Arthur SULLIVAN (1842-1900) & William S GILBERT (1836-1911)
HMS Pinafore (1878)
Sir Joseph Porter – John Mark Ainsley (baritone); Ralph Rackstraw –
Toby Spence (tenor); Captain Corcoran – Andrew Forster-Jenkins
(baritone); Dick Deadeye – Neal Davies (bass); Bill Bobstay –
Gavan Ring (baritone); Bob Becket – Barnaby Rea (baritone); Josephine
– Elizabeth Watts (soprano); Buttercup – Hilary Summers (contralto);
Hebe – Kitty Whately (mezzo)
Narrated by Tim Brooke-Taylor
Scottish Opera Chorus and Orchestra/Richard Egarr
rec. Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 23 August 2015. DDD
LINN CKD522 [85:00]
HMS Pinafore was the first real success of the
Gilbert and Sullivan partnership in 1878 because of its catchy melody lines,
clever lyrics and excellently framed stage plot. Itself a parody on the social
classes of Victorian England, it has itself been parodied, adapted and re-dressed
over 100 years, and its popularity doesn’t show any signs of waning.
The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company kept it in front of the public’s
gaze for over a 100 years. They teased out and perfected nuances from its
score, diction being uppermost following Gilbert’s desire to have very
word of his witty lyrics heard. That trend has continued.
This recording was made at the semi-staged performance as part of the 2015
Edinburgh International Festival where it was well received. One remembers
its high standard of presentation from the BBC broadcast. It is good to see
therefore that Linn have released this recording of the event. Spoken dialogue
is replaced by a carefully and succinctly-tailored commentary by Tim Brooke-Taylor
that does not unduly hold up the flow of musical items and leads nicely from
one number to the next.
The singers are first class and well suited to their roles — Toby Spence
is well-suited the tenor role of Ralph (providing a pleasing and unexaggerated
falsetto to the end of his ballad, “A Maiden Fair to See”. John
Mark Ainsley as Sir Joseph gives the character an affected aloofness with
sufficient dryness to provide believable comedy. Elizabeth Watts is superbly-toned
and sings Josephine’s arias in a charming manner. The rest of the cast
do equal justice, with soloists and chorus singing with excellent tonal balance,
energy and commitment under Richard Egarr’s leadership.
The whole presentation is well-rehearsed and the orchestra is excellent. Occasionally
the brass and certainly ‘that delicately modulated instrument’,
the timpani, are occasionally heavy. It was nice to see that Scottish Opera
follow the D’Oyly Carte with the need for excellent diction, but occasionally
I felt Josephine could have annunciated better; sadly she sacrifices diction
at the expense of maintaining her luscious tone yet the lyrics are important.
In many a recording we find there are woodwind lines that fail to come across,
but here there is absolute clarity from every section thanks to the sensitive
engineering and balance by Philip Hobbs.
G&S enthusiasts who probably have a number of recordings of Pinafore
will be interested in any differences they may find in this high quality recording.
The reading of the score is very much as expected and its brisk pace is similar
to that of Isidore Godfrey’s benchmark recording of HMS Pinafore
[Decca 473 6382]. The sprightly overture has a repeated section of twenty
bars at the end. There are a few adjustments to the pace of the score; some
of which work while others don’t. We have to remember that the Savoy
Opera label of ‘comic opera’ is in fact operetta in style so any
touch of Grand opera is out of place. For this reason I cannot appreciate
any logic in stretching out recitatives to become laboured, or to introduce
an Italianate operatic pause before the start of a second verse (other than
a patter song). Likewise, the Captain’s multi-note coloratura-style
“Hold” sounds eccentrically odd and totally out of place. Such
effects need to contribute but here interrupt the flow and rhythm that Sullivan
intended. But of course there are alterations that also contribute to the
listener’s enjoyment.
The sailors’ choruses convey much spirit with their slightly faster
pace and sometimes ‘choppy’ (not quite staccato) delivery. A few
of the playouts contain accelerations that were a habit of Herman Finck and
Edwardian Music Hall. One that is introduced to the splendidly sung Act I
finale and works well; yet here the effect is spoilt by an over-long held
note of the penultimate chord. The others I am less sure about. Sullivan’s
music is expected to be played ‘a tempo’, unless otherwise directed,
so ideas of any 21st century re-interpretation won’t impress
anyone who already knows this music. These changes are compensated for with
a newly-devised four-chord sequence at the end of the Act II finale which
sounds well to my ears.
The CD is attractively presented in a French-style printed card case with
booklet that contains excellent notes by Dr David Russell Hulme, plus a full
synopsis. The soloists are only credited with small photo (their biographies
have to be pulled from the Linn website and not all of them are listed). This
is certainly a worthwhile recording to consider.
Raymond J Walker
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