Gilbert & Sullivan: Iolanthe [Import]

It's so good to hear a full production of G & S. So often you just get the songs and miss all those wonderful witty lines of W S Gilberts. This production took me straight back to my childhood when I fell in love with G & S through D'Oyly Carte productions. The trio 'If you go in' with Donald Adams, Thomas Round and John Reed will never be bettered, especially by those of us who remember their on stage antics. If I have one complaint it's that some of the ladies let the side down, apart from the esteemiable Gillian Knight, who excels in the haughty Queen of the fairies. Those used to more modern productions might find some of the songs slightly slow especially if you're used to the Sir Malcolm Sargeant productions but it's worth it to be able to fully enjoy the lyrics.

SOURCE:
September 1960 studio recording made in London.

SOUND:
When new, the series of G&S recordings that included this "Iolanthe" was generally regarded as being at the leading edge of commercial analogue stereo. The digital remastering carried out in the late 1990s was generally successful and the sound on these CDs will be perfectly satisfactory to anyone but hyper-finicky audiophiles.

CAST:
Lord Chancellor - John Reed (patter baritone)
Earl Mountararat - Donald Adams (bass-baritone)
Earl Tolloller - Thomas Round (tenor)
Private Willis - Kenneth Sandford (bass-baritone)
Strephon - Alan Styler (baritone)
Queen of the Fairies - Gillian Knight (mezzo-soprano)
Iolanthe - Yvonne Newman (mezzo-soprano)
Celia - Jennifer Toye (soprano)
Leila - Pauline Wales (soprano)
Fleta - Dawn Bradshaw (speaking part)
Phyllis - Mary Sansom (soprano)

CONDUCTOR:
Isadore Godfrey with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus, the New Symphony Orchestra of London and the Band of the Grenadier Guards.

TEXT:
With one significant exception, the text of this performance is the standard text adopted by the D'Oyly Carte Company early in the Twentieth Century and performed by them until the company's demise at the hands of the penny-pinching Thatcher government. The standard text contains one major cut from the opening night's score, a song for Strephon called "Fold Your Flapping Wings." The song was not recorded here, although it has been restored in the 1991 recording of the (quite different) New D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

The exception to the standard text in this performance arises from the fact that the original production of "Iolanthe" was offered to the London audience in an ultra-sumptuous production. That production had a full military brass band to play for the spectacular entrance of the peers in Act One. The D'Oyly Carte touring companies, on the other hand, playing year after year throughout the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland, could not afford the luxury of a second band. For them, Sullivan thriftily provided a version of the entrance music that could be played by the pick-up orchestras playing in the pits of provincial theaters. The touring version became the standard version and was played on all prior recordings.

It should be noted that this set was recorded at a time when the record producers elected to break with the long-established practice of omitting spoken words. The labels on both the old Lp album and the earlier version of the CD case proudly proclaimed "Complete with dialogue" and so it was and is. You are free to regard this fact as a welcome addition or as an insufferable nuisance.

COMMENTARY:
This recording captures the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company--the production company founded by Gilbert, Sullivan and their producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte--in the height of its 1960s form. At its core were stars still held fondly in the hearts of many G&S afficionados worldwide: John Reed, Kenneth Sandford, Thomas Round, Donald Adams and Gillian Knight. It was certainly a very sound cast and, naturally, the most experienced in the world in the G&S repertory.

This is a performance in the classic D'Oyly Carte tradition which stretches directly back to the days when genial Sullivan conducted from the pit of the Savoy Theatre and glowering Gilbert was the stage director.

The recordings of the original DCOC can be divided into four strata: the electrical recordings of the late 1920s and early 1930s, the mono recordings of the 1950s, the first stereo recordings of the 1960s and the second stereo recordings of the 1970s. Fans debate with considerable heat about the respective merits of the three earlier strata. (Nobody pays much attention to the final one.) The 1960s cast certainly has its adherents. Purely as a matter of personal taste, I prefer the earlier ones, but they are recorded in the "historic" sound not beloved by ears accustomed to the digital era.

This "Iolanthe" is more brisk than the contemporary and rival version conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent. However the whole Sargent series has been widely criticized from the outset as being unnecessarily lugubrious. What is recorded here is a fair presentation of the tempo of the actual DCOC stage production as I remember it. It is about the same as the 1950s version and, if anything, a bit slower than the 1930s version.

Overall, a good stereo version of "Iolanthe" displaying the absolutely authentic performing tradition for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Five stars.

This is one of the finest productions I have heard of this production in a long time. Not only are the singers well-polished and enthusiastic, but the orchestra is really quite good. Of particular note is the first entrance of the Peers chorus in 'Loudly let the trumpet bray.'which is done with both the gusto and the faux seriousness it cries for. Also ther is the Lord Chancellor's very funny solo in act II 'Love unrequited.' which is also done extremly well. Overall the D'Oyle Carter do tremendous justice to this fine piece of music