Gilbert & Sullivan - Princess Ida / Gorshin, Christie, Collins, Opera World

Rating:
Summary: If you give me your attention . . .
Review: Of the Brent Walker/Opera World Gilbert & Sullivan productions, I think this one is the best. The parts are cast quite consistently, rather than having great performers and well-prepared scenes mixed with unprepared people who can't find the tunes, catch the dance steps, or figure out their characters.

Rating:
Summary: The wonderful opera has been unjustly neglected
Review: This is a merry, intimate production of one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most melodious operas. This tape is especially valuable, because the show is one that local Gilbert and Sullivan groups rarely peform (although the Ohio Light Opera has revived it twice with great artistic success in the past decade). The show has some problems, of course. The three-act format is awkward. Gilbert's libretto showers hearty, Victorian male ridicule on the notion of female education. But musically, this baby is as red hot as anything the boys ever did. Once heard, these glorious melodies will enrich your life forever. As others have observed, this series of tapes hits and misses. But I believe that "Princess Ida" is one of their real winners.