
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Mikado, Trial By Jury - D'OYLY CARTE OPERA COMPANY, ISIDORE GODFREY, ROYSTON NASH (2 CDS)
Bursting onto the scene with a sensational two-year run at the Savoy Theatre (672 performances commencing on 14 March 1885), it was not long before ‘The Mikado’ was playing around the world in myriad different productions and translations – and it continues to be greeted with unparalleled global enthusiasm today. This October 1957 recording of the opera, marked the start of a new and, for many collectors’ ‘golden’, era for the D’Oyly Carte company on record. Made only seven years after a very fine post-war LP set, this remake benefits from remarkably present stereo sound. The orchestral playing is of an appreciably higher standard than in the previous version and, following a major changing of the guard with company principals in the mid-1950s, the set features a strong array of soloists. Performed 300 times in its first two years, ‘Trial by Jury’ was an acclaimed success that cemented the symbiotic relationship between composer and librettist. This 1974 recording, part of the D’Oyly C