Malcolm Sargent served as musical director for he D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1926 to 1928 so he was well familiar with the Gilbert and Sullivan tradition. His recordings of the operettas from productions at Glyndebourne during the late '50s and early '60s have very high musical standards, both in the quality of the vocal soloists and the lively, polished performances by the Pro Arte Orchestra and Glyndebourne Festival Chorus. Sargent's readings are sometimes a little too refined, though, and miss the loopy absurdity ...
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Malcolm Sargent served as musical director for he D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1926 to 1928 so he was well familiar with the Gilbert and Sullivan tradition. His recordings of the operettas from productions at Glyndebourne during the late '50s and early '60s have very high musical standards, both in the quality of the vocal soloists and the lively, polished performances by the Pro Arte Orchestra and Glyndebourne Festival Chorus. Sargent's readings are sometimes a little too refined, though, and miss the loopy absurdity that marks the most successful Gilbert and Sullivan performances. Patience is one of Gilbert's oddest and silliest librettos, but it didn't inspire Sullivan's most memorable work. The music doesn't match the text's eccentricity, and in a performance as sedate as this one, it doesn't seem especially fun. Elsie Morison, John Cameron, and John Shaw are standouts in the cast, as are Monica Sinclair and George Baker, who additionally seem to be having a good time. The album also includes a...
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