An Appreciation of Gilbert and Sullivan (in fourteen chapters!!)

Gilbert and Sullivan – two names that encapsulate the very meaning of Englishness of a by-gone era. The words and music of their comic operas have become interwoven in the very fabric of the life of this country. The tunes and lyrics are so familiar that listeners will know them even if they cannot put a title to a particular song. The entrepreneurial mind behind the productions was Richard D’Oyly Carte who was instrumental in bringing the librettist and composer together and also for building Savoy Theatre (and the hotel) in the Strand in London which become the home of the operettas. The guardianship of this heritage is now vested in the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company which has been synonymous with great performances, recordings and generations of dedicated performers since the late 1800s.

THE CDs

Perhaps the period of greatest acclaim were the years between the late 1950s and the early 1970s. This was the era of such soloists as John Reed, Donald Adams and Valerie Masterson. During that time the full catalogue of operettas (and some incidental music) was recorded by the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company with several different orchestras and conductors and was released on vinyl at the time on Decca’s London label. These were reissued as two-disc CD boxed sets in the mid 1980s. Now, Decca have carried out a digital remastering of the whole range and are releasing them again in April 2003 on their “Grand Opera” label. These recordings are probably the definitive interpretations and the series the most complete set of the operas in existence.

I have heard excepts from some of these new releases and they are sparkling, crisp and attention grabbing. However I will say here and now that it is the earlier series that I own and which I have used as the basis for this review. It would in any event be too much to expect that one single review could do justice to such a collection as this.

This boxed set holds the complete catalogue and is priced accordingly. At the moment there is no indication that DECCA will be releasing the operettas individually. If they don’t change their mind, I believe this will be a tragic mistake. The 1980s series is available if you are prepared to look for it although many of the main stream agencies to have the titles marked out of stock. The following is a link to the D’Oyly Carte on line store where they still advertise all these CDs for sale:
http://www.doylycarte.org.uk/services/Merchandise.htm

There are some arguments about the content of each individual opera. Some feature the full (sung and vocal) libretto; others are missing the spoken parts. For my part I don’t think this matters unduly on CD and does not detract from the beauty of the music and the sense of the work.

THE INDIVIDUAL REVIEWS

This article is something of a preview rather than a review or an opinion. I shall also use it as an index and reference point for the other reviews I shall be posting on similar subject matter. I will continue to update and add page references to each article as I go.

It is my intention to write a review of each operetta within this boxed set range. There are obviously some inconsistencies in this arrangement (“Trial By Jury” – the first operetta - is too short to stand alone and is paired with “Yeoman of the Guard”) and one omission (“Thespis” was the first G&S collaboration but has been lost to antiquity).

I have also posted a review about "Orpheus in the Underworld" by Jacques Offenbach ( ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD ). This is a fairly recent recording by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Both Gilbert and Sullivan were firm admirers of this adoptive Frenchman. Orpheus really is a treasure and worth going out of your way to see. I have just received a copy of the Company's "Die Fledermaus" (Johann Strauss) recorded in the mid 1990s and sung in English. I hope to post a review of that in due course.

BTW: The title of each review is a direct quotation from the opera in question.

DVDs

To my knowledge there is not a full set of video recordings of the operas. This particular collection, featuring the ten full length operas, is the nearest to that goal. It was produced back in the 1980s by George Walker, originally for screening by the BBC. They have been available on VHS tape since that time but they were remastered and reissued on DVD during 2002. Admittedly at the moment they are only available in Region 1 format in America (one retailer in Newcastle has told me that he could obtain them from the US as a special order) but there are rumours that a release may be imminent in the UK next year.

They feature the London Symphony Orchestra, a professional operatic choir, a number of D’Oyly Carte stalwarts and a number of guest artists. These include Keith Michell, Frankie Howerd, Vincent Price and William Conrad. The DVDs are available singly, as a box of five ‘Most Popular’ or a box of the full ten titles.

THE OPERAS:

THE SORCERER / THE ZOO
Love, The Housemaid, lights her kitchen fire Posted Oct 31 2003

HMS PINAFORE
Ring The Merry Bells On Board Ship Posted Mar 16 2003

PIRATES OF PENZANCE
A Paradox, A Paradox, That Most Ingenious Paradox Posted Aug 30 2003

PATIENCE
I Am Blithe and I Am Gay Posted Nov 12 2003

IOLANTHE
She’d Meet Him After Dark Inside St James Park And Give Him One! Posted Jul 29 2003

PRINCESS IDA
Man’s A Ribald, Man’s A Rake; Man Is Nature’s Sole Mistake Posted Oct 22 2003

THE MIKADO
Here’s A How-Di-Do! Posted Mar 18 2003

RUDDIGORE / COX AND BOX
Then Is The Ghosts' High Noon Posted Nov 5 2003

YEOMEN OF THE GUARD / TRIAL BY JURY
What A Tale Of Cock; What A Tale Of Bull! Posted Aug 17 2003

THE GONDOLIERS
When Everyone is Somebody, Then No-one’s Anybody Posted Nov 16 2003

UTOPIA LTD / OVERTURES
King Tuppence: A Good Deal Less Than Half A Sovereign Posted Nov 3 2003

THE GRAND DUKE
Fill The Bowl With Lesbian Wine Posted Nov 19 2003

THE FORM OF THE REVIEW

I shall try to keep a uniform format as I go. The logical sections are “The Plot”, ”G&S History”, ”The background to the opera”, “The Songs”, “Stage Performances”, “Recording Details – CD, DVD”, “G&S Trivia”

UPDATE: November 19th 2003

My labour of love is complete: the whole series of reviews has been posted. The new DECCA box is available on line. My sources tell me that there are still copies of the individual operas from the older series available from the D'Oyly Carte web site.

I have to say that the news of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company does not look too good. As lovers of the works will know, they have had a particularly patchy financial history since the 1970s. They rely on performance money and charitable donations. They do not receive government or artistic heritage grants.

It was a great relief and pleasant surprise to many when they returned to their old home at the Savoy Hotel in the Strand, London, some years ago. The performances have played in general to packed houses. These seasons have been overseen by the impressario Raymond Gubby. Early in May 2003 it was announced that the Company would be put into suspension "because of the current economic climate". No new performances were being considered. At the same time the Savoy Theatre was mothballed - ostensibly for decoration and refurbishment.

This Christmas and New Year Raymond Gubbay is presenting a pantomime (Peter Pan) and a new staging of "Pirates of Penzance" with a theatrical cast. The Gubbay Organsiation has also come to an arrangement with the management of the Savoy Theatre to stage "Operas for the Popular Audience", commencing April 2004. Amongst the composers slated are Mozart and Rossini. The intention is to make the lighter operas cheaper and more accessible than those performed "around the corner" at Covent Garden. Gilbert and Sullivan were not mentioned in the press release. Neither was the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. Maybe this is another reason to buy this historic set of discs - as a memento prior to the extinction of a strand of Victorian musical heritage.


MY BACKGROUND

I have enjoyed the works of Gilbert and Sullivan for many years. There was an appreciation of the music woven into the fabric of our family decades before I happened along. My grandfather was a leading light in the local amateur dramatic society in Leicester in the 1920s and early 30s. I am told that he had a fine tenor voice and was on the edge of pursuing a professional career. I have photographs of him in costume from a number of staged productions. That love of the operettas came down through my mother to me.

I have seen all of the popular operas – some by the D’Oyly Carte Company, some by their great rivals the Carl Rosa Opera Company. I have seen alternative interpretations of some of the titles. I have the complete set of the CD recordings. As of today I am awaiting one remaining title in the DVD series (Now arrived from Amazon.com!). I have a more or less complete set of the libretti for reference.

In more recent times my step-son has developed a similar keen interest in Gilbert and Sullivan He came home from a school concert, full of the lines of “A Policeman’s Lot” not knowing exactly where it has come from. Since then we have taken him to the Theatre Royal in Newcastle whenever there has been a production in the calendar (we have not kept his horizons narrow on G&S alone and he has also seen “The Magic Flute” and “Orpheus In The Underworld”). As a family we have taken day trips to the Savoy Theatre in London. He has continued to borrow from my CD collection and he will usually know before we do when another performance is brewing.