The Ghosts' High Noon

For me and many others, the musical highlight of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera Ruddigore (1887) occurs in the second act. The ghost of Sir Roderic Murgatroyd, the twenty-first baronet of Ruddigore, after descending from his ancestral picture frame, describes the ghostly revelry that occurs at midnight to the petrified Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, the newest and most reluctant baronet. The song, of course, is "When the night wind howls" or more familiarly "The Ghosts' High Noon" and it is sung by Sir Roderic with the chorus of ghosts. Sullivan's orchestration is nothing less than brilliant.

Donald Adams as the ghost of Sir Roderic Murgatroyd,

1961 Savoy Theatre Production

 http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/ruddigore/rg_doc/rg_doc.html

Bass-baritone Donald Adams handled the song splendidly in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's outstanding 1962 recording of the opera, and two decades later he played the role in the 1982 Brent Walker video production. What's most remarkable about this selection on video is that Roderic's wonderful description of the revelry is fully visualized. Still, you never feel the ghosts are anywhere but a soundstage. Alexander Faris conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and the Ambrosian Opera Chorus.

Gilbert & Sullivan
Ruddigore (1887)

"When the Night Wind Howls"
Dir. Brent Walker, 1982
Donald Adams as Sir Roderic
Alexander Faris, Conductor
London Symphony Orchestra
Ambrosian Opera Chorus

Sir Arthur Sullivan himself never composed a proper overture for Ruddigore. Instead, the theme to "When the night wind howls" features prominently in Geoffrey Toye's 1921 revised version of the overture, sometimes referred to as "The Haunted Ballroom." This musical theme can be heard in the 1962 D'Oyly Carte recording in the overture starting at around 00:20. Isidore Godfrey conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera.

Gilbert & Sullivan
Ruddigore,Act 1

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

In Act II of the same recording, the famous ghost scene begins at 13:00 and "When the night wind howls" is sung by Donald Adams starting at 17:22.

Gilbert & Sullivan
Ruddigore, Act 2

The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company

 W. S. Gilbert's own Bab illustrations for "When the night wind howls" are from his collection Songs of a Savoyard (1890 and 1897):

Bab (W. S. Gilbert), "The Ghosts' High Noon," Songs of a Savoyard, 1890

Bab (W. S. Gilbert), "The Ghosts' High Noon," Songs of a Savoyard, 1897

Bab (W. S. Gilbert), "The Ghosts' High Noon," Songs of a Savoyard, 1890

http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/ruddigore/bab/bab.html

Sir William Russell Flint (1880-1969) illustrates the ghosts

out of their portrait frames and making passes at Robin,
who begins to writhe in agony.

http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/ruddigore/flint/flint_RG7.html

The album cover illustration for Sir Malcolm Sargent's 1963 "Glyndebourne" recording of the opera depicts the scene so vividly described in "When the night wind howls."

Ray Jelliffe, Ruddigore EMI Album Cover, 1963

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Album Review: Ohio Light Opera's "Princess Ida" (Thompson, 1999)

Gilbert & Sullivan:  "Princess Ida" 

Ohio Light Opera,  J. Lynn Thompson, conductor, 1999

I've enjoyed the music to Gilbert & Sullivan's Princess Ida for over 30 years now, although until recently I did not own a recording of it. In retrospect, that oversight is pretty odd, and I've never really been able to explain my reticence given the delightful score. Back in 1981, I listened to the charming if imperfect 1955 D'Oyly Carte recording in anticipation of what turned out to be a wonderful production in Binghamton, New York. I've also seen it performed by the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players featuring John Reed as King Gama shortly after the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's untimely demise. Today I own D'Oyly-Carte's uneven 1965 recording as well. For those Gilbert and Sullivan fans who aren't familiar with "Princess Ida," definitely seek it out in some form.

"Princess Ida" is the only G&S opera in three acts. Gilbert's target, on the surface, is women's education, but his real criticism of Castle Adamant seems to be that it is an obstacle to mating! Fair enough. I've always found Ida herself to be a cold and unsympathetic character, perhaps as a result of the inadequate Ida on the 1955 recording. Much of the music is just grand, though. "For a Month to Dwell" at the close of Act 1, for example, has long been a favorite of mine.

Ohio Light Opera's recording is from its 1999 production. It includes dialogue, which in this case is Gilbert's venture into blank verse. It's a reasonably good recording, although overall, I don't feel the voice characterizations live up to those of D'Oyly Carte's golden age. Alas, Princess Ida is still waiting for a really first-rate recording.


Note: The three most recent posts here and one newer one also featured my reviews of various recordings of Arthur Sullivan's music. In fact, yesterday's post reviews D'Oyly Carte's 1965 recording of "Princess Ida."

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Album Review: Gilbert & Sullivan: "Princess Ida" (Sargent, 1965); "Pineapple Poll"

Gilbert & Sullivan:  "Princess Ida;" "Pineapple Poll"

Sir Malcolm Sargent, D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Decca, 1965

This mediocre recording from 1965 turned out to be the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company's final attempt at "Princess Ida," and their only version recorded in stereo. It was a missed opportunity. True, their earlier 1955 recording is marred by an atrocious Ida warbled by Victoria Sladen, but otherwise it is quite superior all around. I cannot at all recommend this 1965 version over it, and Elizabeth Harwood, the actress singing Ida here, isn't right for the role anyway although she's a mile ahead of Sladen. In short, among the many inadequate versions of Princess Ida on disc, this is certainly not the one to own. Sir Malcolm Sargent conducts the lackluster affair.

Also included is "Pineapple Poll," delightful ballet music written and conducted by Charles Mackerras, based on the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. It's always a pleasure to listen to this confection and to identify where the different themes come from.

Note: The two most recent blog posts (and two newer ones as well) also feature my reviews of various recordings of Arthur Sullivan's music. Yesterday's post discusses Richard Hickox's 2005 recording of "Cox and Box" and "Trial by Jury" featuring the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

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Album Review: Gilbert & Sullivan: "Cox and Box;" "Trial by Jury"

 
Gilbert & Sullivan: "Cox and Box;" "Trial by Jury"

Richard Hickox, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Chandos, 2005

New recordings of "Cox and Box" don't come along all that often. This one-act, three-man score is probably fairly well known to Gilbert & Sullivan fans. The libretto is by F. C. Burnand, not Gilbert, after the stage farce "Box and Cox" by J. Maddison Morton. Whatever professional aspirations Sullivan may have had, it's clear that he was born to write comic opera, and the music here is really a notch or two better than what the material deserves.

This 2005 recording is by Richard Hickox with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. It has some new linking dialogue that is not authentic and, I would suggest, not that helpful. It also boasts that it is the premier recording of the original orchestration, which I suppose raises the question of what orchestration the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company was using in its recordings. It's no secret that D'Oyly Carte edited the score of Cox and Box, among other operettas, with a fairly heavy hand, but their recording is very enjoyable and every syllable is absolutely clear, something the present recording can't claim. I'd give D'Oyly Carte's last version of 1978, the one I am familiar with, the edge over this one, authentic orchestration notwithstanding. Still, I don't understand why anyone, yesterday or today, would record this piece without the clever gambling duet. I suppose we'll have to wait some time for a truly complete recording.

"Trial by Jury" is the second piece on the disc. This is a true Gilbert & Sullivan collaboration, their first real commercial success. It's really always great to listen to this in any version, but I have to recommend once again a D'Oyly Carte recording, perhaps one with John Reed as the Judge. In this case, it's the centenary recording of 1975 with which I am most familiar, and I would rate it more highly than this one.

Note: The most recent post prior to this one (and three newer posts) also featured my reviews of various recordings of Arthur Sullivan's music. In yesterday's post I review a 2000 recording by Richard Hickox with the BBC Philharmonic of Sullivan's orchestral music.

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