Arthur Sullivan - The Yeomen of the Guard (1888) (1993 Marriner recording) - No. 4. Quartet & Finale - "When a wooer" (cont.) & "'Tis said that joy in full perfection" (Kurt Streit, Thomas Allen, Sylvia McNair, Jean Rigby)

I'm more and more falling under the spell of the topsy-turvydoom of the British power duo, Gilbert & Sullivan, especially after hearing "The Yeomen of the Guard", possibly, their best, most openly operatic and less topsy-turvy work.

A thorough libretto of the work can be found here:

http://www.karadar.com/Librettos/sull...

P.S. As if Act One wasn't good enough, Act Two is even better :).

No. 17. Quartet - "When a wooer" (cont.).

No. 19. Finale - "'Tis said that joy in full perfection". The finale is unusually compact, managing to present with extreme vivacity two very dramatic situations in just ten minutes. I had to cut an opening chorus to save some time, thus, we begin with a slightly otherworldly terzettino for Phoebe, Elsie and Dame Carruthers, celebrating Elsie's betrothal to "Leonard" and sung almost a capella, with some string lines effectually highlighting the harmony of the voices. After a repeat of the final lines by the chorus, several horn flourishes, seemingly announcing the appearance of the groom, are cut short by the monologue of the lieutenant, announcing that Fairfax lives and has been pardoned. This revelation leads to a common sorrow of all present, given in a short but suitable tutti. Fairfax enters and, to see the reaction of Elsie, continues with the charade he had started. Elsie voices her torment in a very affecting dramatic arioso, at the end of which she resigns herself to fate's part. She then proceeds to look at her husband who turns out to be her beloved Leonard which immediately causes all to break out in a joyous hymn to love. That is until Point makes an entrance, completely devoid of any hope at regaining Elsie. His tragedy is sentimentally presented in a reprise of the performers' opening duettino but which now becomes a song of love lost rather than the sarcastic tale which was presented to us from the beginning. Elsie answers the verse, sympathizing with Point's plight (in a very morbid turn, a version of the girl's song makes her laugh at her fellowman's tragedy). This sustained sadness is then replaced with a far more joyous coda, ironically celebrating the presumed happy ending for Elsie and Fairfax, while Point falls, completely unfeeling, by their feet.

Here is a list of performers who appear in these selections:

Kurt Streit - Colonel Fairfax,
Robert Lloyd - Lt. Cholmondely,
Stafford Dean - Sergeant Meryll,
Thomas Allen - Jack Point,
Bryn Terfel - Wilfred Shadbolt,
Sylvia McNair - Elsie Maynard,
Jean Rigby - Phoebe Meryll,
Anne Collins - Dame Carruthers,
Judith Howarth - Kate.

Hope you'll enjoy :)!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Gilbet
• Sullivan
• comic
• opera
• Savoy
• D'Oyly
• Carte

[hillevifan]

I don't know this work very well- and I love Jean Rigby, does she have any solo arias in this operetta?

[LindoroRossini]

Yes, actually, two arias in Act One, both sung quite delightfully by Miss Rigby :).

[hillevifan]

Is there ANY way you could please post them? It'd be much appreciated!

[LindoroRossini]

I'll try to do it in a bit, just have to finish posting the selections from "Il Bravo" :).

[jozg44]

Thank you so much for posting this. 'Yeoman of the Guard' is one of my favourite operas and I think this is the best recording I've yet hears.

[LindoroRossini]

It also the only one to include a large portion of the spoken dialogue, so I feel that it will remain my reference recording for a while :).

[bhandsdes]

My favorite. How do you manage to post such a rich audio experience? Maybe I don't want to know. But thank you. Thank you.

[Roseburg93]

I just can't stop listening to the finale. The control of the chorus on the 'O' at 8:29 is stunning.

[nclysander]

Listen to McNair's control at 6:22 - incredible!

Thanks for posting these excerpts. I've recently been familiarizing myself with the operetta via the 1964 D'oyly Carte recording and it is nice to have highlights from another album for purposes of comparison. Not sure which I prefer yet, but I'll definitely keep my eyes open for all of the Marriner. :)

[rosuav]

I have a particular affinity for the minor-key pieces, which Yeomen (of all the G&Ses, especially) is particularly well provided. This is quite a good recording (and I've heard a good few, and some live). I'm presently involved in rehearsals with the local Gilbert and Sullivan Society - we'll be performing Yeomen at the end of April... this Elsie (Sylvia McNair) reminds me of the one who I really wished had auditioned! Ah well. We have another good Elsie.

[lskarin]

Audrey Williamson wrote the book on G&S way back when and I commend it to all. She says, in playing Jack Point, Martyn Green whitened his makeup for the last act so he looked sick to begin with, thus making his death (death is what Gilbert said) more believable.

Thanks. Very good rendition.