Gilbert & Sullivan

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Pirates of Penzance / Kline, Ronstadt, Smith, Routledge, Delacorte Theater (Broadway Theatre Archive)

This Pirates of Penzance is primarily a historical document, part of the Broadway Theater Archive television series. It presents, with some inevitable, tiny technical shortcomings, a live 1980 performance in Central Park, not the 1983 movie of the same name that also starred Linda Ronstadt and Kevin Kline. Those who remember that film, which had the benefit of retakes and editing, a lavish production budget, and the spaciousness of a Hollywood studio, may find this video less polished. On its own terms, it is nonetheless thoroughly enjoyable.

Advantages of this live performance include a sense of spontaneity, and the feeling of being part of a theatrical audience that is visibly and audibly having a very good time. The (reduced and partly electronic) orchestra is also visible; scenery is minimal; the onstage pirate boat, excellent for a live production, is no match for what a movie can offer. The voices are uneven, and some of them evoke Broadway more than London. But the performance is well styled, lively, and energetic. Gilbert and Sullivan's witty sparkle comes through clearly. --Joe McLellan

Gilbert and Sullivan's raucous operatic tale is captured in all its fun and glory in this production, recorded live at Central Park's Delacorte Theater. Kevin Kline sparkles as the swashbuckling and libidinous Pirate King while Linda Ronstadt makes her theatrical debut as the lovely and virginal Mabel. When Mabel and Frederic, a young pirate bound to serve the Pirate King, fall in love, complications arise and high spirited antics ensue. The incomparable cast offers the best in this boisterous romp. END

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Eric Idle, Lesley Garrett, Richard Van Allan, Felicity Palmer, Richard Angas, Bonaventura Bottone, Susan Bullock, English National Opera

Jonathan Miller set his well-known production of The Mikado, staged for the English National Opera, in a British seaside resort of the 1920s. The result, complete with a chorus of gentlemen of Japan as cartoon-like British peers, emphatically underscores the Englishness of the satire. The occasional non sequiturs, like a bunch of gentry dressed for Ascot and singing in Japanese, are loonily fun, and no more absurd than the fantasyland Japan that Gilbert and Sullivan invented. The time frame, though, seems little more than an excuse for a smart black-and-white production design.

The show's main calling card is Eric Idle as Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner. Unfortunately, his star turn of a performance, like the production as a whole, is not as funny as it should be. There are loads of comic ideas, some of them effective (bellboys parading through the hotel lobby with "No flirting" signs), some dubious (Ko-Ko delivering a 1980s-updated "little list" song at a press conference), some worked beyond their shelf life (insanely posh accents). This video recording of a 1987 performance could have been better made; the chorus, badly miked, sounds as if it is far off-stage. The actors' heavy makeup and heavy mugging are reminders that the production wasn't originally created for the camera. Such staginess may take some getting used to, but it fits in nicely with the aggressive fakery characteristic of G&S. This revisionist Mikado is probably best after you've experienced more straightforward approaches. --David Olivenbaum

The irrepressible Eric Idle (Monty Python's Flying Circus) teams up with the English National Opera in this hilarious performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's beloved comic opera, THE MIKADO. This rollicking version of Gilbert and Sullivan's most popular tale relocates the action from ancient Japan to a 1920s English seaside resort. Here the rule of the Mikado is absolute--and often prone to whimsy. Ko-Ko (Eric Idle) is sentenced to death for the crime of flirting, but in a strange turn of events is instead named "Lord High Executioner." A delightful farce ensues as Ko-Ko can't behead anyone without first cutting off his own head. But by the second act, the Mikado demands an execution and Ko-Ko must delicately sing and dance his way around a messy situation involving the Mikado's son and his secret love Yum Yum. One of the best loved gems in all of opera, this charming production of THE MIKADO adds a unique twist to the timeless music--especially with the madcap talent of Eric Idle in his opera debut! DVD Features: A Source of Innocent Merriment: The Making of The Mikado; Downloadable Libretto; Cast Biographies; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Gilbert & Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore / Trial By Jury - David Hobson, Anthony Warlow, Colette Mann, Tiffany Speight, John Bolton Wood, Richard Alexander, Opera Australia, State Theatre, The Arts Centre Melbourne

For most of the 20th century, the D'Oyly Carte Opera performed HMS Pinafore with a companion piece, Trial by Jury. Opera Australia re-unites these long-standing stage-mates with two fresh productions and an inspired cast. While HMS Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan's first full-length satirical work and first major international success, Trial by Jury was their first collaboration - the show's outrageous antics made it the toast of London.

In this filmed recording, Anthony Warlow, Australia's musical theatre superstar, is at the helm as both the "right good captain" and the "good judge" too. He is joined by a stellar cast featuring David Hobson, John Bolton Wood and Colette Mann as "dear little Buttercup".

Featuring: Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, Colette Mann, Tiffany Speight, John Bolton Wood, Richard Alexander, Opera Australia Melbourne Chorus, Orchestra Victoria.

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Reed, Adams, Potter, Masterson, Godfrey, D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Gondoliers / David Hobson, Roger Lemke, Australian Opera

The impoverished Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro come to Venice in search of the heir to the throne of Barataria, inconveniently mislaid at birth and betrothed to their daughter. The most likely candidates are two handsome gondoliers, far more interested in parties than politics and, what's more, just married! It takes the help of the nursemaid to unravel the knots in this particularly twisty tale.

David Hobson: Marco Palmieri, a Gondolier
Roger Lemke: Giuseppe Palmieri, a Gondolier
Suzanne Johnston: Tessa, a Peasant Girl
Christine Douglas: Gianetta, a Peasant Girl
Robert Gard: Duke of Plaza-Toro
Graeme Ewer: Duchess of Plaza-Toro
Fiona Maconaghie: Casilda, their daughter
Martin Croft: Luiz, their attendant
Dennis Olsen: Don Alhambra, The Grand Inquisitor
Jennifer Bermingham: Inez, the King¹s Foster Mother

Opera Australia. Conductor: Dobbs Franks Director/Choreographer: Brian MacDonald. With The Australian Opera Chorus, The Elizabethan Philharmonic Orchestra

"The Australian Opera has prepared a stylish and exhilarating Gondoliers; it also offers many opportunities for biting humor and the release of unbridled energy" The Australian

"Costumes are dazzling; the choreography is exuberant; and every member of the cast gives the impression of enjoying their roles." The Sydney Morning Herald

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Conrad, Stewart, Revill, Opera World

An uneasy cross between a movie and a theater production, this version of Gilbert and Sullivan's masterpiece The Mikado is on the clumsy side. Obviously taped on a stage (there are just two settings, a town square and a landscape) but without an audience, it lacks the spark of live performance and the versatility of film. The action is weighed down by jejune attempts at comedy. When Nanki-Poo (disguised as a musician) receives the devastating news that the woman he loves is promised to another man, he doesn't react at all, but instead plays trombone accompaniment. And after he describes his catalog of musical offerings, the court gentlemen--for no reason except that the song's final word is "lullaby"--drop to the ground and fall asleep. Besides not being funny, these gags are unconnected to anything in the story.

A couple of performances partly redeem things. Kate Flowers sings very well and, even better, actually creates a character. Her Yum-Yum is mischievous, blunt, sarcastic--just the kind of person who would compare herself to the sun and the moon. And as Ko-Ko, Clive Revill is a terrific combination of wily and sympathetic. Slightly hunched and wearing a jester's costume, Revill is a nervous little schemer who's vividly believable. William Conrad's bland Mikado doesn't have much impact. This is one of the less distinguished entries in the Opera World series of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. --David Olivenbaum

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Pirates of Penzance / Jon English, Simon Gallaher, Helen Donaldson, Toni Lamond, Derek Metzger, Tim Tyler, Craig Schaffer

Gilbert and Sullivan's hilarious comic operetta tells the story of the orphan Frederic. The son of a wealthy 19th century man, Frederic's fate takes a sudden twist when, after his father's death, his hard-of-hearing nursemaid finds him an apprenticeshop as a pirate instead of a pilot! He fulfills his apprenticeship with not just any old pirate, rather, it's with the Pirate King himself, the leader of the not-so-fierce "Pirates of Penzance." But now at age 21 and with his indenture ending, Frederic's sense of duty calls him to rid the seas of his former friends. Despite their track record, the pirates believe they have an ace up their collective sleeves, a way of keeping Frederic amongst them...

Starring Jon English, Simon Gallaher and Toni Lamond, this delightful rollicking story includes some of Gilbert & Sullivan's most famous tunes, including "I am a Pirate King" and "(I Am The Very Model Of) A Modern Major General."

"Fast…spectacular…a blaze of action" The Bulletin
"Inspired…fiercely energetic…splendid" Sydney Morning Herald

Jon English The Pirate King; Marc James Samuel, his Lieutenant; Simon Gallaher Frederic; Toni Lamond Ruth, a Pirate Maid; The Fabulous Singlettes Major-General Stanley's Daughters; Helen Donaldson Mabel; Derek Metzger Major-General Stanley; Tim Tyler The Sergeant. Also starring David Coombs, Robert Dale, Michael Flazon, Marc James, Gary Jones, David Lowe, Emma Powell, Peter Rees, David Scotchford, Jason Smith, Anthony Weigh, Lachlan Youngberg, Jenny Wilson Ensemble.
Recorded live at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Australia, November 5, 1994.

Gilbert & Sullivan - Iolanthe / Hammond-Stroud, Mills, Collins, Opera World

Even by the unreal standards of Gilbert and Sullivan, Iolanthe is a fanciful piece of work, in which Fairyland meets the House of Lords. Needless to say, the lords--a superbly dimwitted bunch--don't triumph. The title character was once banished from the fairy kingdom, and now she returns as the marriage of her son, Strephon, is imperiled by Parliament. Mixing satire with ethereal fantasy (though the fairies are earthly enough to have a taste for men in authority), all set to a lush score, the piece holds together miraculously.

This version is not ideal, with lots of mugging and condescending to the material. There are failed stabs at cleverness, such as a witless pseudo-newsreel that marks Strephon's run for Parliament. Still, the charm of the piece comes through. Kate Flowers as Strephon's fiancée, Phyllis, is a delight; she sings radiantly and conveys the driest possible blend of modesty and narcissism. As the Queen of the Fairies, Anne Collins puts her weighty contralto to good comic use. She is commanding but endearing, especially when she sings amorously to the fire captain.

Part of the Opera World series of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas made for television, this one has the strengths and weaknesses of an uneven series. Visual and sound quality are muddier than they should be, and, for better or worse, the operettas are presented without the updating that's frequently done, just as Gilbert wrote them, obscure references and all. --David Olivenbaum

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado

Changes must be expected when a classic book or stage show becomes a movie. In this 1939 Mikado, efforts were made to respect the original. Stars of the D'Oyly Carte Company were hired for key roles and performed them in their traditional style, with the D'Oyly Carte Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, and a director (Victor Schertzinger) who was also a conductor and knew the music.

An introductory scene was added to clarify the plot, and other small adjustments were made. Several songs were left out or abbreviated, and one song, "The sun, whose rays," was sung twice, by Nanki-Poo and by Yum-Yum, for whom it was written. A popular tenor of the time, Kenny Baker, sang Nanki-Poo with good, light tone, but in his own non-traditional style. These departures from tradition may infuriate hard-core Gilbert and Sullivan fans, but others will hardly notice. The visuals are gorgeous, the sound not up to present standards but clear and accurate. This is not a definitive Mikado, but an interesting one and timeless in style. --Joe McLellan

As an operetta, "The Mikado" was the culmination of Gilbert & Sullivan's work--the tale of Japanese prince Nanki-Poo, who is on the run from an arranged marriage, masquerading as a balladeer. He falls in love with Yum-Yum, a woman betrothed to the Lord High Executioner, who has problems of his own--his job (and life) depends upon at least one execution taking place each month, but he's without a current prospect for the ax. Nanki-Poo agrees to be executed if he is allowed to marry Yum-Yum so that he will have a month of romantic bliss, and a comedy of errors ensues, all sparked by classic songs such as "A Wandering Minstrel I" and "Three Little Maids from School."

Gilbert & Sullivan - Patience

Set in the early 20th century, the aesthetic poet Bunthorne sings his love for Patience, the village milkmaid. Meanwhile he has captured the heart of every other lady in the village. Upon the arrival of the idyllic poet Grosvener, all hell breaks loose when he proposes to Patience.

...this production has assembled a cast that simply could not be bettered.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

...Warlow from the first moment of his appearance on stage radiates star quality
FINANCIAL REVIEW

Featuring: Christine Douglas, Heather Begg, Anthony Warlow, Dennis Olsen