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Rating: 
Summary: ..."Patience" is over 120 years old, but she is still fun...
Review: ..chances are you like Gilbert and Sullivan, or you would not even be looking at this. "Patience" was G&S's offering for 1881,
and it was the first of their shows to be presented in the New
Savoy Theater--and the first to be lighted by electric light.
That said...it is also a lot of fun...and it is the only one of
their shows with a contemporary theme: the aesthetic movement of the late Victorian period. The Australian Opera has done a great
job. This production has lovely art nouveau sets and costumes,
and a cast that is charming and talented. The tempi move right
along...and there is even time for a couple of encores. Lady
Jane and Archibald were my favorite characters...but really,
the over all quality of the production was superb and everyone
contributes. If you already like Gilbert and Sullivan, this is
a delightful addition to your collection. If you are just getting started...you might prefer "Pirates of Penzance" or
"The Mikado". In for a penny, in for a pound, it's G&S that
make the world go round. This is most enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: The English Perspective
Review: England is the home of Gilbert & Sullivan, so why no English (European) version of this DVD, I'm sure there would be a good market for it.
This is definitely the best DVD/Video of Patience around and is only spoilt by the accent Patience tries to put on. All the other reviews were from America and Canada, so perhaps not used to English regional dialects. I viewed this production with fellow members of the Bath Gilbert & Sullivan Society, of which I am Chairman and we were all of one accord, a superb production spoilt only by Patience's accent, which changed from Lanashire to Yorkshire, then drifted into Wales.
The Grosvenor/Bunthorne duet was fantastic, the dance routine superb, and it was justifiably encored. It was also good to see a live production, warts and all. The incident at the end where Lady Jane accidently knocks Bunthorne over had all of us in stitches, as well as the cast and audience. Such incidents would have been missing from a sanitised studio production. It was also refreshing for us amateurs to see the professionals getting it wrong for once. This production successfully managed to extract all the humour possible from Gilbert's words and was therefore the funniest version I have seen anywhere on stage or screen, amateur or professional.
I would have given it 5 stars, but for that accent, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable performance. When and what is the next one? and can we have it on region 2 please?
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: From Sydney, a very recommendable Patience. Bunthorne and Grosvenor, Patience and Lady Jane are memorably played. The sets and costumes are a delight to the eye, as befits an opera on 19th century aesthetes. The whole thing is fresh and full of humor: cast and audience are obviously enjoying themselves tremendously, and the fun is infectious. After borrowing a copy of this production from the library I went out and bought one for myself.
Rating:
Summary: This "Patience" needs no patience to watch
Review: I have to admit that I bought this DVD for two reasons: I love Gilbert & Sullivan, and I think that Anthony Warlow has one of the most remarkable voices today. I was more than pleasently surprised by the quality of both the cast and the recording of this production. The voices are all very good (yes, they are opera singers, but hey, get over it - they were in G&S's time, too) and very understandable. Lady Jane is particularly wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: A Delight From Down-Under
Review: It is fascinating to see an opera company turn their attention to Gilbert and Sullivan. Patience herself is clearly a first-rate singer, and the staging is done with particular care and zest. The choreograpy of the duets and ensembles is a delight to the eye as well as the ear. The one drawback to the performance (that keeps it from FIVE STARS) is the use in the recording of some kind of "sound suppression" filter. One of the "twenty lovesick maidens" plays a diminuitive pair of cymbals, and whenever she crashes them, the entire sound is suppressed for two or three seconds, until the sound system can recover. This is initially distracting, but is more apparent in the first act than in the second, and should not keep anyone from the superb staging and performance which is given. Bunthorne is played with superb skill by a wonderfully supple character-singer. The twenty minutes which close the second act are for this reviewer eye-and-ear-candy which I play again and again, to delight in the wonderful work of singers, director, and choreographer. Where can we get more of such productions?
Rating:
Summary: The Best!
Review: This is the best G and S on DVD. Everything is outstanding - acting, voices, costumes and sets. And Bunthorne and Lady Jane bring down the house whenever they are on. This is probably the hardest G and S to do today but everything is right!
Rating:
Summary: Our Patience for a New G & S Production Has Been Rewarded
Review: Unlike previous Australian Opera adaptations of Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, this production
does not suffer from lyric substitution (that made obscure references even more obscure to non
Australian audiences).The sound is very good and the quality of singing is about the best I've heard recorded on DVD (so far). Unfortunately, there is no closed captioning or sub titles, so following along, for those unfamiliar with this score, can be a challenge. But everyone, including the chorus, enunciates quite well, so there shouldn't
be too much distress. I hope there is more coming from Sydney. It would be nice to have a complete set (as the BBC attempted about 15 years ago). (I wonder if they are forthcoming?). The quality of production was reminiscent of the D'Oyly Carte one that I caught (and carried in my memory)
in the early 1960's (at the NY City Center). This is a Must Buy for a true Savoyard!
Rating:
Summary: Our Patience for a New G & S Production Has Been Rewarded
Review: Unlike previous Australian Opera adaptations of Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, this production
does not suffer from lyric substitution (that made obscure references even more obscure to non
Australian audiences). The sound is very good and the quality of singing is about the best I've heard recorded on DVD (so far). Unfortunately, there is no closed captioning or sub titles, so following along, for those unfamiliar with this score, can be a challenge. But everyone, including the chorus, enunciates quite well, so there shouldn't
be too much distress. I hope there is more coming from Sydney. It would be nice to have a complete set (as the BBC attempted about 15 years ago). (I wonder if they are forthcoming?). The quality of production was reminiscent of the D'Oyly Carte one that I caught (and carried in my memory)
in the early 1960's (at the NY City Center). This is a Must Buy for a true Savoyard!
Rating:
Summary: Our Patience for a New G & S Production Has Been Rewarded
Review: Unlike previous Australian Opera adaptations of Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, this production
does not suffer from lyric substitution (that made obscure references even more obscure to non
Australian audiences). The sound is very good and the quality of singing is about the best I've heard recorded on DVD (so far). Unfortunately, there is no closed captioning or sub titles, so following along, for those unfamiliar with this score, can be a challenge. But everyone, including the chorus, enunciates quite well, so there shouldn't
be too much distress. I hope there is more coming from Sydney. It would be nice to have a complete set (as the BBC attempted about 15 years ago). (I wonder if they are forthcoming?). The quality of production was reminiscent of the D'Oyly Carte one that I caught (and carried in my memory)
in the early 1960's (at the NY City Center). This is a Must Buy for a true Savoyard!
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