Gilbert & Sullivan: HMS Pinafore; Trial By Jury (1992)

Malcolm Sargent recorded 10 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in productions based on performances at the Glyndebourne Festival in the late '50s and early '60s, and this version of H.M.S. Pinafore is among his most successful efforts. Sargent's reading is notable for its typically nuanced attention to details of the score, and the performances by his soloists here are especially strong. The romantic leads in particular are more convincing than in many of the other recordings in the series. As Josephine, Elsie Morison sounds ... Read More

Malcolm Sargent recorded 10 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas in productions based on performances at the Glyndebourne Festival in the late '50s and early '60s, and this version of H.M.S. Pinafore is among his most successful efforts. Sargent's reading is notable for its typically nuanced attention to details of the score, and the performances by his soloists here are especially strong. The romantic leads in particular are more convincing than in many of the other recordings in the series. As Josephine, Elsie Morison sounds fresher and more the innocent ingénue than in some of her other Gilbert and Sullivan roles; her tone is clean and bright and her performance is completely convincing. Richard Lewis brings more of a heroic timbre and bearing to Ralph Rackstraw than he does to many of his other romantic leading roles. Monica Sinclair is impressive as an amusingly stalwart Buttercup. The other male leads -- John Cameron as Captain Corcoran, George Baker as Joseph Porter, and Owen Brannigan as Dick Deadeye... Read Less