The Decca series of
recordings of Gilbert and Sullivan were
made in the late 1940s and early 1950s,
in the early days of LPs prior to the
era of stereo recordings. What a pleasure,
then, to have these recordings back
in the catalogue in the Naxos series!
The soloists on this recording are amongst
the finest that the D'Oyly Carte Opera
Company ever produced. The part of Jack
Point is taken by Martyn Green, arguably
the most famous of the D'Oyly Carte
comic baritones of the modern era (followed,
of course, by John Reid as a very close
second!)
The conductor on all
these recordings is the inimitable Isidore
Godfrey, perhaps the greatest Gilbert
and Sullivan conductor of his generation.
Whilst the sound is good, the recording
certainly shows its age as far as the
diction of the soloists is concerned.
Just listen to the first contralto solo
"When our gallant Norman foes", sung
by Ella Halman with a true booming and
opulent contralto. We certainly don't
hear it like this any more! The enunciation
of Muriel Harding who sings the part
of Elsie Maynard is even more twee and
reflects a bygone era, reminding one
forcefully of the Ealing comedies! In
general, however, the singing of both
soloists and chorus is exemplary and
Godfrey paces the work extremely well
with wonderfully crisp tempi, especially
in the finale to Act 1.
Of course, opinions
vary as to the importance of this work
in the Gilbert and Sullivan series of
so-called comic operas. Unlike most
of his previous and indeed succeeding
operettas, Gilbert treats the subject
in the Yeomen of the Guard very seriously.
Thus, we are able to identify with the
characters as real people. In works
such as the Mikado, the possibility
that Ko Ko and his partners in crime
might have boiling oil poured over them
does not cause us any loss of sleep
because the subject matter and the characters
are so outside our common experience.
However, the reality of the characters
in the Yeomen of the Guard must make
us take their fate and unhappiness far
more seriously. In performance, it is
difficult for the actors to play comedy
with tragedy just around the corner.
Thus, the scene where Phoebe tries to
wangle from the head gaoler the key
to the cell in which her beloved Colonel
Fairfax is being held prior to execution,
is often done as burlesque. This may
raise a few laughs but it is not what
Gilbert intended and it also tends to
detract from the excellent solo "Were
I thy bride". The end of the Opera is
also problematic as the rejected Jack
Point falls "insensible" at the feet
of his sweetheart, now married to Colonel
Fairfax. The pathos of this scene can
also be obscured if the music is taken
too quickly and accelerates towards
the conclusion of the opera. Needless
to say, this authentic production does
not fall into any of these traps.
What of the competition?
This work, often referred to as the
nearest that Gilbert and Sullivan came
to producing a full-scale opera, is
well represented in the catalogue. We
have versions by the Academy of St.
Martin in the Fields with Neville Marriner
conducting a cast probably unequalled
in any English opera, the Welsh National
Opera Orchestra and Chorus under Mackerras,
and an early stereo version conducted
by Sir Malcolm Sargent. All these three
versions are currently available (just
- I should mention that the Marriner
Phillips version is now deleted but
is still obtainable from online CD suppliers)
and benefit from much better sound than
found on this recording. In addition,
all three later versions have top-class
opera soloists taking the leading roles,
such as Robert Lloyd, Bryn Terfel, Sylvia
McNair and Thomas Allen for the Neville
Marriner version and, good as they are,
the D'Oyly Carte soloists cannot compete.
Herein, though, lies the dilemma - on
stage, with full libretto, the D'Oyly
Carte soloists would probably trounce
the opposition. However, apart from
a truncated dialogue in the Marriner
version, the others, including this
one, only contain the music. I would
only recommend this version if one was
really determined to have an authentic
recording of the glorious days of D'Oyly
Carte. In all other respects, the other
versions are superior and can be confidently
recommended. The second CD concludes
with an historical recording of excerpts
from the operettas made in 1935. It
sounds remarkably good and is a welcome
filler.
Em Marshall
Martyn Green (Jack Point), Darrel Fancourt
(Sergeant Meryll), Leonard Osborn (Colonel Fairfax),
Richard Watson (Wilfred Shadbolt), Muriel Harding
(Elsie Maynard), Ann Drummond-Grant (Phoebe Meryll),
Ella Halman (Dame Carruthers), Donald Harris (Sir
Richard Cholmondeley), Neville Griffiths (Leonard
Meryll, First Yeoman), Geoffrey Sanders (Second
Yeoman), Deidree Thurlow (Kate)