Decca Years 1955-1975, The - Kenneth McKellar

Advantages: Good songs sung by a great performer
Disadvantages: None

...If you are looking for the near-perfect tenor solo, the title track is it. McKellar's rendition of "Land Of Hearts Desire" is a lesson in superb vocal technique. Everything from voice, pitch, phrasing - right down to the last perfectly graduated diminuendo is just about flawless. It is rare to find singing of this calibre outside the field of opera. I've got just about everything Kenneth McKellar has recorded but I keep coming back to this song. There is an almost magical quality about it... The other tracks, with the exception of "Think On Me" are fairly standard Scottish folk songs. McKellar does a thoroughly professional job with all of them. Listen to some of them as sung by others, especially "Land Of Hearts Desire" and "Think On Me", and you'll realise just how good McKellar is.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: The final flourish from Britain's best loved Classical duo.
Disadvantages: Patchy musically with some pleasant "highs"; rather weak and ponderous libretto.

...(Composer). Coming from the twilight years of the partnership "The Grand Duke" was their final work. After its initial run in London in 1896 it was confined to the archives. Indeed the sleeve notes to this CD album confirm that there had been no further professional performances of this opera until 1975 when the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company revived it for their Centenary Season at the Savoy Theatre. I came to this review with even more trepidation than my last one - "Utopia Limited". I knew nothing of the plot save some descriptions of its immense complexity. I had never heard anything from the operetta and there is no video performance. The CD recording excludes the spoken dialogue. So, I have had to piece it together for myself, stopping the CD at the end of each song and reading the plot from my copy of the libretto. THE PLOT The venue... Read review

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Advantages: A sadly neglected Savoyard gem
Disadvantages: You'll be hard pressed to find it

...The operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan are much loved and treasured musical gems from a bygone era. They remain as popular now as they ever were when written over a century ago - as can be seen by the clamour for tickets, the enthusiasm of audiences and the dedication of amateur societies in London, the provinces and around the world. Themes from these operas still have the effect of getting toes tapping and promoting whistling whenever they are played. Coming from the twilight years of the partnership “Utopia Limited” was performed in London in 1894. After that initial run it was confined to the archives. Indeed the sleeve notes to this CD album confirm that there had been no further professional performances of this opera until 1975 when the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company revived it for their Centenary Season at the Savoy Theatre. I came... Read review

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