This video is taken from a live concert in 1983. The original D'Oyly Carte Opera Company had folded the year before. For over 100 years they performed the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan, touring the UK, America and Australia often for 48 weeks of the year.
For some reason the video is brutally cut, and some singers don't have their solos included. The orchestra is a county schools' orchestra and isn't of the highest standard.
For G&S fans this video is essential. Vivian Tierney, who went on to have a career in grand opera is excellent in her numbers. It is also interesting to see Peter Pratt, who left the company in 1959 - although he recorded some of the operas, I had never seem him on stage before watching this video. The other singers are John Ayldon, Geoffrey Shovelton and Patricia Leonard, who all have a large fan base among G&S enthusiasts. The chorus is massive, consisting of anyone who wanted to go along to the Royal Albert Hall, London and join in; many went in costume.
The numbers are interspersed with a couple of actors who are supposed to be Gilbert and Sullivan themselves. Some people find them annoying, but I don't find it too bad.
Maybe one day the whole concert will be released on video.
A must-have for G&S fans, representing the unique performing style of the original D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.
