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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed reunion, 30 Dec 2003
By A Customer
With UTOPIA LIMITED Gilbert and Sullivan returned to the Savoy (in partnership) after a gap of almost four years. Following the premiere of their previous work (THE GONDOLIERS, December 1889) they had become involved in a bitter law suit in which Gilbert had opposed D'Oyly Carte over the expenses incurred in the provision of a new carpet for the foyer of the Savoy Theatre. Sullivan sided with Carte - something Gilbert would never fully forgive.UTOPIA is quite a different libretto to those Gilbert wrote in 1892 (HASTE TO THE WEDDING with George Grossmith and THE MOUNTEBANKS with Alfred Cellier), it is openly satirical of everything English and even takes pop-shots at D'Oyly Carte in the character of Mr Goldbury, the company promotor, and at Sullivan in the character of Arthur Fitzbattleaxe, the tenor who cannot reach his top notes. These factors lead to a rather dark-hued libretto with not much of a storyline. Sullivan, too, with his Grand Opera IVANHOE (1891) and Light Opera HADDON HALL (1892) under his belt, was also in a much darker musical mood and this manifests itself with a number of dark musical passages and recitatives. The current recording was released at the end of 1975 and was the direct result of the first professional revival by D'Oyly Carte as part of their centenary season at the Savoy earlier that year. As a result of this stage version the recording has more of a theatrical feel to it than (for example) the 1968 SORCERER, recorded at a time when that opera was not in the repertoire. Recorded without dialogue (except for a few snatches in Act Two) the recording is a little brighter than one might have expected, and many of the numbers rattle off at a cracking pace. John Reed and John Ayldon are excellent as the two wise men and Kenneth Sandford turns in a wonderful performance as King Paramount. Pamela Field and Meston Reid make a delightful pair of lovers. There are a number of musical gems, not least the duet for Nekaya and Kalyba, the twin princesses, although the voices of both Julia Goss and Judi Merri are perhaps a little weighty for 18 year old girls. The cabinet council scene is a winner as always. Orchestra and chorus are well directed by Royston Nash, and this latest CD reissue by DECCA seems to have taken the nasty harsh edge off the recorded sound that seemed to be present on the original L.P. issue. The fillers are a welcome reissue and give a delightful taster of some of Sullivan's rarer orchestral music. However, all this said, unless you are desperate for the fillers (which except MARMION are available in other recordings) there is also the complete recording (with dialogue) made by Ohio Light Opera in 2000, which pips this older D'Oyly Carte recording to the post by some considerable distance.
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~ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
~ The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
~ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
~ D'Oyly Carte Opera
~ The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
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