The Grand Duke

The Grand Duke

The Grand Duke
List Price: $36.98
Our Price: $28.25
You Save: $8.73 (24%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $22.95 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album



(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Composer: Arthur Sullivan
Orchestra: Ohio Light Opera Orchestra
Performer: Aline Carnes
Performer: Arlene Simmonds
Performer: Betha Curtis
Performer: Breanna Sheffler
Performer: Candice Coffee
Performer: Grant Knox
Performer: Jami Rhodes
Performer: Jonathan Stinson
Performer: Julie Wright
Performer: Justin Legris
Performer: Lauren Beatty
Performer: Nicholas Wuehrmann
Performer: Oliver Henderson
Performer: Sandra Ross
Performer: Ted Christopher
Performer: Wade Woodward
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2003-12-30
Music Label: Albany Records

Music reviews of The Grand Duke

Music Review: Missed Opportunities
Rating: 3 Stars

My copy of this new recording of GRAND DUKE arrived from the United States on Thursday morning and on Friday afternoon I was able to sit down and listen to it in full. I have to say that as a record of a live production of an operetta which (judging by the applause at the end of each of the acts) was enthusiastically received, this is an excellent recording. As a representation of Gilbert and Sullivan's GRAND DUKE it falls somewhat short. Such a pity as many of the criticisms I had of the same company's PRINCESS IDA have been addressed as indeed they were in UTOPIA LIMITED.

To the British ear the most unpalatable aspect of any recording of a G & S Opera, or indeed any European work, made in America is the accent. In IDA this was a real problem, in UTOPIA it was almost conquered, here in GRAND DUKE it is almost non-existent although the word 'can't' still defeats the performers.

The real gripe with this recording is the amount of totally unnecessary musical (and some of the dialogue) cuts, and the disc break - why oh why does the break come in the middle of the act one finale during the "Oh horror" sequence? With disc one timed at 63:27 and the second half of the finale timed at just 8:19, left on disc one this would have made a disc length of just 71:46. With some discs lasting for 80 or more these days
this disc break is totally unacceptable. Even with a multi deck player, the playout of disc one and the playin of disc two time at 0:10 making it impossible to hear the finale without a break.

Ohio bill the opera as a "Romantic comic opera" and play it very much as they play Kalman or Strauss. Why? This is Gilbert and Sullivan. It may not be their best work (I don't know anyone who would claim that it is), but a well played and paced GRAND DUKE can, and does, sparkle like champagne. Here we have a very good white wine but there is not a bubble in sight.

The cuts that are made are of the nature of 'all or nothing' and in some cases are unintelligent. We loose the second verse of "Strange the views", very sad as the first verse is excellently sung, not to mention the fact that having given the reason why duelling is unacceptable we are not given the
Pfennig-Halbpfennigian solution.

The second verse of "As o'er our penny role" is cut. This seems to be a tradition, but as the preceding dialogue has already been cut quite considerably, this reduces Rudolph's, and even more so the Baronesses roles to a minimum.

The act one finale begins very strangely with the "Tall snobs" verse of the Ludwig/Rudolph duet. It is quite common to cut this down by a verse but I have never heard the first ditched in preference to the second. And whilst on the subject of this finale, it was here that Ted Christopher's (Ludwig) habit of lapsing into speaking his lines very much in the vein of Rex
Harrison in MY FAIR LADY became annoyingly apparent. It was also with the "Jolly Jinks" sequence that the overall lack of pace in some of the numbers (but not all) became apparent.

Ludwig's Greek pronunciation in "At the outset" is dubious to say the least, Julia misses the lines "I have a rival. Frenzy thrilled I find you both together" at the beginning of her mad scene which actually makes a nonsense of the whole scene as I don't suppose that anyone would realise that she is 'acting' a mad scene, "Come bumpers aye ever so many", "The Prince of Monte-Carlo" and "We're rigged out in magnificent array" are all shorn of their second verses.

When one considers that the two discs of UTOPIA run for 75:35 and 71:16 respectively with hardly a cut in sight, one has to wonder why so many musical cuts have been made with the two GRAND DUKE discs running for just 63:27 and 62:43, a full 20:41 short of the UTOPIA recording - more than enough time to include all the cut music and some of the dialogue as well.

All this said however, this is a pleasant recording, which, although it claims to be the "First Complete Recording", cannot perhaps be so considered by those who own the British label 'Sounds on CD' excellent reissue of the UMGASS 1973
recording which is overall more complete. Even the D'Oyly Carte recording is musically more complete than this. But the atmosphere of a live theatre recording does pervade the new issue and whilst I for one would not ditch either of the other two recordings, I will certainly listen to this again on occasion.

More The Grand Duke free music reviews:
1

Classical CDs

Music Genres
Bestsellers in Classical CDs
Winterscapes ImageWinterscapes
by London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops: $6.99
The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee ImageThe Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee
by Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops: $13.98
Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr ImageClassical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr
Release date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $24.97
Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos)) ImageTchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))
by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99
Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS] ImageJose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]
Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops: $9.99
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS] ImageTchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.90
Price in other shops: $29.95
Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS] ImageRambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: $29.95
Winter Music: Composing the North ImageWinter Music: Composing the North
by John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.31
Price in other shops: $25.95
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] ImagePuccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops: $29.95
Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] ImageVerdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops: $29.95
Similar CDs
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Sorcerer ImageGilbert & Sullivan: The Sorcerer
Release date: 2005-12-01; Music CD
Best price: $26.09
Price in other shops: $36.98
The Mikado ImageOhio Light Opera - The Mikado
Release date: 2008-11-01; Music CD
Best price: $23.00
Price in other shops: $35.98
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Sorcerer ImageGilbert & Sullivan: The Sorcerer
Acorn; Release date: 2002-10-22; DVD
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops: $14.99
The Gondoliers ImageOhil Light Opera - The Gondoliers
Release date: 2007-03-01; Music CD
Best price: $25.75
Price in other shops: $35.98
Gilbert & Sullivan: Princess Ida ImageGilbert & Sullivan: Princess Ida
Release date: 2000-02-15; Music CD
Best price: $22.99
Price in other shops: $34.49
Gilbert & Sullivan: The Yeomen of the Guard ImageGilbert & Sullivan: The Yeomen of the Guard
Release date: 2004-02-24; Music CD
Best price: $28.25
Price in other shops: $36.98
Gilbert & Sullivan: Utopia Limited ImageGilbert & Sullivan: Utopia Limited
Release date: 2001-02-27; Music CD
Best price: $31.68
Price in other shops: $34.49
Gilbert & Sullivan: Ruddigore ImageOhio Light Opera - Gilbert & Sullivan: Ruddigore
Release date: 2009-12-01; Music CD
Best price: $26.08
Price in other shops: $35.98
Compare prices and find music notes for more than one million Music CD titles