Operas of Gilbert & Sullivan

These are the performances I grew up with, the D'Oyly Carte recordings made between 1949 and 1951. The sound has been beautifully cleaned, and technical errors have been corrected as much as possible, including the infamous pitch shift in the middle of Trial by Jury. It's wonderful to hear them all again, and to have them at such an excellent price. The individual CDs often contain the second half of one opera and the first half of another, but that's fine with me. I'm disappointed only that the slightly later recordings of The Sorceror and Princess Ida are not included. Pretty good notes in the booklet, including interesting thumbnail biographies of all the soloists.

This is a good collection, and for those of us who are most familiar with Martyn Green as the comic tenor, rather than his successor John Reed, it's wonderful to hear him and the cast of that generation again. Though later D'Oyly Carte recordings have been very fine, they have also included all the dialogue, and I have always found that intrusive and a bit annoying. These never did, and I'm enjoying that as well. I do have a few issues.First, my impression is that the tempi are just a shade fast--not enough to change the pitches, but enough to shave minutes off a ten-CD set, and since I know the original recordings so well, I can be fairly certain that they were not THAT fast when the tracks were first laid down. The time between numbers can be measured in nanoseconds, which is fine, but a little disconcerting. I understand the desire to get the whole set on ten CDs, but the speed, and the fact that most of the operettas start midway through one CD and finish on the next one, are clearly decisions made for reasons having to do with marketing--not love of or appreciation for the operettas themselves. The decision to include Pineapple Poll and several orchestral numbers is a sad trade-off for the absence of the duet between Sergeant Meryll and Dame Carruthers ("Ghastly, ghastly!"), and the complete exclusion of Princess Ida, surely one of the most musically sophisticated, if lesser-known works in the canon.I gave this set four stars, and in all honesty, half a star was probably for nostalgia value. That's not to say it's not a good set, and I have been waiting for many years for someone to reissue these old recordings, with Martyn Green, Ann Drummond-Grant, Darrell Fancourt,and others who made those early recordings so wonderful. I think that the music is fine (if fast).The set, as a whole, appears to have been put together by people who do not know or love the operettas, the performers, the company, or the context in which they all came together, and that is very, very obvious. Skillfully, lovingly done, this would be a collector's item, and I'd pay twice the money for it.

I know, I know -- the dialogue is not included. But I think some traditional cuts are included, so there's a howdy-do! I have not memorized every line and tune, though as I have been listening through this set I do find certain pieces constantly running through my head. O, woe. But that is the risk anyone takes who listens to Gilbert & Sullivan, especially in such fine performances. I once had purchased many of these performances, in whole or in part, on LP Mono. I must say that despite the renewal of enthusiasm for vinyl, the audio work done on the masters for these discs provides far better clarity of artists, choruses, and orchestras than my budget mono plastics had done. The set covers most of the main operas excepting Princess Ida; nor does it include Utopia or The Grand Duke, omitted without detriment to the whole. What it does have is Martyn Green and many of his great colleagues from the 1940's Savoyards. Now, if someone would produce the tapes of the inimitable Ross Allen's WFIU FM Saturday show featuring Mikado's bilious laughs through the ages, my collection would be complete.

When I first looked at this, I asked a couple of sellers if they know if these recordings had the dialogue with them and not just the musical items. They couldn't tell me, unfortunately, but this is something I think sellers of light operas should, perhaps, be aware of as some recordings do and some don't. I decided to buy the set regardless anyway, being a big fan of Gilbert & Sullivan and having performed in some of the operettas with the local Gi&S Society. I am therefore happy with it otherwise, but may look for individual recordings with dialogue included later. There is nothing wrong with the recordings otherwise.

As I have taken part in the performance of many of these Gilbert and Sullivan operas, it has been so good to hear them. I have the collection in my car and play them as I drive along. I'm sure people wonder what I am doing as I sing along with the performances. A really wonderful collection I feel sure I will play over and over again.

Disliked initial failure of track 33 disk 5. After several tries it began to play well.Replacement now not required

I was delighted to find that these are the D'Oyly Carte recordings featuring Martyn Greene, the ones I grew up with and therefore still regard sentimentally as the "definitive" versions. Two discontents: the absence of both "The Sorcerer" and "Princess Ida." (I adhere to the opinion that "Ida" has probably the best music in the series, and several "Sorcerer" numbers rank among my favorites) and the curious arrangement of the other works. I should have preferred them arranged chronologically, especially as several of the operas are split between two disks anyway -- which could have been unavoidable to fit them all onto ten CD's. Nevertheless I feel intensely satisfied to have this as my basic G&S listening set.

Once you get used to the slightly lower recording quality compared with more modern recordings these discs are great and at a bargain price. As usual the performances by the Doyly Carte company are superb.

I just received this D’Oyly Carte set and had to begin listening immediately. I started with The Mikado. I grew up with the old Richmond/London LP set and love it (as well the Malcolm Sargent version) but it is starting to show its age and needs a CD replacement . I am happy that I found this set on Amazon UK at such a reasonable price.Considering that this was recoded in mono in 1950, the CD remaster is very well done and the sound is surprisingly rich and full; the performances are even better than I remembered them. I could not help singing along. If this were the only opera, I would be happy but there are 8 more, although The Sorcerer" and Princess Ida are missing. Some people might object to having 3 operas overlap (parts share the same CDs) but I did not find it a problem.Next, I listened to Pinafore. The sound was much thinner and the bass is booming but not bad for 1949! Again, the performances shine through.Patience recorded in 1951 has better sound and is with the same wonderful cast. I shall enjoy the rest and will update the review if necessary.

I bought this box set for my (elderly) mother. She does not hear well and uses hearing aids so the fact that it was mono was completely irrelevant to her. I have to say that the disks were a huge success. She told me I couldn't have bought her a better gift which was most sattisfying!! I've listened to them along with her and we both found the music wonderful (as expected) and I also found that the quality was not at all bad. A thoroughly enjoyable collection and (to my mum) PERFECT.

A really good recording of these famous works could sing along. Some songs could be apt today

I have long loved Gilbert and Sullivan. This recording is full of life and verve. Never drags. Beautifully clear diction in the songs. The conductor actually worked with some of the artists who'd worked with Gilbert and Sullivan themselves, so feel sure this is true to the original performances.