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Product Description
This five-disc boxed set includes "The Gondoliers," "H.M.S. Pinafore," "The Mikado" (1983), "The Pirates of Penzance" (1982), and "Patience."
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The Favorites Collection includes five Gilbert and Sullivan operettas produced for British television: The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, H.M.S. Pinafore, The Gondoliers, and Patience. The Opera World series (1982) is the only comprehensive Gilbert and Sullivan series on video. It comprises 12 G&S works (if you cheat and count Cox and Box, written by Sullivan without Gilbert), including, for some titles, the only available version. In terms of quality, the series is uneven. There are some treasures, but some productions have a disconsolate penny-pinching look, and a few need more rehearsal. The casts are a blend of Broadway singers, British and American comedians, and D'Oyly Carte veterans, with stars including William Conrad (The Mikado) and singer-songwriter Peter Allen (The Pirates of Penzance). Frequent standout performers include Keith Michell, Clive Revill, Kate Flowers, and Anne Collins, who shines as a procession of unloved older women.
Of this set, the highlight is The Gondoliers, in which Sullivan's Italianate score--his most radiant--sets the tone, though there's a fair helping of Gilbert's trademark wit. H.M.S. Pinafore is erratic though of generally high musical quality, The Mikado has good performers but lacks spark, Patience (a favorite of many aficionados) has some casting flaws, and the pleasures of Pirates are sporadic at best. A better choice is the 10-disc Master Collection, which includes four of the series' standouts, Ruddigore, The Sorcerer, Iolanthe, and Princess Ida, as well as The Yeomen of the Guard. --David Olivenbaum
Gilbert & Sullivan - Favorites Collection (Opera World) Reviews
Gilbert & Sullivan - Favorites Collection (Opera World) Reviews
| 20 of 21 people found the following review helpful  Awful. Awful. Awful., By Ranger243 (East Coast USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - Favorites Collection (Opera World) (DVD) I love Gilbert and Sullivan, but the productions in this series are so bad I winced watching them. When Captain Corcoran first appeared on deck, I furrowed by brow and said out loud, "No, it can't be." But sure enough, a check of the credits revealed that the hardy captain of the H.M.S. Pinafore actually was game show icon Peter Marshall. That claim to fame and his constant horse-toothed grin were distracting enough, but his terrible performance made watching this version of Pinafore almost unbearable. Pete should have stuck to the likes of Yahtzee! and Hollywood Squares. Frankie Howerd speaks most of his lines as Sir Joseph. That may have worked fine for Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, but it was a deep disappointment to a diehard G&S fan waiting to hear some of his favorite songs actually sung. The cast includes a plain-looking Josephine and downright ugly (and aging) Ralph Rackstraw. I focus here on Pinafore because it is usually my favorite and was so horribly wrecked here... Read more 11 of 12 people found the following review helpful Is This All the G&S There Is?, By This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - Favorites Collection (Opera World) (DVD) I have been a huge Gilbert & Sullivan fan since early childhood, and I am sure there is a market out there for good video productions of their operettas. This TV series ain't even close. (I only bought one of the two boxed sets.) Someday, maybe some brave producer and/or director will mount these shows in a way that will bring out their wealth of potential. We all saw how the Kevin Kline/Linda Ronstadt movie of "Pirates of Penzance" launched that show permanently into the G&S top three. I give this series two stars only because I don't think there is any other version of all the operettas out there (I doubt that the old Martyn Green Doyle-Carte Company movie of "Mikado" is available), and at least I have something to look at while listening to the music and dialogue. But I wince at Keith Michell's and Vincent Price's feeble vocalizations -- to name only two of the producers' many lame attempts to use "big names" to attract audiences, which is rather more likely to scare them... Read more 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful  Five Volumes of a Flawed Series that Remain Enjoyable, By This review is from: Gilbert & Sullivan - Favorites Collection (Opera World) (DVD) For a number of the operas, the Brent Walker videos constituted my entire experience for that opera. (Now, of course, I own at least one recording of each.) There's a lot to say about this series (much of it less than sanguine, I'm afraid).HMS Pinafore: Not half as bad as I had expected (though still bad). Frankie Howard makes little effort to stick to the script, and it shows. Peter Marshall as the Captain is acceptable, though his dancing in "Nevermind the why and wherefore" is quite painful (he doesn't have that sort of figure). Ralph was one of the redeeming factors of the production. Yes, he doesn't hit the B-flat at the beginning of the Act 1 finale, but you have to admit, he sings pretty good *and* looks the part. (To be blunt: He's in shape, taller than the soprano, and isn't too old.) Pirates of Penzance: Dreadful. Honestly, I'd rank this one lower than Pinafore. The only redeeming factor is Gillian Knight as Ruth. The staging and choreography... Read more |
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