Here’s a fine “How-de-Do”: a CD of generous excerpts from the bubbly 1986 English National Opera production of what is generally acknowledged to be Gilbert and Sullivan’s greatest operetta. The cast is a delight, with special kudos going to Bonaventura Bottone. Seldom has a lyric tenor sounded so natural and unforced in the role of Nanki-Poo. What lovely singing this is! The chorus and orchestra are excellent, too; and Peter Robinson paces everything briskly, without ever making the music seem frantic or rushed. The overall mood is a good-natured one, lively and spirited, and the recorded sound is fine. Though it is somewhat distant, there is still plenty of presence–not an easy combination to pull off. I have to carp that there is no overture. With that, this would have been a fine mini-version, without dialogue and connecting music but with the major numbers intact. However, the performance is so beguiling that pardons in this respect are the order of the day, just as they are at the end of the operetta. [4/4/2000]
