Search - Gilbert & Sullivan :: Mikado

Crisp and authentic but overall disappointing.

02/18/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Over the years D'Oyly Carte have recorded numerous versions of the The Mikado. Although pleasantly precise in recorded sound, I feel that the overall performances by the cast of the 1973 company were losing impact and freshness. The success of the recording lies in the conducting by Royston Nash, formerly connected with a musical background in the Royal Marines. This musical discipline certainly 'pays-off', but the company was long past its best and in near decline. John Reed as Ko-Ko is too measured, especially in comparison with seeing him in performance. Kenneth Sandford was infinitely superior in the 1958 recording, Decca. The voice is obviously tired and being the doyen of the company ought to have been succeeded by a more youthful sounding performance. There were plenty within the company who had performed the part and were superb in the role. Two major disappointments are Colin Wright as Nanki-Poo and John Ayldon in the title role. The tenor cannot match the lyricism of Philip Potter or Thomas Round, while the bass, John Ayldon is poor in comparison with Donald Adams (1958 and 1993) and Darrell Fancourt (1950), both earlier exponents of the part. It remains for me to state that if you, on hearng the recording enjoy it, fine, but the best of Gilbert and Sullivan is certainly not this."

Lack of dialog a bit dissappointing

peter sgouros | Seattle, WA | 03/01/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"though the music on this CD is quite good, I found that the recording lacked the dialog of the play. This seems odd given that the other D'Oyly Carte recordings include them. The fact that this is not mentioned in any of the blurbs at amazon nor even on the label itself leaves me curious and not a little annoyed, as the dialog is as important to the operetta as the musical numbers."

An acceptable yet slightly weak performance.

Yi-Peng | Singapore | 07/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This D'Oyly Carte stereo remake of The Mikado, though praised as a "complete success" by the Penguin Guide, is actually a weaker performance than expected. As a matter of fact, it tends to lose its freshness after repeated listenings, and it captured the Company in its duldrums before its reformation in the 1980s. John Ayldon's portrayal of the eponymous title character seems to lack the satanic glitter immortalised in Donald Adams' portrayal of the 1958 set, and the former's portrayal is not a truly three-dimensional portrayal. The two lovers fare better, despite Colin Wright's not-so-good Nanki-Poo, which cannot match Thomas Round's famous portrayal. The selling star, John Reed, is a good Ko-Ko, but his voice has lost the freshness it once was, and so has Kenneth Sandford's Pooh-Bah. Valerie Masterson's Yum-Yum is one of the better points of the recording, as her voice is like ear-candy, and Lyndsie Holland's Katisha is as commanding as, if not better than Anne Drummond-Grant. The orchestra and chorus do an excellent job in supporting the singers, despite some slightly poorly-chosen tempi, and the sound on this remastered version is slightly dryish. Overall, I'm not really prepared to recommend this awfully strongly, and I would suggest waiting for Decca (Polygram) to re-release its first stereo D'Oyly Carte Mikado on CD. Still, this is a slightly easy performance with which to live."