For Savoyards-in-the-know, the principal attraction of this 1949 recording of H.M.S. Pinafore will be the presence of Martyn Green, master of deadpan patter-song delivery and legendary “small skinny guy who’s amazingly spry, with a voice like a vegetable grater” (to quote Anna Russell’s famous “Build Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera” routine). Alas, there are no patter songs, deadpan or not, in Pinafore. The rest of the singers constitute what could charitably be called an “ensemble cast”, more singing actors than singers, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
D’Oyly Carte productions, unlike Malcolm Sargent’s later EMI efforts, always have been valued more for their authenticity than for their vocal charms, and most of the time the singing isn’t half bad, which is a good thing because the balances here absurdly favor the voices. True, Murial Harding’s slightly quavering Josephine tends to get swamped in ensembles (e.g., the “Wedding Bells” trio in Act 2), and Leonard Osborne’s Ralph Rackstraw doesn’t quite capture the refinement that should leak out from beneath his working-class surface now and again; but let’s face it, these guys really know their G&S, and Savoyards will be happy to see this well transferred, pre-LP recording return to currency. Others won’t care one way or the other. That’s what a repertoire niche is, after all. [Editor’s Note: This same recording has just been reissued on Naxos (8110175). The transfer by David Lennick features slightly smoother yet less-open sound on the top end; the price is considerably less than the Pearl version.] [9/7/2001]
