Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance

Disc 1
1	The Pirates of Penzance,
2	The Pirates of Penzance,
3	The Pirates of Penzance,
4	The Pirates of Penzance,
5	The Pirates of Penzance,
6	The Pirates of Penzance,
7	The Pirates of Penzance,
8	The Pirates of Penzance,
9	The Pirates of Penzance,
10	The Pirates of Penzance,
11	The Pirates of Penzance,
12	The Pirates of Penzance,
13	The Pirates of Penzance,
14	The Pirates of Penzance,
15	The Pirates of Penzance,
Disc 2
1	The Pirates of Penzance,
2	The Pirates of Penzance,
3	The Pirates of Penzance,
4	The Pirates of Penzance,
5	The Pirates of Penzance,
7	The Pirates of Penzance,
8	The Pirates of Penzance,
9	The Pirates of Penzance,
10	The Pirates of Penzance,
11	The Pirates of Penzance,
12	The Pirates of Penzance,
13	The Pirates of Penzance,
14	The Pirates of Penzance,
15	The Pirates of Penzance,
16	The Pirates of Penzance,
17	The Pirates of Penzance,
18	The Pirates of Penzance,
19	The Pirates of Penzance,
20	The Pirates of Penzance,
21	The Pirates of Penzance,
22	The Pirates of Penzance,
23	The Pirates of Penzance,
24	The Pirates of Penzance,
25	The Pirates of Penzance,
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance
1.	The Pirates of Penzance, operetta 1:43:31
	Composed by Arthur Sullivan
	Performed by Donald Adams, Owen Brannigan, Valerie Masterson, John Reed, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, James Walker, Jean Allister, George Cook, Susan Maisey, Christene Palmer, Philip Potter, Pauline Wales and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
	Conducted by Isidore Godfrey

Barnes & Noble

The Pirates of Penzance is a strong show -- strong enough even to withstand Joseph Papp's 1980s Broadway "update" with pop singer Linda Ronstadt (later made into a film) -- but it gives the most powerfully delightful impression when it's performed to the manner born, as it is in this classic 1968 set. Considered by many Gilbert and Sullivan aficionados to be among the greatest of all the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's recordings, it has been newly remastered for this reissue and sounds more vivid than ever. Of course, no one sang Major General Stanley's famous patter song ("I am the very model of a modern Major-General") as delectably as John Reed, and here he's partnered by an exceptionally able and well-rounded cast, including Owen Brannigan as the Sergeant of Police. Isidore Godfrey, an experienced and inspirational Savoyard, leads the Royal Philharmonic with a sure, comedic hand, and the score is performed complete with dialogue. Could there be a better introduction to the wonderfully "topsy-turvy" world of Gilbert and Sullivan than this? Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

This is a reissue of a very well-performed and fun-filled recording from 1968 by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which includes the dialog. The cast and chorus bring out the humor of the operetta by taking their parts seriously. The dialog is not delivered with the singsong, exaggerated sentiment found in some of the other D'Oyly Carte recordings. The stars of the performance are Valerie Masterson, who has no difficulty handling the coloratura flights in "Poor Wand'ring One," and John Reed as the Major-General, who recites his model characteristics with aplomb and not so speedily as to turn it into nonsense. Philip Potter as Frederic, Donald Adams as the Pirate King, and Christene Palmer as Ruth round out the cast. This is the last recording conductor Isidore Godfrey made with the company, retiring shortly afterward, having been its music director for 39 years. He makes "Pirates" sound more like grand opera than light opera. One minor regret is that in transferring the recording, it was not possible to get all of Act 1 on one CD. This means, since the dialog is on the same track as the immediately preceding musical number, the first CD ends rather surprisingly after the orphan/often misunderstanding between the Major-General and the Pirate King. This recording, along with the 1959 "H.M.S. Pinafore," represents the best stereo recordings made by the company that premiered the works in the nineteenth century. Patsy Morita