Ruddigore / Cox & Box

Ruddigore was revised substantially after its premiere, not the least of which was the change from the more bloodthirsty name Ruddygore. The Sadler's Wells recording of 1987 is the more authentic in terms of being closest to the work's state on opening night. Certainly, the inclusion of deleted music makes the Sadler's Wells a must for any fan of the work, but I simply find this 1962 recording by D'Oyly Carte more enjoyable.

Kenneth Sanford's Despard and Donald Adam's Roderic are highlights, but the entire cast is first-rate. Allister's deep rich voice in her Margaret aria is beautiful and John Reed has always been my favorite patter baritone. No dialogue is included, but the highlight of Ruddigore for me has always been its music. I find much of Ruddigore's dialogue very tedious without visuals (Despard/Margaret Act II, for example), so I don't miss it.

There is some very dramatic orchestral and choral writing which the D'Oyly Carte orchestra and chorus handle wonderfully. The Act I finale, in particular, has some of the most beautiful choral music ever written by Sullivan.

Also a personal preference, I like the revised Act II finale must better than the "Basingstoke" original.

But above all, I find the "patter trio" on this recording to be the better than all other recordings of Ruddigore (and of the Papp 1981 Pirates). The speed and breath control of Reed, Sanford and Allister seem super human. (They've all sweared that no splicing was done.)

This recording also includes Cox and Box which is a delightful short operetta by Sullivan and Burnard (rather than Gilbert) with the Rataplan song being my highlight.

My favorite G&S and my favorite recording (not definitive, but favorite).

SOURCE FOR "RUDDIGORE": Studio recording made in 1962 and originally issued on two Lps.

SOURCE FOR "COX AND BOX": Studio recording made in 1961 and intended to occupy the sixth side of a three-Lp set that featured "The Gondoliers."

SOUND: Both these recordings were captured in what was then considered to be leading-edge analogue stereo. The digital remastering of 1993 seems perfectly adequate to me and should be satisfactory to all but the most finicky audiophiles.

CAST FOR "RUDDIGORE": Robin Oakapple, who is Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, the twenty-second Baronet of Ruddigore, in disguise - John Reed (patter baritone); Richard Dauntless, a sailor on the Revenue Sloop Tomtit, Robin's foster brother - Thomas Round (tenor); Sir Despard Murgatroyd, Bart., Sir Ruthven's younger brother - Kenneth Sandford (baritone); Old Adam, Robin's faithful valet and Sir Ruthven's perfidious henchman - Stanley Riley (bass); Rose Maybud, a village maiden - Jean Hindmarsh (soprano); Mad Margaret, a very strange lady - Jean Allister (mezzo-soprano); Dame Hannah, Rose's Aunt - Gillian Knight (mezzo-soprano); Zorah, a professional bridesmaid - Mary Sansom (soprano); Sir Roderic Murgatroyd (deceased), the twenty-first Baronet of Ruddigore - Donald Adams (bass-baritone). CONDUCTOR: Isidore Godfrey with the New Symphony Orchestra of London [the Orchestra of the Royal Opera] and the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Chorus.

CAST FOR "COX AND BOX": Cox, a printer who works by night, engaged to Penelope Ann, the Widow Wiggins - Alan Styler (baritone); Box, a hatter who works by day, formerly engaged to Penelope Ann, the Widow Wiggins - Joseph Riordan (tenor); Sergeant Bouncer, their shifty landlord - Donald Adams (bass-baritone). CONDUCTOR: Isidore Godfrey with the New Symphony Orchestra of London [the Orchestra of the Royal Opera] and the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company Chorus.

TEXT FOR "RUDDIGORE": "Ruddigore" has been the most manhandled of all of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic operas. During the first run, the very title had to be changed in response to the pressure of Victorian prudery. For the 1919 revival, Rupert D'Oyly Carte commissioned a new overture to replace the original, which he regarded as inadequate. For reasons much less clear, he authorized the cut of a duet in the first act for Rose and Robin called, "The battle's roar is over." Out of sheer idiocy, as far as I am concerned, he cut down the original second act finale to an inadequate stump, essentially a mere reprise of "Oh, happy the lily" from the first act finale. Among other dire effects, the new ending requires the men's chorus to make an unnecessary mid-act costume change.

This 1962 recording starts off with conductor Geoffrey Toye's second version of the overture. The original version, written by Sullivan's assistant Hamilton Clarke, is placed before the beginning the second act. "The battle's roar is over" was restored after a forty-year hiatus. The wretched revised second act finale was retained. (The original was not recorded until the Sadlers Wells version was issued in the 1980s.) Although pre-issue advertisements indicated that "Ruddigore" would include spoken dialogue, none has ever been issued, although some believe it was actually recorded.

TEXT FOR "COX AND BOX": "C&B" was Sullivan's first foray into the lucrative world of comic opera. In the 1860s, J. Maddison Morton's farce "Box and Cox" was highly popular. For a party entertainment, Sullivan's friend F. C. Burnand dashed off some lyrics which Sullivan set to music. At the party, Sullivan accompanied on the piano and Burnand, if memory serves me, played Bouncer. The piece was such a hit that the pair was obliged to present it again at another party. Both men had an eye for a good thing, so they set to work on a professional version with full orchestrations by Sullivan. "C&B" turned out to be a hit and a money spinner (not one penny of which ever reached poor old J. M. Morton.) It effectively changed the course of Sullivan's life.

Burnand and Sullivan's version of "C&B" runs about an hour. The D'Oyly Carte company created a greatly truncated version running for about half an hour to use as a forepiece in conjunction with the shorter G&S comic operas. Morton's dialogue is ruthlessly slashed. The most significant musical losses are a scene built around a deck of cards and the sung finale, replaced here by spoken words over orchestral music. "C&B" was recorded twice by the D'Oyly Carte Company, first in 1961, then in 1978. The latter, lesser version restores the sung finale.

DOCUMENTATION: No libretto. Short summaries of the plot of each comic opera. Track lists that identify the principal singers and provide timings. Early issues of this set erroneously contained the 1978 "C&B" rather than the 1961 version. Decca-London corrected the error when it became aware of it. However, the track list in the accompanying booklet was not changed and still refers to the sung finale of the 1978 "C&B".

COMMENTARY: In January 1887, G&S offered the follow-up to their mega-hit "The Mikado." The show was profitable but it received criticism in a way that none of their previous shows had, mostly arising from the undeniable fact that "Ruddygore" was not "The Mikado." The name also proved a difficulty, forcing the reluctant Gilbert at last to modify it into "Ruddigore."

Of all the G&S comic operas, the book and lyrics of "Ruddigore" are probably the most dated. The other shows are satiric comedies based on the human condition, or at least the English variety of it--even "Patience" with its rival aesthetic poets resonates well with our world of rock stars and groupies. "Ruddigore." however, was a satire aimed at a particular form of popular entertainment, the "transpontine melodrama." The Victorians simply loved plays and books about brooding, darkly sinister gentlemen with nefarious schemes, many of them holding the rank of baronet--"bad barts." ("Dracula" is a fine, late example.) On stage, "Ruddigore" still works quite effectively as a comedy, but modern audiences simply lack enough familiarity with transpontine melodramas to recognize the satirical touches.

The effectiveness of the piece is underlined by the fact that the great, second act, triple patter song, "My eyes are fully open," was lifted holus-bolus and inserted into the stage musical version of "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

"Cox and Box," when well done is an outrageously funny charmer. It is well done here. The only complaint I have is that we are given a maimed and cropped version rather than the whole thing. To my knowledge, the only near-complete version ever recorded was the British TV version produced by Brent Walker in the 1980s.

These recordings capture the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in the height of its 1960s form. At its core were stars still held fondly in the hearts of many G&S afficionados: 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 this repertory. They offer 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 D'Oyly Carte Company 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.

These are five star performances, but annoying textual omissions lead me to deduct one of them.

Four stars.

Ruddigore is amoungst one of my favorite G&S Operas and this recording does not bring much disapointment. The singing and orchestra are excellent and the addition of Cox and Box makes it all the much better. My only dislike of this opera (but enough to detract from a five star rating) is that after listening to the New Saddler Wells version I miss some of the music that is not in this version. I am especially sad at the shortened ending for this version and much prefer the Saddler Wells original ending. But as I stated before, this is not enough to ruin this wonderful recording of Ruddigore.
Plus I must add that the Cox and Box recording is also superb and brings me great joy for I know of no other way of obtaining it.