"An uneasy cross between a movie and a theater production, this version of Gilbert and Sullivan's masterpiece The Mikado is on the clumsy side. Obviously taped on a stage (there are just two settings, a town square and a landscape) but without an audience, it lacks the spark of live performance and the versatility of film. The action is weighed down by jejune attempts at comedy. When Nanki-Poo (disguised as a musician) receives the devas ..."
"A collection of the greatest hits of composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist W.S. Gilbert, whose comic operas have been delighting audiences around the world for more than a century. From the popular BBC series featuring music by the London Symphonic Orchestra and a host of international stars. Includes THE MIKADO, H.M.S. PINAFORE, THE GONDOLIERS, PATIENCE, and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE."
"Ten of the most beloved and masterful light operas of our time come to life through remarkable performances by Keith Mitchell, Joel Grey, Vincent Price and many more. Includes H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, The Gondoliers, Patience, Iolanthe, Princess Ida, The Sorcerer, Ruddigore and The Yeoman of the Guard . 10 DVDs. 1982/color/19 hrs/NR/fullscreen."
"Tuneful and atmospheric, The Gondoliers comes closer to conventional operetta than most Gilbert and Sullivan works. Two young men learn that one of them is heir to a throne. But no one knows which is the prince and which is the gondolier, so they travel to the fictitious kingdom of Barataria to rule jointly. Sullivan's Italianate score--his most radiant--sets the tone, though there's a fair helping of Gilbert's trademark wit. The result ..."
"A favorite of many Gilbert and Sullivan aficionados, Patience is not for every taste. This satire of pretentious poets and their swooning followers, mocking the 1880s cult of aestheticism, touches a nerve in any celebrity-obsessed age. But it's not exactly subtle, with characters drenched in languid attitude, balanced by others who declare, "It seems to me to be nonsense." Nevertheless, there are pleasures: delectable tunes, terrific ae ..."
"This video is one of the Opera World series of 12 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas produced for television in 1982. Aiming for a broad public, the series' producers assembled crossover casts of Savoyards, comedians, song-and-dance types, and Americans affecting British accents. The results are erratic, and H.M.S. Pinafore is as mixed as they come. Musically, it is of generally high quality (the opera singer Della Jones as Buttercup, for i ..."
"The Pirates of Penzance would seem to be one of the most indestructible of theatrical works, with its seamless parody and melodic brilliance. No material is surefire, however. In this lackluster version, the pleasures are sporadic at best. The production, originally shown on the BBC, is a nondaring affair that avoids any modern sensibility or satiric edge. Mabel's song "Poor Wand'ring One," a swipe at the trilling idiocies of opera, her ..."
"Even by the unreal standards of Gilbert and Sullivan, Iolanthe is a fanciful piece of work, in which Fairyland meets the House of Lords. Needless to say, the lords--a superbly dimwitted bunch--don't triumph. The title character was once banished from the fairy kingdom, and now she returns as the marriage of her son, Strephon, is imperiled by Parliament. Mixing satire with ethereal fantasy (though the fairies are earthly enough to have a ..."
"FEATURING THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND A HOST OF INTERNATIONAL STARS, INCLUDING VINCENT PRICE, JOEL GRAY, PETER MARSHALL, KEITH MITCHELL, FRANKIE HOWERD AND PETER ALLEN. FILMED IN ENGLAND AND CREATED ESPECIALLY FOR TV, THEY HAVE DELIGHTED FANS ON PBS AND THE BBC."
"FEATURING THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND A HOST OF INTERNATIONAL STARS, INCLUDING VINCENT PRICE, JOEL GRAY, PETER MARSHALL, KEITH MITCHELL, FRANKIE HOWERD AND PETER ALLEN. FILMED IN ENGLAND AND CREATED ESPECIALLY FOR TV, THEY HAVE DELIGHTED FANS ON PBS AND THE BBC."
"In the Japanese town of Titipu, a wandering minstrel, Nanki-Poo, is searching for Yum-Yum, one of the "Three little maids from school" with whom he has fallen in love. But Yum-Yum is betrothed to Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner. Ko-Ko is under pressure from the absent Mikado to perform an execution and persuades the suicidal Nanki-Poo to be his victim. The fact that Nanki-Poo is in fact the heir to the throne of Japan creates an awkwar ..."
"The Pirates of Penzance would seem to be one of the most indestructible of theatrical works, with its seamless parody and melodic brilliance. No material is surefire, however. In this lackluster version, the pleasures are sporadic at best. The production, originally shown on the BBC, is a nondaring affair that avoids any modern sensibility or satiric edge. Mabel's song "Poor Wand'ring One," a swipe at the trilling idiocies of opera ..."
"Even by the unreal standards of Gilbert & Sullivan, Iolanthe is a fanciful piece of work, in which Fairyland meets the House of Lords. Needless to say, the lords--a superbly dimwitted bunch--don't triumph. The title character was once banished from the fairy kingdom, and now she returns as the marriage of her son, Strephon, is imperiled by Parliament. Mixing satire with ethereal fantasy (though the fairies are earthly enough to hav ..."
"Tuneful and atmospheric, The Gondoliers comes closer to conventional operetta than most Gilbert & Sullivan works. Two young men learn that one of them is heir to a throne. But no one knows which is the prince and which is the gondolier, so they travel to the fictitious kingdom of Barataria to rule jointly. Sullivan's Italianate score--his most radiant--sets the tone, though there's a fair helping of Gilbert's trademark wit. The re ..."
"A favorite of many Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados, Patience is not for every taste. This satire of pretentious poets and their swooning followers, mocking the 1880s cult of aestheticism, touches a nerve in any celebrity-obsessed age. But it's not exactly subtle, with characters drenched in languid attitude, balanced by others who declare, "It seems to me to be nonsense." Nevertheless, there are pleasures: delectable tunes, terrific ..."
"Even by the unreal standards of Gilbert & Sullivan, Iolanthe is a fanciful piece of work, in which Fairyland meets the House of Lords. Needless to say, the lords--a superbly dimwitted bunch--don't triumph. The title character was once banished from the fairy kingdom, and now she returns as the marriage of her son, Strephon, is imperiled by Parliament. Mixing satire with ethereal fantasy (though the fairies are earthly enough to hav ..."
"Surrounded by the battlements of the Tower of London, Phoebe Meryll sits brooding over the coming execution of Colonel Fairfax. Only Phoebe's father, whose life Fairfax has twice saved, has a plan for his disguise and escape. The plot thickens with the arrival of Jack Point, a professional jester, and his sweetheart Elsie. For legal reasons, Fairfax needs to marry before he dies, and, to raise much-needed cash, Elsie agrees to be his te ..."
"The villagers of Ploverleigh are celebrating the marriage of Alexis, son of Sir Marmaduke Pointdextre, to Aline, daughter of Lady Sangazure, who just happens to be Sir Marmaduke's old flame. Alexis is determined that all shall share the purity of his true love. He has arranged for Mr. Wells, "a dealer in magic and spells," to administer his best-selling love potion to everyone in the village, including the vicar Dr. Daly. The result is ..."
"Ruddigore, a pseudo-melodramatic ghost story, became most famous for the moment when the portraits of Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd's ancestors spring to life and demand that he uphold the family curse of performing a crime every day. Less flawlessly balanced between score and libretto than some of Gilbert & Sullivan's works, it's a pleasurable trifle set to gorgeous music. Since this is the only version widely available on video, we're ..."