Ruddigore was Gilbert and Sullivan's 10th collaboration and the fifth of the so-called Savoy operas, named after the theater in which they were performed and earning performers of this music the title of "Savoyard". In this work Gilbert writes his usual favorite stereotypes: the helpless yet virtuous village maiden, the sailor home from the sea, the hero born into a hapless lot, and the evil lord of the manor. Sullivan, on the other hand, penned his most serious music, perhaps because he arrived at the project fresh from composing an entirely serious cantata, The Golden Legend. His music for the ghosting scenes in Act II is masterful and atmospheric, but quite somber and scary.

This New Sadler's Wells Opera performance proves quite enjoyable. All of the singers are excellent. Marilyn Hill Smith is a pure-voiced Rose Maybud and Gordon Sandison projects an appealing, vocally fresh Robin. Thomas Lawlor, who has a deep, dark, and menacing voice just right for the part, sings Sir Roderic Murgatroyd, the villain of the piece. The chorus and orchestra are alert and articulate, and Simon Phipps finds the right tempo for every number. The recording uses the original overture (the D'Oyly Carte recording employs it as an extra prelude to Act II), and excises many orchestral "improvements" that have cropped up over the years, for a sound that is leaner and cleaner than you might have heard in the past. Alternate versions and orchestrations are fully discussed in the program notes, though there is no libretto or plot synopsis.

John Yap, president of Jay Records and its executive producer, has shown almost as avid an interest in Gilbert and Sullivan as he has in Broadway shows. He produced a number of recordings with the famed D'Oyly Carte company in the early 1990s, these in excellent surround sound and released in this country on Sony Classical. This recording from 1987 is not surround, but nevertheless is handsome and detailed, with an appealing roundness and warmth. [7/24/2000]

--Rad Bennett