Content area
Full Text
Rich Markow
GARY A GALO(EDITOR)
Gilbert & Sullivan: Iolanthe. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus and D'Oyly Carte Opera Orchestra, Isadore Godfrey, conductor. Naxos Historical 8.110231-32 (2 CDs).
Iolanthe -- The 1951 Decca Recording. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Isadore Godfrey, conductor. Robinson's Gilbert & Sullivan Favourites. New Symphony Orchestra of London, Stanford Robinson, conductor. Sounds On CD VGS 233 (2 CDs). Available from 78s2CD, J. C. Lockwood, P. O. Box 4831, Rio Rico, AZ 85648-4831; http://www.78s2cd.com.
Last year I reviewed several Gilbert & Sullivan CDs in the Naxos Historical series, all reissues of the first (1949-51) Decca/London series. Following completion of that review, I received the Naxos reissue of Iolanthe . This seemed like a good opportunity to compare it with another reissue of the same material from Sounds On CD, a connoisseur's label specializing in Gilbert & Sullivan material.
Iolanthe was among the final two recordings in the original series. As David Steadman points out, in his notes to the Sounds On CD release, ''there is a growing confidence in the recording technique of the D'Oyly's, and the start of a more sophisticated approach by Decca''. A certain kind of landmark was reached in the recording business with the original release -- it was the first of the Decca LP sets that...