Search - Gilbert & Sullivan, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Monica Sinclair, George Baker, Heather Harper, Elizabeth Harwood Owen Brannigan :: Gilbert & Sullivan - Operettas / Pro Arte Orchestra · Sir Malcolm Sargent

The advent of stereo brought forth two competing Gilbert and Sullivan cycles that retain their classic status in divergent ways. Seasoned Savoyards lean towards Decca's D'Oyly Carte recordings, where the use of singing actors and inclusion of dialogue add up to a palpable theatrical experience. By contrast, EMI's competing cycle featured some of Britain's finest operatic singers of the 1950s and '60s, who largely command both music and text on equal terms. The nine operettas in this series conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent--Trial by Jury, HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, Iolanthe, The Mikado, Ruddigore, The Yeomen of the Guard, and The Gondoliers--are repackaged in a budget-priced, space-saving box. True, some might contend that Sargent's stoutly moderate tempos downplay the authors' irreverent bite, but at least you can make out every blasted word. And that's important, since EMI includes no librettos, just a synopsis of each work. As a bonus, Sullivan's orchestral forays outside comic opera fill out the discs, including incidental music to The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice, the touching Overture in C ("In Memoriam"), an attractively tuneful Symphony in E, and a fascinating reconstruction of a Cello Concerto, whose autograph and parts perished in a 1964 fire. You simply cannot find a more comprehensive Gilbert and Sullivan bargain than this highly enticing set. Grab it while you can. --Jed Distler