DownWithTyranny!: Sunday Classics: Gilbert and Sullivan's gondoliers try to temper monarchy with republican equality

The Duke of Plaza-Toro and suite make their entrance in the Yale Gilbert and Sullivan Society's 2011 Gondoliers.

Flourish. A gondola arrives at the Piazzetta steps, from which enter the DUKE OF PLAZA-TORO, the DUCHESS, their daughter CASILDA, and their attendant LUIZ, who carries a drum. All are dressed in pompous but old and faded clothes.

DUKE: From the sunny Spanish shore,
the Duke of Plaza-Tor' --
DUCHESS: And His Grace's Duchess true --
CASILDA: And His Grace's daughter, too --
LUIZ: And His Grace's private drum
to Venetia's shores have come:
ALL: And, if ever, ever, ever
they get back to Spain,
they will never, never, never
cross the sea again!
DUKE: Neither that Grandee from the Spanish shore,
the noble Duke of Plaza Tor' --
DUCHESS: Nor His Grace's Duchess, staunch and true --
CASILDA: You may add, His Grace's daughter, too --
LUIZ: Nor His Grace's own particular drum
to Venetia's shores will come:
ALL: If ever, ever, ever
they get back to Spain,
they will never, never, never
cross the sea again!

DUKE [spoken]: My child, the Duke of Plaza-Toro does not follow fashions -- he leads them. He always leads everybody. When he was in the army he led his regiment. He occasionally led them into action. He invariably led them out of it.
Song
In enterprise of martial kind,
when there was any fighting,
he led his regiment from behind --
He found it less exciting.
But when away his regiment ran,
his place was at the fore, O --
that celebrated,
cultivated,
underrated
nobleman,
the Duke of Plaza-Toro!
ALL: In the first and foremost flight, ha, ha!
You always found that knight, ha, ha!
That celebrated,
cultivated,
underrated
nobleman,
the Duke of Plaza-Toro!
DUKE: When, to evade Destruction's hand,
to hide they all proceeded,
no soldier in that gallant band
hid half as well as he did.
He lay concealed throughout the war,
and so preserved his gore, O!
That unaffected,
undetected,
well-connected
warrior,
the Duke of Plaza-Toro!
ALL: In every doughty deed, ha, ha!
He always took the lead, ha, ha!
That unaffected,
undetected,
well-connected
warrior,
the Duke of Plaza-Toro!
DUKE: When told that they would all be shot
unless they left the service,
that hero hesitated not,
so marvellous his nerve is.
He sent his resignation in,
the first of all his corps, O!
That very knowing,
overflowing,
easy-going
paladin,
the Duke of Plaza-Toro!
ALL: To men of grosser clay, ha, ha!
He always showed the way, ha, ha!
That very knowing,
overflowing,
easy-going
paladin,
the Duke of Plaza-Toro!

John Reed (b), Duke of Plaza-Toro; Gillian Knight (c), Duchess of Plaza-Toro; Jennifer Toye (s), Casilda; Jeffrey Skitch (b), Luiz; New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded September 1960

John Reed (b), Duke of Plaza-Toro; Lyndsie Holland (c), Duchess of Plaza-Toro; Julia Goss (s), Casilda; Geoffrey Shovelton (t), Luiz; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royston Nash, cond. Decca, recorded Feb. 18-25, 1977

Geraint Evans (b), Duke of Plaza-Toro; Monica Sinclair (c), Duchess of Plaza-Toro; Edna Graham (s), Casilda; Alexander Young (t), Luiz; Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15, 1957

(You'll notice in the Sargent-EMI excerpts the presence of baritone Geraint Evans, whom we just heard in the title role of Verdi's Falstaff. After recording the Duke of Plaza-Toro and Ko-Ko in The Mikado in 1957 and Jack Point in The Yeomen of the Guard in 1958, Evans -- who had sung his first Falstaff at Glyndebourne in the summer of '57 -- apparently realized that being typed as a G-and-S "comedy" baritone, at which I've never found him especially effective anyway, wasn't going to enhance his career, and he ducked out of further assignments in Sir Malcolm's series.)

One other thing we ought to know about the Duke: He is perpetually penniless, or less than penniless, h having accumulated substantial debt. Casilda's accession to the throne of the island kingdom of Barataria is therefore of considerable importance to the family's financial well-being, though His Grace does have another plan in motion: incorporating himself as the Duke of Plaza-Toro, Limited.

AT SUNDAY CLASSICS, WE ALWAYS
LIKE TO START AT THE BEGINNING

Okay, well not necessarily "start," but we like to get to the beginning, and in the case of The Gondoliers we have two sets of beginnings. First we hear the Overture as Sullivan concocted it. Unexpectedly, this version ends with the graceful and charming tune of the Duke's lesson in poise from Act II, the gavotte "I am a courtier grave and serious." Usually Sullivan liked to end with a flourish, and in due time the creators' performing company, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, adopted a slightly expanded version, tacking on the lively "Cachucha" (actually a fandango, I'm told) from Act II.

The Gondoliers: Overture

Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15, 1957

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Groves, cond. EMI, recorded 1973

Expanded D'Oyly Carte version

New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded September 1960

Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner, cond. Philips, recorded February 1992

THE OPENING SCENE IS ONE OF GILBERT
AND SULLIVAN'S SPECIAL CREATIONS

Now we're going to remake the acquaintance of our gondolieri, and their female counterparts the contadine, or flower maidens. For this opening scene Gilbert and Sullivan pulled off a special feat: It's "through-composed" -- i.e., the entire scene is musically continuous, without spoken dialogue, something they hadn't attempted since their second (and first successful) collaboration, the one-act Trial by Jury, which has no spoken dialogue.

I recall the D'Oyly Carte tour program back in the 1960s including an article by New York Times chief music critic Harold C. Schonberg, in which I recall him suggesting that this opening scene, if translated into Italian, could pass for Donizetti, except that he considered it superior to anything Donizetti ever wrote. Well, that's kind of silly, but it's a remarkable scene nevertheless.

I'm not going to give you complete texts; you'll find a link to a Gondoliers libretto you can open in RTF or PDF form here.

To recap: In the Piazetta, Venice, with the ducal palace to the right, we meet first the contadine, of whom the most vocal, Fiametta, sings of their united passion for "the pink and flower of all the gondolieri," the brothers Marco and Giuseppe Palmieri. The contadine are joined by all the other gondolieri, who learn that their preferred comrades are expected momentarily for the great task of choosing brides from the ladies' ranks. "The merriest fellows are we," sings Antonio, to no avail as regards the ladies' affections. In due course the favored two arrive, and they and the ladies greet one another -- now in Italian. Marco and Giuseppe declare, "We're called gondolieri, but that's quite honorary," in the fine duet we heard Friday night. Finally the boys get down to business, declaring their intention to choose their ladies absolutely impartially -- in their version of blind man's buff. They're caught cheating, by sneaking peeks around their blindfolds, but eventually they do choose blindfolded, and come up with just the maids they wanted!

The Gondoliers: Act I, Opening Scene

Enid Walsh (s), Fiametta; Thomas Hancock (t), Francesco; Joyce Wright (ms), Giulia; Geoffrey Sanders (b), Antonio; Radley Flynn (bs), Giorgio; Yvonne Dean (ms), Vittoria; Leonard Osborn (t), Marco Palmieri; Alan Styler (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Yvonne Dean (ms), Tessa; Muriel Harding (s), Gianetta; D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus, New Promenade Orchestra, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded Mar. 11, 1950

Stella Hitchens (s), Fiametta; Alexander Young (t), Francesco; Helen Watts (c), Giulia; James Milligan (bs-b), Antonio; James Milligan (bs-b), Giorgio; Lavinia Renton (s), Vittoria; Richard Lewis (t), Marco Palmieri; John Cameron (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Marjorie Thomas (c), Tessa; Elsie Morison (s), Gianetta; Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15, 1957

Dawn Bradshaw (s), Fiametta; Joseph Riordan (t), Francesco; Daphne Gill (ms), Giulia; Michael Wakeham (b), Antonio; George Cook (b), Giorgio; Ceinwen Jones (s), Vittoria; Thomas Round (t), Marco Palmieri; Alan Styler (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Joyce Wright (ms), Tessa; Mary Sansom (s), Gianetta; D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus, New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded September 1960

AH, BUT THERE'S ONE ITTY-BITTY SNAFU
IN THE BARATARIAN ROYAL SUCCESSION

And the catch explains why the Plaza-Toro delegation has made the arduous journey from sunny Spain to damp Venice. Their daughter was married in his dour excellency the Grand Inquisitor, Don Alhambra del Bolero (could you ask for a more a dour name? well, I guess you could) that there is apparently some question about the location of the prince (now presumably king), his excellency explains that on most matters regarding the new king's location, "there is no manner of doubt, no probable, possible shadow of doubt, no possible doubt whatever."

The Gondoliers: Act I, spoken dialogue, Duchess, "Unfortunately, if I am not mistaken, there appears to be some little doubt as to His Majesty's whereabouts"

Lyndsie Holland, Duchess of Plaza-Toro; Kenneth Sandford, Don Alhambra del Bolero; Julia Goss, Casilda. From the 1977 D'Oyly Carte recording

In the 1960 Decca recording, we also hear the spoken dialogue that follows, in which Don Alhambra attempts to sort out the situation with the Plaza-Toro delegation, explaining that the infant prince's old nurse, who happens to be the mother of their "suite," has been sent for to provide an identification of the rightful heir.

The Gondoliers: Act I, Song, Don Alhambra del Bolero, "I stole the prince"

Kenneth Sandford (bs-b), Don Alhambra del Bolero; John Reed (b), Duke of Plaza-Toro; Gillian Knight (c), Duchess of Plaza-Toro; Jennifer Toye (s), Casilda; Jeffrey Skitch (b), Luiz; New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded September 1960

Kenneth Sandford (bs-b), Don Alhambra del Bolero; John Reed (b), Duke of Plaza-Toro; Lyndsie Holland (c), Duchess of Plaza-Toro; Julia Goss (s), Casilda; Geoffrey Shovelton (t), Luiz; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royston Nash, cond. Decca, recorded Feb. 18-25, 1977

Donald Adams (bs), Don Alhambra del Bolero; Kenneth Sandford (bs-b), Duke of Plaza-Toro; Jean Allister (c), Duchess of Plaza-Toro; Patricia Clarke (s), Casilda; Edgar Fleet (t), Luiz; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, James Walker, cond. Reader's Digest, recorded February 1963

(Note: Both John Reed, as the Duke of Plaza-Toro, and Kenneth Sandford, as the Grand Inquisitor, performed in both the 1960 and the 1977 D'Oyly Carte recordings, and I've represented both for both. But I've included Sandford's 1977 "I stole the prince" only for a touch of history. He's one of my favorite Savoyards, but by 1977 the voice is clearly showing strain. It's presumably to accommodate him that both of his songs are taken quite deliberately here, but the slower tempos only add stress to the strain. I started dubbing the 1977 "There lived a king" and stopped it. Perhaps as compensation, we get to hear snatches of Sandford in his prime as both the Grand Inquisitor and the Duke of Plaza-Toro, from a 1963 Reader's Digest Gilbert and Sullivan set that inclded a number of D'Oyly Carte soloists who weren't allowed to sing their regular roles because of their non-compete contracts with Decca.)

NOW, TO RETURN TO OUR NOT-SO-RELUCTANT
JOINT SEMI- (OR QUARTER-) ROYAL COUPLES

In time the Grand Inquisitor reveals to our boys -- and, to his chagrin, their new wives (oops!) -- the secret of the royal lineage of one of them, which naturally comes as a shock. After all, you may remember from Friday that Marco has declared proudly:

We are jolly gondoliers, the sons of Baptisto Palmieri, who led the last revolution. Republicans, heart and soul, we hold all men to be equal. As we abhor oppression, we abhor kings; as we detest vainglory, we detest rank; as we despise effeminacy, we despise wealth. We are Venetian gondoliers -- your equals in everything except our calling, and in that at once your masters and your servants.

In the face of the boys' declared detestation of kings, Don Alhambra assumes that naturally both would abdicate immediately. Not so fast, though! It turns out there's wiggle room.

GIUSEPPE: Well, as to that, of course there are kings and kings. When I say that I detest kings, I mean I detest bad kings.
DON ALHAMBRA: I see. It’s a delicate distinction.
GIUSEPPE: Quite so. Now I can conceive a kind of king – an ideal king – the creature of my fancy, you know – who would be absolutely unobjectionable. A king, for instance, who would abolish taxes and make everything cheap, except gondolas –
MARCO: And give a great many free entertainments to the gondoliers –
GIUSEPPE: And let off fireworks on the Grand Canal, and engage all the gondolas for the occasion --
MARCO: And scramble money on the Rialto among the gondoliers.
GIUSEPPE: Such a king would be a blessing to his people, and if I were a king, that is the sort of king I would be.
MARCO: And so would I!
DON ALHAMBRA: Come, I’m glad to find your objections are not insuperable.
MARCO and GIUSEPPE: Oh, they’re not insuperable.
GIANETTA and TESSA: No, they’re not insuperable.
GIUSEPPE: Besides, we are open to conviction.
GIANETTA: Yes; they are open to conviction.
TESSA: Oh, they’ve often been convicted.
GIUSEPPE: Our views may have been hastily formed on insufficient grounds. They may be crude, ill-digested, erroneous. I’ve a very poor opinion of the politician who is not open to conviction.
TESSA [to GIANETTA]: Oh, he’s a fine fellow!
GIANETTA: Yes, that’s the sort of politician for my money!

Don Alhambra explains that because the country is in a state of insurrection, he has arranged "that you should assume the reins of Government at once," and, "until it is ascertained which of you is to be king," he has arranged "that you will reign jointly, so that no question can arise hereafter as to the validity of any of your acts." Of course, they will be able to "take our friends with us, and give them places about the Court." ("Undoubtedly. That’s always done!")

Again, there's a hitch.

TESSA: Then the sooner we're off, the better.
GIANETTA: We’ll just run home and pack up a few things. [Going]
DON ALHAMBRA: Stop, stop -- that won't do at all -- ladies are not admitted.
ALL: What!
DON ALHAMBRA: Not admitted. Not at present. Afterwards, perhaps. We'll see.
GIUSEPPE: Why, you don't mean to say you are going to separate us from our wives!
DON ALHAMBRA [aside]: This is very awkward! [Aloud.] Only for a time -- a few months. After all, what is a few months?
TESSA: But we've only been married half an hour! [Weeps.]

Gianetta steps up.

The Gondoliers: Act I, Song, Gianetta, "Kind sir, you cannot have the heart"

Patricia Clarke (s), Gianetta; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, James Walker, cond. Reader's Digest, recorded February 1963

Elsie Morison (s), Gianetta; Owen Brannigan (bs), Don Alhambra del Bolero; Marjorie Thomas (c), Tessa; Richard Lewis (t), Marco Palmieri; John Cameron (b:, Giuseppe Palmieri; Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15, 1957

In the EMI clip, we hear the continuation, asDon Alhambra not exactly honestly persuades the couples that the separation will be brief -- just until Luiz's mother, Inez, can be brought to Barataria and, if necessary with the aid of the torture chamber, identifies the king. Which leads to:

The Gondoliers: Act I, Quartet, "Then one of us will be a queen"

Elsie Morison (s), Gianetta; Richard Lewis (t), Marco Palmieri; Marjorie Thomas (ms), Tessa; John Cameron (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15 1957

Muriel Harding (s), Gianetta; Leonard Osborn (t), Marco Palmieri; Yvonne Dean (ms), Tessa; Alan Styler (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus, New Promenade Orchestra, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded Mar. 11, 1950

You may recognize the tune of "'Tis a glorious thing, I wean, to be a regular royal queen" as the music that ushered the return of all the other contadine and gondoliers and led to Marco and Giuseppe's "Repying, we speak as one individual. As I find I'm a king, to my kingdom I bid you all." And sure enough, it's off to Barataria, where at the top of Act II we find the courtiers singing of their happiness in their "monarchy tempered with republican equality."

BUT ALL ISN'T ENTIRELY WELL. THEIR HIGHNESSES
HAVE SOME COMPLAINTS -- THEY WANT THEIR TEA!

The Gondoliers: Act II, spoken dialogue, Marco, Giuseppe, and gondolier-courtiers: "Gentlemen, we are much obliged to you"

Thomas Round, Marco Palmieri; Alan Styler, Giuseppe Palmieri; George Cook, Giorgio; Michael Wakeham, Annibale. From the 1960 Decca recording

"You must work hard -- stick to it," Giorgio instructed our boys the king. "Nothing like work." And Giuseppe declared that in return for the munificent "advantages" he and Marco enjoy as king, which to most of us would sound more like gross impositions, "the least we can do is to make ourselves useful around the palace.

The Gondoliers: Act II, Song, Giuseppe, "Rising early in the morning"

GIUSEPPE: Rising early in the morning,
we proceed to light our fire.
Then our Majesty adorning
in its work-a-day attire,
we embark without delay
on the duties of the day.
First, we polish off some batches
of political despatches,
and foreign politicians circumvent;
then, if business isn't heavy,
we may hold a Royal levee,
or ratify some Acts of Parliament.
Then we probably review the household troops
with the usual "Shalloo humps!" and "Shalloo hoops!"
Or receive with ceremonial and state
an interesting Eastern potentate.
After that we generally
go and dress our private valet.
(It's a rather nervous duty; he's a touchy little man.)
Write some letters literary
for our private secretary.
He is shaky in his spelling, so we help him if we can.
Then, in view of cravings inner,
we go down and order dinner;
then we polish the Regalia and the Coronation Plate.
Spend an hour in titivating
all our Gentlemen-in-Waiting;
or we run on little errands for the Ministers of State.

Oh, philosophers may sing
of the troubles of a King,
Yet the duties are delightful, and the privileges great;
But the privilege and pleasure
that we treasure beyond measure
is to run on little errands for the Ministers of State.

After luncheon (making merry
on a bun and glass of sherry),
if we've nothing in particular to do,
we may make a Proclamation,
or receive a Deputation;
then we possibly create a Peer or two.
Then we help a fellow-creature on his path
with the Garter or the Thistle or the Bath,
or we dress and toddle off in semi-State
to a festival, a function, or a fête.
Then we go and stand as sentry
at the Palace (private entry),
marching hither, marching thither, up and down and to and fro
while the warrior on duty
goes in search of beer and beauty
(and it generally happens that he hasn't far to go).
He relieves us, if he's able,
just in time to lay the tablel;
then we dine and serve the coffee, and at half-past twelve or one,
with a pleasure that's emphatic,
we retire to our attic
with the gratifying feeling that our duty has been done !

Oh, philosophers may sing
of the troubles of a King,
but of pleasures there are many and of troubles there are none;
and the culminating pleasure
that we treasure beyond measure
is the gratifying feeling that our duty has been done!

Alan Styler (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded September 1960

John Cameron (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15, 1957

Kenneth Sandford (bs-b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Beecham Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, James Walker, cond. Reader's Digest, recorded February 1963

"Yes, it really is a very pleasant existence," Giuseppe declares to Marco when they're left alone to their duties. There's just one thing missing.

Thomas Round, Marco Palmieri; Alan Styler, Giuseppe Palmieri. From the 1960 Decca recording

What they're missing, of course, is their sweethearts, who soon enough storm the palace with the rest of the contadine, singing "Here we are at the risk of our lives" (the tune we heard at the top of the Overture). Naturally they are soon enough joined by -- who else? -- the Grand Inquisitor, who shows decidedly little enthusiasm for their adventure in monarchy tempered with equality.

AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE'VE ALREADY MADE
THE ACQUAINTANCE OF THE GRAND INQUISITOR

It was in a February 2010 Mozart post, where I evoked the image conjured by Don Alhambra at this very moment, as he explains to Marco and Giuseppe why their republican ideals of complete equality are impracticable. "When everyone is somebody," he insists, "then no one's anybody." But I still love the image of that king who found in his abnormally large heart "a place for all the erring human race and every wretched fellow."

GILBERT AND SULLIVAN: The Gondoliers: Act II, Song, Grand Inquisitor, "There lived a king as I've been told"

DON ALHAMBRA: There lived a king, as I've been told,
In the wonder-working days of old,
When hearts were twice as good as gold,
And twenty times as mellow.
Good temper triumphed in his face,
And in his heart he found a place
For all the erring human race
And every wretched fellow.
When he had Rhenish wine to drink
It made him very sad to think
That some, at junket or at jink,
Must be content with toddy.
MARCO and GIUSEPPE: With toddy, must be content with toddy.
DON ALHAMBRA: He wished all men as rich as he
(And he was rich as rich could be),
So to the top of every tree
Promoted everybody.
MARCO and GIUSEPPE: Now, that's the kind of king for me.
He wished all men as rich as he,
So to the top of every tree
Promoted everybody!
DON ALHAMBRA: Lord chancellors were cheap as sprats,
And bishops in their shovel hats
Were plentiful as tabby cats--
In point of fact, too many.
Ambassadors cropped up like hay,
Prime ministers and such as they
Grew like asparagus in May,
And dukes were three a penny.
On every side field marshals gleamed,
Small beer were lords-lieutenant deemed,
With admirals the ocean teemed
All round his wide dominions.
MARCO and GIUSEPPE: All round his wide dominions.
DON ALHAMBRA: And party leaders you might meet
In twos and threes in every street
Maintaining, with no little heat,
Their various opinions.
MARCO and GIUSEPPE: Now that's a sight you couldn't beat --
Two party leaders in each street
Maintaining, with no little heat,
Their various opinions.
DON ALHAMBRA: That king, although no one denies
His heart was of abnormal size,
Yet he'd have acted otherwise
If he had been acuter.
The end is easily foretold,
When every blessed thing you hold
Is made of silver, or of gold,
You long for simple pewter.
When you have nothing else to wear
But cloth of gold and satins rare,
For cloth of gold you cease to care--
Up goes the price of shoddy.
MARCO and GIUSEPPE: Up goes the price of shoddy.
DON ALHAMBRA: In short, whoever you may be,
To this conclusion you'll agree,
When every one is somebodee,
Then no one's anybody!
MARCO and GIUSEPPE: Now that's as plain as plain can be,
To this conclusion we agree--
ALL: When every one is somebodee,
Then no one's anybody!

Owen Brannigan (bs), Don Alhambra del Bolero; Richard Lewis (t), Marco Palmieri; John Cameron (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15, 1957

Kenneth Sandford (b), Don Alhambra; Thomas Round (t), Marco Palmieri; Alan Styler (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, recorded September 1960

The Grand Inquisitor reveals the last piece of the plot unknown to our couples: that whichever of the boys is the real king was already married when he married his new wife in Act I and became "an unintentional bigamist." Which leads us to one of the opera's most beautiful -- and most difficult numbers, another quartet for the two couples.

And I wish I had a better peformance to offer you. Over an ensemble of ethereal poise and beauty sung by either all four or the three non-solo-ing characters, each gets to perform in solo form her/his individual reckoning. It's unbelievably difficult to establish and sustain the "In a contemplative fashion" ensemble while also finding a mode that works for the solo parts, enabling each to have her/his solo turn without either dominating or succumbing to the ongoing ensemble.

Here we have two splendid G&S conductors, Isidore Godfrey and Sir Malcolm Sargent, who clearly understand what needs to happen but can't quite make it happen. You'd think a number like this would be tailor-made for Sargent's musical "seriousness," and he has singers who should be able to do it, but the soloists don't seem to me to have solved the problems. I think Godfrey actually comes closer, despite the weakness of his women, especially Mary Sansom as Gianetta. Of all our singers, I think Godfrey's Marco, tenor Thomas Round, makes the strongest showing.

The Gondoliers: Act II, Quartet, In a contemplative fashion

Joyce Wright (ms), Tessa; Mary Sansom (s), Gianetta; Thomas Round (t), Marco Palmieri; Alan Styler (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey, cond. Decca, September 1960

Marjorie Thomas (ms), Tessa; Elsie Morison (s), Gianetta; Richard Lewis (t), Marco Palmieri; John Camron (b), Giuseppe Palmieri; Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent, cond. EMI, recorded Mar. 11-15 1957

AND THAT'S AS FAR AS I'M GOING TO GO!

I thought we would at least include the Duke's little gavotte lesson for the boys, but we'll have to settle for hearing it in the Overture.

No, I'm not going to tell you how it turns out. However, I think I've given you just information to guess, if you're so inclined.

For a "Sunday Classics" fix anytime, visit the stand-alone "Sunday Classics with Ken."

DownWithTyranny!

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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Sunday Classics: Gilbert and Sullivan's gondoliers try to temper monarchy with republican equality

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