Gondoliers, The - D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus & Orchestra

Advantages: Not well known but is an important bridge in the historic cycle
Disadvantages: Not well known and quite dated

...-disc box set is part of the complete set of operas recorded by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and released by DECCA. John Reed gives a creditable account of the grizzled King Gama – you can almost hear him leer in that ‘celebrated sneer’. The other soloists are in good voice and the orchestra is in its usual sparkling form. The second CD is completed with a performance of the Pineapple Poll ballet suite. This is a pot pourri of snatches of tunes taken from the operas and put together into a short (45 minute) dance story in three scenes. Mackerras notes that it was not unusual for Sullivan to recycle motifs himself. The whole work is a good ‘music quiz’ for Savoyards and the insert booklet identifies the individual sources for when you get stuck. PRINCESS IDA - Gilbert & Sullivan (1965) The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company The Royal... Read review

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Advantages: The most popular, the most perfect, the most performed
Disadvantages: None

...-Yum) John Ayldon (The Mikado); Lyndsie Holland (Katisha) CD: LONDON 417296-2 (£11.99) Amazon has a web page dedicated to this CD performance which has playable excepts from five of the tracks. The web address is http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000041VD/qid=1047207159/sr=1-5/ref=sr115/026-5398232-7637262 THE LIBRETTO. “The Mikado” or “The Town of Titipu”. International Music Publications Ltd (1993) THE VIDEO I have a (now rare) film performance staged by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company at the Buxton Festival in Derbyshire (early 1980s). There is a full series of specially staged productions (originally by the BBC in 1982) which is offered both a single DVDs and as a boxed set from Amazon (America). The series took guest stars (actors and comedians) and added a professional orchestra and chorus... Read review

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Advantages: Rousing, jolly, bristling with life and humour
Disadvantages: None

...The operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan are much loved and treasured musical gems from a bygone era. They are 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. “HMS Pinafore” can be described as the first written of the more popular five (along with “The Mikado”, “The Gondoliers”, “Pirates of Penzance” and “Iolanthe”). Themes from these operas still have the effect of getting toes tapping and promoting whistling whenever they are played. The name of D’Oyly Carte will be forever linked with Gilbert and Sullivan as will the Savoy Theatre in the Strand, London. We are fortunate that this National treasure is still available and that performances are still given within... Read review

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