'r'aps I may incur your blame
- Act 2. Love unrequited
- Act 2. If you go in you're sure to win
- Act 2. If we're weak enough to tarry
- Act 2. My Lord, a suppliant at your feet
- Act 2. It may not be
- Act 2. Soon as we may, off and away
- Overture
- Act 1. If you want to know who we are
- Act 1. Gentlemen, I pray you tell me
- Act 1. A wand'ring minstrel I
- Act 1. Our great Mikado, virtuous man
- Act 1. Young man, despair
- Act 1. And I have journey'd for a month
- Act 1. Behold the Lord High Executioner!
- Act 1. As someday it may happen that a victim must be found
- Act 1. Comes a train of little ladies
- Act 1. Three little maids from school are we
- Act 1. So please you, Sir, we much regret
- Act 1. Were you not to Ko-Ko plighted
- Act 1. I am so proud, If I allowed
- Act 1. With aspect stern and gloomy stride
- Act 1. The threaten'd cloud has pass'd away
- Act 1. Your revels cease! Assist me, all of you!
- Act 1. Oh fool, that flee-est My hallow'd joys!
- Act 1. For he's going to marry Yum-Yum
- Act 1. The hour of gladness is dead and gone
- Act 1. Ye torrents roar! Ye tempests howl!
- Act 2. Braid the raven hair, Weave the supple tresses
- Act 2. The sun whose rays are all ablaze
- Act 2. Brightly dawns our wedding day
- Act 2. Here's a how-de-do!
- Act 2. Miya sama, miya sama, o n'mma no maye ni
- Act 2. From ev'ry kind of man Obedience I expect
- Act 2. A most humane Mikado never did in Japan exist
- Act 2. The criminal cried as he dropp'd him down
- Act 2. See how the fates their gifts allot
- Act 2. The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la
- Act 2. Alone and yet alive
- Act 2. Hearts do not break! They sting and ache
- Act 2. On a tree by a river a little tom tit
- Act 2. There is beauty in the bellow of the blast
- Act 2. Fanfare
- Act 2. For he's gone and married Yum-Yum
- Overture
- Act 1. Twenty love-sick maidens we
- Act 1. Still brooding on their mad infatuation
- Act 1. I cannot tell what this love may be
- Act 1. Twenty love sick maidens we
- Act 1. The soldiers of our Queen
- Act 1. If you want a receipt for that popular mystery
- Act 1. In a doleful train two and two we walk all day
- Act 1. Twenty love-sick maidens we
- Act 1. When I first put this uniform on
- Act 1. Am I alone and unobserved?
- Act 1. If you're anxious for to shine
- Act 1. Long years ago - fourteen, maybe
- Act 1. Prithee, pretty maiden - prithee
- Act 1. Through to marry you
- Act 1. Let the merry cymbals sound
- Act 1. Now tell us, we pray you
- Act 1. Heart broken at my Patience's barbarity
- Act 1. Stay, we implore you, before our hopes are blighted
- Act 1. Your maidens hearts, ah, do steel
- Act 1. Come, walk up, and purchase with avidity
- Act 1. We've been thrown over, we're aware
- Act 1. And are you going a ticket to buy?
- Act 1. Hold! Stay your hand!
- Act 1. True love must single-hearted be
- Act 1. I hear the soft note of the echoing voice
- Act 1. But who is this, whose god-like grace
- Act 1. List Reginald, whilst I confess a love
- Act 2. On such eyes as maidens cherish
- Act 2. Sad is a woman's lot who, year by year
- Act 2. Silvered is the raven hair
- Act 2. Turn, oh turn in this direction
- Act 2. A magnet hung in a hardware shop
- Act 2. Love is a plaintive song
- Act 2. So go to him and say to him
- Act 2. It's clear that the mediaeval art
- Act 2. If Saphir I choose to marry
- Act 2. When I go out of the door
- Act 2. I'm a Waterloo House young man
- Act 2. After much debate internal, I on Lady Jane decide
- Overture
- Act 1. Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry
- Act 1. When Fred'ric was a little lad
- Act 1. Oh, better far to live and die
- Act 1. Oh, false one, you have deceived me
- Act 1. Climbing over rocky mountain
- Act 1. Stop! ladies, pray! A man!
- Act 1. Oh, is there not one maiden beast
- Act 1. Oh, sisters, deaf to pity's name, For shame!
- Act 1. Poor wand'ring one!
- Act 1. What ought we to do, Gentle sisters, say?
- Act 1. How beautifully blue the sky
- Act 1. Stay, we must not lose our senses
- Act 1. Hold, Monsters!
- Act 1. I am the very model of a modern Major-General
- Act 1. Oh, men of dark and dismal fate
- Act 1. Hail Poetry, thou heav'n born maid!
- Act 1. You may go, for you're at liberty
- Act 1. Pray observe the magnanimity
- Act 2. Oh, dry the glist'ning tear
- Act 2. Then Frederic
- Act 2. When the foeman bares his steel
- Act 2. Now for the pirates lair!
- Act 2. When you had left our pirate fold
- Act 2. Away, away, my heart's on fire
- Act 2. All is prepared
- Act 2. Stay, Fred'ric stay!
- Act 2. Ah, leave me not to pine alone and desolate
- Act 2. Oh, here is love and here is truth
- Act 2. No, I'll be brave
- Act 2. Sergeant approach
- Act 2. When a felon's not engaged in his employment
- Act 2. A rollicking band of pirates we
- Act 2. With cat-like tread
- Act 2. Hush! Hush! Not a word
- Act 2. Sighing softly to the river
- Act 2. Now what is this, and what is that
- Act 2. We triumph now
- Act 2. Away with them, and place them at the bar
- Act 2. Poor wand'ring ones, though ye have surely strayed
- Overture
- Act 1. Search throughout the panorama
- Act 1. Now harken to my strict command
- Act 1. Today we meet... Ida was a twelve-month old
- Act 1. From the distant panorama... we are warriors three
- Act 1. If you give me your attention
- Act 1. Finale. P'raps if you address the lady most politely
- Act 2. Towards the empyrean heights
- Act 2. Mighty maiden with a mission
- Act 2. Minerva... Oh, goddess wise
- Act 2. Gently, gently, evidently
- Act 2. I am a maiden, cold and stately
- Act 2. The world is but a broken toy
- Act 2. A lady fair, of lineage high
- Act 2. The woman of the wisest wit
- Act 2. Now wouldn't you like to rule the roost
- Act 2. Merrily ring the luncheon bell
- Act 2. Would you know the kind of maid
- Act 2. Finale. Oh joy! Our chief is sav'd
- Act 2. We may remark, tho' nothing can dismay us
- Act 3. Death to the invader
- Act 3. I built upon a rock
- Act 3. Whene'er I spoke sarcastic joke
- Act 3. When anger spreads his wing
- Act 3. This helmet I suppose
- Act 3. This is our duty plain
- Act 3. Finale. With joy abiding
- Scene 1. Opening Dance
- Scene 1. Poll's Solo and Pas de deux
- Scene 1. Belaye's Solo
- Scene 1. Pas de trois
- Scene 1. Finale
- Scene 2. Poll's Solo, Jasper's Solo
- Scene 3. Belaye's Solo and Sailors' Drill
- Scene 3. Poll's Solo
- Scene 3. Entry of Belaye with Blanche as Bride
- Scene 3. Reconciliation
- Scene 3. Grand Finale
- Overture
- Act 1. Fair is Rose as bright as May day
- Act 1. Sir Rupert Murgatroyd, his leisure and his riches
- Act 1. If somebody there chanced to be
- Act 1. I know a youth who loves a little maid
- Act 1. From the briny sea... I shipp'd, d'ye see
- Act 1. Hornpipe
- Act 1. My boy, you may take it from me
- Act 1. The battle's roar is over
- Act 1. In sailing o'er life's ocean wide
- Act 1. Cheerily carols the lark... To a garden full of posies
- Act 1. Welcome, gentry
- Act 1. Oh why am I moody and sad?
- Act 1. You understand? I think I do
- Act 1. Finale. Hail the bride of seventeen summers
- Act 1. Finale. Hold, bride and bridegroom
- Overture (original version)
- Act 2. I once was as meek as a newborn lamb
- Act 2. Happily coupled are we
- Act 2. In bygone days I had thy love
- Act 2. Painted emblems of a race
- Act 2. When the night wind howls
- Act 2. He yields! He yields!
- Act 2. I once was a very abandon'd person
- Act 2. My eyes are fully open to my awful situation
- Act 2. There grew a little flower
- Act 2. Finale. Oh, happy the lily when kiss'd by the bee
- Overture
- We sounded the trumpet
- Stay, Bouncer, stay!
- Hush'd is the bacon on the grid
- My master is punctual always in business
- Who are you, sir?
- The buttercup dwells on the lowly mead
- Finale. Not long ago
- Overture
- Act 1. Ring forth, ye bells
- Act 1. Constance, my daughter
- Act 1. When he is here, I sigh with pleasure
- Act 1. The air is charged with amatory numbers
- Act 1. Time was, when love and I were well acquainted
- Act 1. Sir Marmaduke... Minuet
- Act 1. With heart and with voice
- Act 1. My kindly friends... Oh, happy young heart
- Act 1. My child, I join in these congratulations
- Act 1. With heart and with voice
- Act 1. Welcome joy! Adieu to sadness!
- Act 1. All is prepar'd for sealing and for signing
- Act 1. Love feeds on many kinds of food
- Act 1. My name is John Wellington Wells
- Act 1. Sprites of earth and air
- Finale. Now to the banquet we press
- Act 2. 'Tis twelve, I think
- Act 2. Dear friends, take pity on my lot
- Act 2. Thou hast the pow'r thy vaunted love to sanctify... It is not love
- Act 2. I rejoice that it's decided
- Act 2. Oh, I have wrought much evil with my spells
- Act 2. Alexis! Doubt me not!... The fearful deed is done
- Act 2. Oh, my voice is sad and low
- Act 2. Oh, joyous boon!
- Act 2. Prepare for sad suprises
- Finale. Or he or I must die
- Introduction
- The British public here - you see
- I loved her fondly
- And now let's go back to where we were... Ah maiden fair
- Where is he?
- Once more the face I loved so well
- Help! Ah help!
- Ho guards! Minions!
- Ladies and gentlemen!
- We gather from what you have said
- Where is my daughter?
- I'm a simple little child
- My father!
- Finale. What do I see in this disguise?
- Imperial March
- Act 1. Introduction
- Act 1. In lazy languor
- Act 1. O make way for the wise men!
- Act 1. In every mental lore
- Act 1. Let all your doubts take wing
- Act 1. Quaff the nectar
- Act 1. A king of autocratic power we
- Act 1. Altho' of native maids the cream
- Act 1. Bold-fac'd ranger
- Act 1. First you're born
- Act 1. Subjected to your heavenly gaze
- Act 1. O maiden rich in Girton lore
- Act 1. Ah! gallant soldier, brave and true
- Act 1. It's understood, I think
- Act 1. O admirable art!
- Finale. Altho' your royal summons to appear
- Finale. A Company Promoter this, with special education
- Act 2. Oh, Zara... A tenor, all singers above
- Act 2. Words of love too loudly spoken
- Act 2. Society has quite forsaken all
- Act 2. Entrance of the Court
- Act 2. Drawing-room music
- Act 2. This ceremonial our wish displays... Eagle high on cloudland soaring
- Act 2. With fury deep we burn
- Act 2. If you think that when banded in unity
- Act 2. With wily brain upon the spot
- Act 2. A wonderful joy our eyes to bless
- Act 2. Then I may sing and play?
- Act 2. Oh, would some demon power...When but a maid of fifteen year
- Act 2. Ah, Lady Sophy
- Act 2. O rapture unrestrained
- Act 2. Tarantella... Upon our sea-girt land
- Finale. There's a little group of isles beyond the wave
- Overture
- Overture
- Act 1. When maiden loves, she sits and sighs
- Act 1. Tower warders, under orders
- Act 1. When our gallant Norman foes
- Act 1. Alas! I waver to and fro
- Act 1. Is life a boon?
- Act 1. Here's a man of jollity
- Act 1. I have a song to sing, O!
- Act 1. How say you, maiden
- Act 1. I've jibe and joke and quip and crank
- Act 1. 'Tis done! I am a bride
- Act 1. Were I thy bride
- Act 1. Oh, Sergeant Meryll, is it true
- Act 2. Night has spread her pall once more
- Act 2. Oh! a private buffoon is a lighthearted loon
- Act 2. Hereupon we're both agreed
- Act 2. Free from his fetters grim
- Act 2. Strange adventure
- Act 2. Hark! what was that, sir?
- Act 2. A man who would woo a fair maid
- Act 2. When a wooer goes a-wooing
- Act 2. Rapture, rapture
- Act 2. Comes the pretty young bride
- Hark the hour of ten is sounding
- When first my old, old love I knew
- When I, good friends, was called to the bar
- Where is the plaintiff
- May it please you, my Lud!
- Oh, gentlemen, listen, I pray
- A nice dilemna we have here
- I love him, I love him
Free Music Notes for The Complete Gilbert & Sullivan (Box Set)
Free Music Review: The Crowning Achievement of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company preserved in all but perfection
Hit: 5 Stars
This review details the performances more than the content of the operas. Another reviewer speaks more about the different operas themselves, and I agree with what he says for the most part, particularly concerning Iolanthe, Ruddigore, and Yeomen of the Guard. The Sorcerer is also very rewarding if given time. The duet "Welcome joy, adieu to sadness" and the quintet "I rejoice that it's decided" are singularly enjoyable.
Seeing that this is a 24CD Boxed Set, there wasn't really any way for me to say everything that needed saying in any short space. So, I've divided the review into a number of sections. They are as follows:
1. The top few recordings that generally win over competition
2. The particular weaknesses of the recordings
3. The particular strengths of the recordings
4. Fillers
5. Overall impression
1. The 1959 HMS Pinafore is probably the only Gilbert and Sullivan recording ever that is a hands-down winner over every other recording of the same work. The cast is just about perfect and the sound is better than any other recording I've heard from 1959. I would say Iolanthe should receive similar praise, though not everyone would agree.
Of all of the others, there are a few that manage to distinguish themselves above most all other issues. Cox and Box, Trial by Jury, Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, and The Gondoliers all manage to rise above competition and end up near the top. In every case, I think it is safe to say that the latter recordings will always come out as one of the top two. Part of this is because of the inclusion of dialogue in the last five of the recordings I mentioned. Some people don't want it, but dialogue is just as much a part of the opera as the music, and there are very few writers who could pen words with the same repetition value as W. S. Gilbert. He was a genius in his field.
2. Particular Weaknesses of the D'Oyly Carte recordings of the operas (listed chronologically):
- Cox and Box: The finale (a reprise) and one other number is omitted. A bit of the dialogue is cut down, but this ends up making the operetta more witty--a refined gem in a way.
- Trial by Jury: None
- The Zoo: None as far as performance goes. Sound isn't perfect, but it's the best we're probably going to get.
- The Sorcerer: No dialogue. David Palmer isn't the strongest tenor, though that is a matter of opinion. The male chorus sounds funny in one or two songs in Act 1, as though it were a male chorus with a tenor solo (who pronounces "Alexis" in a strange fashion), but is otherwise excellent.
- HMS Pinafore: None
- The Pirates of Penzance: None
- Patience: None
- Iolanthe: None
- Princess Ida: No dialogue. Sargent takes slow tempi in "Search throughout the panorama" and "The woman of the wisest wit," particularly the latter. Elizabeth Harwood doesn't always live up to the part she is given, but is still okay.
- The Mikado: No dialogue and a weak Nanki-Poo--though he does warm up after a while. Also Katisha seems rather uncomfortable with any note above E-flat, but is still good enough. The way her voice comes across has something to do with the sound, which is okay, but not as fine as the 1960's recordings. It lets the singers down here and there (the choral passage "A Japanese equivalent of hear, hear, hear" comes to mind).
- Ruddigore: No dialogue. This is the edited D'Oyly Carte score rather than the original, but that only means the omission of the original finale and the second verse of "Happily coupled are we" (there's a small choral number that the bridesmaids sing a capella that is omitted too).
- The Yeomen of the Guard: No dialogue. A somewhat controversial Elsie (Harwood again) who I think is fine enough, though one wishes that Valerie Masterson had recorded the role instead...
- The Gondoliers: A slightly squeaky Casilda (she doesn't do too well on notes above F-Sharp, but the Casilda on the later, digital D'Oyly Carte recording doesn't do much better). That said, Jennifer Toye's solo singing as Casilda is better than some of her singing during ensembles, and her duets with Jeffery Skitch (who plays Luiz) come off well.
- Utopia Limited: No dialogue. Well, that isn't entirely true. No dialogue is included on the first disk, but in Act 2, bits and pieces are heard here and there, particularly with Kenneth Sandford. Happily, all of the dialogue is included preceding the finale, summing up the plot quite nicely.
Also, the recording quality doesn't seem quite right when compared to other entries in the series. I haven't quite placed my finger on it yet. Perhaps it is not atmospheric enough.
- The Grand Duke: No dialogue; sound is similar to Utopia Limited.
3. Particular Strengths of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company recordings:
- Cox and Box: Donald Adams, Alan Styler, Joseph Riordan; you'll note this is the entire cast. All three know their parts exceedingly well, making this recording a joy to listen to.
- Trial by Jury: Thomas Round. He is a very convincing Defendant. Everyone else in the cast is similarly strong.
- The Zoo: Meston Reid is a pretty good tenor, and manages the part of Aesculapius Carboy well.
- The Sorcerer: Valerie Masterson. Aside from John Reed and Donald Adams, Masterson seems to have the best grip on her role. She sings with great charm; her waltz song in Act 1 comes of noticeably better than in the 1953 recording with Muriel Harding taking the role of Aline.
A word on John Reed: There is an almost laughable difference on how much more life John Reed has managed to inject into John Wellington Wells as opposed to Peter Pratt in the former 1953 recording. Pratt sounds unduly strained in his opening song and gives very little life to the incantation. Reed, on the other hand, must be heard to be believed. His scene with Lady Sangazure (Christine Palmer) is also very enjoyable.
- HMS Pinafore: All of the dialogue is delivered excellently, and the humor and excitement that should be present in any performance of Gilbert and Sullivan is more than present in this recording. As I said, this is (in essence) the only unassailable Gilbert and Sullivan recording ever.
- The Pirates of Penzance: Valerie Masterson (need I say more?)
- Patience: John Reed is particularly excellent as Bunthorne. His singing and dialogue come off in a way that leaves the listener with the impression that it could not be done any other way. That is the mark of a great performance.
- Iolanthe: Mary Sansom is one of my favorite G&S Sopranos. I know many don't share my opinion, but if that were not so, it would not be an opinion, would it? This is her best performance. She IS Phyllis.
Also what I said about Reed's Bunthorne applies to most of the cast in Iolanthe. They convince you that this is Iolanthe as it should be performed. This particularly true of Adams and Round, whose witty repartee in Act 2 is a joy to behold.
- Princess Ida: This opera is given arguably the best recording quality of the entire series. Hildebrand's song comes across excellently, with the chorus sounding almost magical at times (if you may forgive me for using such a cliched word). Philip Potter makes an excellent Hilarion, putting as much charm into his role as Derek Oldham did (if not more).
- The Mikado: Valerie Masterson. In the end, she is probably what makes this Mikado competitive, since everything else is pretty good, despite reservations.
- Ruddigore: Donald Adams, who gives what is easily the best "When the night wind howls" ever. Ruddigore contains some of the most magical moments in the entire cannon of operas. This performance accentuates that.
- The Yeomen of the Guard: In my estimation (such as it is) Phillip Potter saves this recording from any overly serious criticism. He was one of the best Tenors the company ever had and shows it here. Gillian Knight and Donald Adams give a fabulous account of the little "Rapture, rapture" duet, particularly the delightful way Adams pronounces "ghastly."
- The Gondoliers: John Reed makes a perfect Duke of Plaza Toro. This recording was made during the peak of the company's ability and his as well.
- Utopia Limited: Pamela Field is almost as good a soprano as Valerie Masterson (a high recommendation). She is a excellent Zara for sure.
- The Grand Duke: Nothing comes to mind...this isn't a bad recording, but I can't think off the bat of anything that really distinguishes it.
4. Although there are not as many fillers as in Sargent's set on EMI, the extras included here are perhaps better. Overture di Ballo is very convincing; Macbeth Overture is also interesting. But the best bonus in the set is Pineapple Pole, a 40-minute ballet arranged from the operas by Charles Mackerras, who conducts it here in a fabulous 1983 recording. It is pure delight from beginning to end. I'd say more, but it is more enjoyable being introduced to it fresh.
5. Overall impression: This is the only complete Gilbert & Sullivan issue in existence; that alone gives it an extra recommendation, but still this set manages to incorporate most all of the good features of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and is sure to please any Gilbert and Sullivan fan who wants the whole caboodle. I in no way regret buying this issue.
Classical Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Stereo D'Oyly Carte Recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan Operas
Phase 4 Stereo: Gilbert & Sullivan: HMS Pinafore / D'Oyly Carte Opera CompanyRelease date: 1997-11-11; Music CD
Best price: $12.19
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The Complete Gilbert & Sullivan (Box Set)Release date: 2003-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $144.95
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Gilbert & Sullivan: The Grand DukeRelease date: 2008-09-02; Music CD
Best price: $15.35
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Gilbert & Sullivan: Utopia LimitedRelease date: 2003-03-03; Music CD
Best price: $17.65
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Gilbert & Sullivan: The GondoliersRelease date: 2003-03-03; Music CD
Best price: $16.18
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Gilbert & Sullivan: The Yeoman of the Guard & Trial by JuryRelease date: 2003-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $9.70
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Gilbert & Sullivan: Ruddigore & Cox and BoxRelease date: 2003-03-04; Music CD
Best price: $9.76
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Gilbert & Sullivan: The MikadoRelease date: 2003-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $9.76
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Gilbert & Sullivan: Princess IdaRelease date: 2008-09-02; Music CD
Best price: $17.49
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Gilbert & Sullivan: Iolanthe / D'Oyly Carte Opera Company; Godfrey; New Symphony Orchestra of LondonRelease date: 2003-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $11.88
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Top Rated Albums
Popeye the Sailor, Vol. 2: 1938-1940Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-06-17; DVD
Best price: $21.66
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Gilbert & Sullivan: The SorcererRelease date: 2004-10-12; Music CD
Best price: $6.02
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Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of PenzanceRelease date: 2003-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $9.50
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Gilbert & Sullivan - Master Collection (Opera World)Release date: 2002-10-22; DVD
Best price: $80.01
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Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Eric Idle, Lesley Garrett, Richard Van Allan, Felicity Palmer, Richard Angas, Bonaventura Bottone, Susan Bullock, English National OperaRelease date: 2005-12-26; DVD
Best price: $4.43
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Topsy-TurvyRelease date: 2000-06-20; DVD
Best price: $17.06
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Gilbert & Sullivan - Operettas / Pro Arte Orchestra ? Sir Malcolm SargentRelease date: 2001-11-20; Music CD
Best price: $72.11
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Gilbert & Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore / Trial By Jury - David Hobson, Anthony Warlow, Colette Mann, Tiffany Speight, John Bolton Wood, Richard Alexander, Opera Australia, State Theatre, The Arts Centre MelbourneRelease date: 2006-06-27; DVD
Best price: $15.57
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The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivanby Arthur Seymour Sullivan, W. S. Gilbert
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1997-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.72
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The Complete Annotated Gilbert & SullivanOxford University Press, USA; Published: 2005-10-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $33.65
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