THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE • TRIAL BY JURY • THE MIKADOHMS PINAFORE • THE GONDOLIERS • PRINCESS IDA

PATIENCE • UTOPIA, LIMITED • THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD IOLANTHE • THE SORCERER • RUDDIGORE • THE GRAND DUKE

The Very Best of Gilbert & Sullivan

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William Schwenck Gilbert & Arthur Seymour Sullivan

CD1 [72’46]

The Gondoliers1 Overture 4’18

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

2 We’re Called Gondolieri 2’17Thomas Edmonds Marco, Robert Dawe Giuseppe, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

3 From the Sunny Spanish Shore 1’45The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (John Reed The Duke of Plaza Toro, Gillian Knight The Duchess of Plaza Toro, Jennifer Toye Casilda, Jeffrey Skitch Luiz, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

4 In Enterprise of Martial Kind 1’34Dennis Olsen The Duke of Plaza Toro, Norma Knight Casilda, Ruth Gurner The Duchess of Plaza Toro, Thomas Edmonds Luiz, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

5 I Stole the Prince and I Brought Him Here 2’28The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Kenneth Sandford The Grand Inquisitor, Jennifer Toye Casilda,Jeffrey Skitch Luiz, Gillian Knight The Duchess of Plaza Toro, John Reed The Duke of Plaza Toro,The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

6 Take a Pair of Sparking Eyes 3’11Thomas Edmonds Marco, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

1836-1911 1842-1900

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7 Dance a Cachuca 1’45The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorus, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

8 I Am a Courtier Grave and Serious 3’54Norma Knight Casilda, Ruth Gurner The Duchess of Plaza Toro, Dennis Olsen The Duke of Plaza Toro, Thomas Edmonds Marco, Robert Dawe Giuseppe, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

HMS Pinafore9 I’m Called Little Buttercup 1’45

The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Gillian Knight Little Buttercup, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

0 The Nightingale Sighed…A Maiden Fair to See 4’30Thomas Edmonds Ralph Rackstraw, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

! When I Was a Lad 2’55Dennis Olsen Sir Joseph Porter, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

@ Never Mind the Why and Wherefore 2’39Norma Knight Josephine, Robert Dawe Captain Corcoran, Dennis Olsen Sir Joseph Porter,Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

Iolanthe£ Said I to Myself, Said I 1’56

The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (John Reed Lord Chancellor, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

$ When Britain Really Ruled the Waves 3’09The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Donald Adams Lord Mountararat, Chorus,The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

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% Love Unrequited…When You’re Lying Awake 3’34The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (John Reed Lord Chancellor, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

^ If You Go In, You’re Sure to Win 2’17Thomas Edmonds Lord Tolloller, Dennis Olsen Lord Chancellor, Robert Dawe Lord Mountararat,Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

Princess Ida& If You Give Me Your Attention 2’17

The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (John Reed King Gama, Chorus, The Royal PhilharmonicOrchestra, Malcolm Sargent conductor )

Ruddigore* I Know a Youth Who Loves a Little Maid 3’29

The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (John Reed Robin Oakapple, Jean Hindmarsh Rose Maybud,Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

( From the Briny Sea…I Shipped, D’ye See, in a Revenue Sloop 4’07Thomas Edmonds Richard Dauntless, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

) The Battle’s Roar is Over 2’54Norma Knight Rose Maybud, Thomas Edmonds Richard Dauntless, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

¡ In Sailing O‘er Life’s Ocean Wide 1’53Norma Knight Rose Maybud, Thomas Edmonds Richard Dauntless, Dennis Olsen Robin Oakapple, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

™ My Eyes Are Fully Open to My Awful Situation 1’38The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Jean Allister Mad Margaret, John Reed Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, Kenneth Sandford Sir Despard Murgatroyd, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House,Covent Garden, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

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Utopia, Limited# A Tenor, All Singers Above 2’32

Thomas Edmonds Captain Fitzbattleaxe, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

Patience¢ The Soldiers of Our Queen 0’54

The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Chorus, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

∞ Am I Alone and Unobserved?…If You’re Anxious for to Shine 4’30Dennis Olsen Bunthorne, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

§ A Magnet Hung in a Hardware Shop 2’22The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Kenneth Sandford Archibald Grosvenor, Chorus, The New Symphony Orchestra of London, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

¶ So Go to Him and Say to Him 2’13Ruth Gurner Lady Jane, Dennis Olsen Bunthorne, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

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CD2 [71’41]

The Sorcerer1 My Name Is John Wellington Wells 2’14

Dennis Olsen Mr Wells, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

The Pirates of Penzance2 Overture (abridged) 6’18

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

3 Poor Wandering One 2’59The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Valerie Masterson Mabel, Chorus, The Royal PhilharmonicOrchestra, Isidore Godfrey conductor)

4 I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General 3’04Dennis Olsen Major-General Stanley, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

5 Away, Away, My Heart’s on Fire 1’27Ruth Gurner Ruth, Thomas Edmonds Frederic, Robert Dawe The Pirate King, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

6 When a Felon’s Not Engaged in His Employment 2’33The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Owen Brannigan Sergeant of Police, Chorus, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

7 With Cat-Like Tread 2’47The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (George Cook Samuel, Chorus, The Royal PhilharmonicOrchestra, Isidore Godfrey conductor )

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Trial by Jury8 When First My Old, Old Love I Knew 1’46

Thomas Edmonds The Defendant, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

9 When I, Good Friends, Was Called to the Bar 2’53Dennis Olsen The Judge, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

0 Oh, Gentlemen, Listen, I Pray 1’58Thomas Edmonds The Defendant, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

The Grand Duke! By the Mystic Regulation 1’38

The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Kenneth Sandford Ludwig, Chorus, The Royal PhilharmonicOrchestra, Royston Nash conductor )

The Yeomen of the Guard@ Is Life a Boon? 2’10

Thomas Edmonds Colonel Fairfax, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

£ I Have a Song to Sing-O 3’31Norma Knight Elsie Maynard, Dennis Olsen Jack Point, The Corinthian Singers and FestivalChorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

$ When a Wooer Goes a-Wooing 3’10Norma Knight Elsie Maynard, Ruth Gurner Phoebe Meryll, Thomas Edmonds Colonel Fairfax,Dennis Olsen Jack Point, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

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The Mikado% A Wandering Minstrel I 4’21

Thomas Edmonds Nanki-Poo, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

^ Behold the Lord High Executioner…Taken from the County Jail 2’31Dennis Olsen Ko-Ko, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

& As Some Day It May Happen 2’11Dennis Olsen Ko-Ko, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

* Three Little Maids from School Are We 1’28The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Valerie Masterson Yum-Yum, Peggy Ann Jones Pitti-Sing,Pauline Wales Peep-Bo, Chorus, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royston Nash conductor )

( Were You Not to Ko-Ko Plighted 2’33Norma Knight Yum-Yum, Thomas Edmonds Nanki-Poo, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

) The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze 3’08The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Valerie Masterson Yum-Yum, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royston Nash conductor )

¡ Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day 3’45The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Valerie Masterson Yum-Yum, Peggy Ann Jones Pitti-Sing, Colin Wright Nanki-Poo, Michael Rayner Pish-Tush, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royston Nash conductor )

™ Here’s a How-De-Do 1’18Norma Knight Yum-Yum, Thomas Edmonds Nanki-Poo, Dennis Olsen Ko-Ko, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

# A More Humane Mikado 3’43John Wegner The Mikado, State Orchestra of Victoria, Richard Divall conductor

¢ The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring 1’39Norma Knight Yum-Yum, Ruth Gurner Pitti-Sing, Thomas Edmonds Nanki-Poo, Dennis Olsen Ko-Ko, Robert Dawe Pooh-Bah, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

∞ On a Tree by a River, a Little Tom-Tit 2’29Dennis Olsen Ko-Ko, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

§ There is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast 2’16The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company (Lyndsie Holland Katisha, John Reed Ko-Ko, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royston Nash conductor )

¶ For He’s Gone and Married Yum-Yum 1’51Norma Knight Yum-Yum, Ruth Gurner Pitti-Sing, Thomas Edmonds Nanki-Poo, Dennis Olsen Ko-Ko, Robert Dawe Pooh-Bah, The Corinthian Singers and Festival Chorale,Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, James Christiansen conductor

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It’s hard to find words to do justice to the genius of Gilbert and Sullivan. ‘Comic opera’ doesn’t evenscratch the surface. Gilbert’s brilliant librettos are not just funny: they are deliciously, wickedly funny,poking at the underside of just about every respectable institution of society, from parliament to thejudiciary to the police to the Royal Navy, and above all, exposing the absurdities of the British classsystem and the pretensions of those who flock to embrace the latest fashions. Sullivan’s music is assublime as any opera, but more than that, it is utterly enchanting: joyful, witty, sparkling and irrepressiblytuneful. The songs are more than memorable, they instantly make themselves part of our lives.

The plots as outlined below are slightly simplified versions – to elaborate on every brilliant twist andturn would take almost as long as the operas themselves! They are included as a kind of road map tohelp locate the songs in their context, and to offer just a hint of the delights that await in the topsy-turvy world of Gilbert and Sullivan.

The Gondoliers, or, The King of BaratariaMarco and Giuseppe are Venetian gondoliers, happily plying their trade and enjoying their life offreedom (We’re Called Gondolieri). This is in fact their wedding day. But when the Duke of Plaza Toroarrives with his retinue (From the Sunny Spanish Shore, In Enterprise of Martial Kind), he is on aquest that will turn the gondoliers’ carefree life upside down. As the Grand Inquisitor explains, yearsearlier, when the king of Barataria had abandoned his Catholic faith, the infant heir to the throne hadbeen smuggled away to Venice to be raised in safety (I Stole the Prince and I Brought Him Here). Hewas fostered with a gondolier, to be raised as a brother to his own son – Marco and Giuseppe, as ithappens. Now the old king of Barataria has died, and it is time for the prince to succeed to the throne –if only it can be determined which of the two he is, for the old gondolier, more often drunk than sober,had quickly lost track of which child was which. Until the matter can be resolved, Marco and Giuseppeare set up as joint rulers of Barataria, where, being good republicans, they institute a regime where allare equal, from the boot blacks to the kings themselves.

Their new brides, however, are not permitted to join them; it would be inappropriate, to say the least,as one of the gondoliers, it now transpires, is already married. The prince of Barataria was betrothed ininfancy to the daughter of the Duke of Plaza Toro, Casilda. (She is deeply in love with the family servantLuiz, but promises are promises.) Marco sings longingly of the beauties of their absent brides (Take aPair of Sparkling Eyes) – who immediately burst in, having taken it upon themselves to end theseparation. A wild and joyous dance of reunion takes place (Dance a Cachuca). The Duke tries to instil

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in the gondoliers an understanding of the decorum required of a king (I Am a Courtier Grave andSerious) but in the end, there is no need: the prince’s former nurse is tracked down, and reveals that to save the royal lad from kidnappers, she had substituted her own son – Luiz! Marco and Giuseppe are free to return to their wives and their gondolas, and Luiz and Casilda are crowned King and Queen of Barataria.

HMS Pinafore, or, The Lass That Loved a SailorOn the deck of the HMS Pinafore, the crew are busy scrubbing the decks in preparation for the arrival ofSir Joseph Porter, First Lord of the Admiralty. The ironically nicknamed Little Buttercup comes on board tosell the sailors snuff and tobacco (I’m Called Little Buttercup); Buttercup is actually in love with the ship’scommander, Captain Corcoran, but the social difference between them is too great. Meanwhile, thehandsome young sailor Ralph Rackstraw is in love with the Captain’s daughter; but this too, it seems, isdoomed by the unwritten rules of class (The Nightingale Sighed…A Maiden Fair to See). It is SirJoseph Porter, no less, who proposes to marry Josephine. Since he himself rose to his exalted positionfrom lowly beginnings (When I Was a Lad), he is prepared to set aside his rank to wed a humble captain’sdaughter. Ralph and Josephine, elated to learn of Sir Joseph’s progressive views on social equality (NeverMind the Why and Wherefore), resolve to elope, but their plan is overheard. Furious, Sir Joseph hasRalph loaded with chains and sent to the ship’s dungeon, but Buttercup has a secret to tell. Many yearsbefore, she was nursemaid to two babies, one of high birth, one of lowly. She confesses that sheswapped the children around, and reveals that the infants were Ralph and the Captain. Josephine is nowthe daughter of a common sailor, and Sir Joseph drops his marriage plans instantly: love, he says, maylevel all ranks, but it does not level them as far as that! He hands the delighted Josephine over to Ralph,while ex-Captain Corcoran is now of sufficiently low social status to marry Buttercup.

Iolanthe, or, The Peer and the PeriFairy law prohibits marriage with mortals, on pain of death. But rather than executing the popularIolanthe, who 25 years earlier had committed this unforgivable sin, the Fairy Queen had agreed tocommute the sentence to banishment for life, on condition that Iolanthe never communicate with herhusband again. Her fairy sisters, still missing her deeply, persuade the Queen to pardon her. Restoredto fairyland, she tells her sisters that she has a son, half human, half fairy. The lad, Strephon, is ashepherd and in love with the beautiful Phyllis, but her guardian, the Lord Chancellor, has forbiddentheir union, partly because of Strephon’s low status, but mostly because he wants to marry Phyllis

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himself. Strephon’s pleading falls on deaf ears; the Lord Chancellor places duty before ‘poeticalemotion’ (Said I to Myself, Said I).

Strephon asks Iolanthe for help, but as the two embrace, they are spotted by Phyllis, who jumps to theobvious conclusion that the apparently youthful Iolanthe is Strephon’s lover. She angrily rejectsStrephon’s protestations, and declares she will instead marry one of the peers who has been courtingher, either Lord Tolloller or Lord Mountararat, and she doesn’t care which. The fairies arrive to help, butare mistaken by the two earls for a party of schoolgirls on an outing. Offended, the Fairy Queendeclares her revenge: Strephon shall become a Member of Parliament, with the power to pass any billhe chooses. And he does indeed so choose: he plans to open the peerage to competitive examination(When Britain Really Ruled the Waves).

In order to avoid an inconveniently fatal duel, Tolloller and Mountararat agree to renounce their claimson Phyllis, leaving the way clear for the Lord Chancellor, whose passion for Phyllis has been giving himnightmares (Love Unrequited…When You’re Lying Awake). He determines to make another effort forher favour (If You Go In, You’re Sure to Win). Meanwhile Strephon, despite his political triumphs, ismiserable at losing Phyllis. The two are reconciled when Strephon manages to explain that his motheris a fairy, and they ask Iolanthe to plead their case to the Lord Chancellor. But in doing so, she is forcedto reveal that she is the Lord Chancellor’s long-lost wife, again breaking fairy law. This time, the Queenhas no choice but to carry out the death sentence – except that by this stage all of the fairies havechosen husbands from among the peers. The Queen balks at being obliged to slaughter all her subjectswholesale; the Lord Chancellor proposes an elegant solution, by means of a single word added to thelaw: henceforth, every fairy who doesn’t marry a mortal shall die. And now that the House of Lords isto recruit its members from among persons of intelligence, the peers see no reason to remain in themortal realm, and fly away with their brides to fairyland.

Princess Ida, or, Castle AdamantPrince Hilarion, son of King Hildebrand, was betrothed in infancy to Princess Ida, daughter of KingGama. Now, twenty years on, the day has come for Ida and Hildebrand to wed, but when Gamaappears (If You Give Me Your Attention), he has bad news: Ida has forsworn the company of men, andfounded a women’s university at Castle Adamant. Hilarion sets off to claim his bride, determined to winher over with his romantic charm, while Gama and his sons are held hostage against Hilarion’s safe andsuccessful return.

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Hilarion and his companions Cyril and Florian sneak into Castle Adamant, disguising themselves asyoung maidens wishing to enter the university. They are welcomed by Princess Ida, but not everyone istaken in by the disguises: Florian’s sister Psyche, the student Melissa (fascinated by these, the firstmen she has ever seen) and Melissa’s mother, the Lady Blanche (whose ambition is to replace Ida ashead of the university) all agree to keep the young men’s secret. Cyril, however, gets a little tipsy atlunch and gives the game away. Ida condemns the three men to death, undeterred by the knowledgethat this would result in the deaths of her own brothers. She resolves to fight to the death for herfreedom. Her students, however, are less courageous, and in any case King Hildebrand is reluctant togo to war against women. A less bloody solution is proposed: Gama’s three sons shall fight Hilarion,Cyril and Florian. Hilarion wins and Ida is forced to yield, but King Hildebrand offers Ida someconsolation by pointing out that her scheme was in any case ultimately doomed to failure: withoutmen, there will be no future generations of women. Ida eventually admits her mistake and realises thatshe does indeed love Hilarion, and all ends in rejoicing.

Ruddigore, or, The Witch’s CurseThe Baronetcy of Ruddigore is an honour nobody would wish to inherit. Centuries ago, the firstBaronet, who persecuted witches, was cursed by one of his victims as she perished on the stake: allfuture Baronets of Ruddigore would have to commit a crime every day, or else perish in agony. Thetwenty-second Baronet, Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, however, fled his home as a boy to escape the curse,and has been masquerading as the farmer Robin Oakapple. A shy lad, he is smitten by Rose Maybud,but is too timid to approach her directly (I Know a Youth Who Loves a Little Maid). She is interestedin him, but the rules of etiquette (as set out in a book which she consults as gospel) prohibit her frommaking the first move. When Robin’s foster-brother, the sailor Richard Dauntless, arrives (From theBriny Sea…I Shipped, D’ye See, in a Revenue Sloop), he agrees to speak to Rose on Robin’s behalf.But when Richard sets eyes on Rose, he is overwhelmed by her beauty, and ends up proposing to herhimself (The Battle’s Roar Is Over). By damning Richard with faint praise, Robin manages to win Roseback (In Sailing O’er Life’s Ocean Wide) but Richard takes his revenge: Robin’s brother Despard hasbeen labouring under the Ruddigore curse for years, believing Robin to be dead, but Richard nowreveals that Robin is not only very much alive, but living in this very town. The wedding, of course, iscalled off once Despard exposes Robin as Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd.

Ruthven’s paltry efforts to fulfil the curse – forging his own will, disinheriting his unborn son – earn himthe wrath of his ancestors, whose ghosts descend from their portraits to insist on a more rigorous

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observance of the rules. They decree that he must abduct a lady that very day or suffer the full force ofthe curse. Despard, now reformed and respectable, arrives and tries to persuade Ruthven to give uphis evil life. He protests that he has so far done nothing particularly bad, but Despard points out thatRuthven’s newly-acknowledged honour makes him responsible for all the crimes that have beencommitted by the Baronet – in other words, he is reponsible for everything Despard had done while inthe job. Devastated at the extend of his new-found guilt, Ruthven resolves to defy the curse (My EyesAre Fully Open to My Awful Situation). But suddenly, inspiration strikes: refusing to commit a dailycrime is tantamount to suicide – which is itself a crime. The ghosts can’t fault his logic, the curse islifted, and Ruthven and Rose are united at last.

Utopia, Limited, or, The Flowers of ProgressThe rules of governance in the South Pacific island of Utopia are somewhat unusual. The monarch, KingParamount, is effectively held to ransom by the two Wise Men, who have the power to order the PublicExploder to blow the king up if they are unhappy with his behaviour. But Paramount has sent his eldestdaughter, the Princess Zara, to school in England, as part of his plan to educate and civilise his people.

When Princess Zara returns home, she brings with her six British gentlemen – the ‘Flowers ofProgress’ who will bring enlightenment to Utopia. There is a lawyer, a Lord Chamberlain, an armycaptain, a navy captain, a local government member and a company promoter. This last, Mr Goldbury,so impresses the king with his description of limited liability company law, that Paramount decides totransform the entire country into a corporation. The island adopts Goldbury’s reform with suchenthusiasm that soon every person in Utopia is a limited liability entity.

The Wise Men are not happy. Not only is their authority over the king being undermined – a limitedcompany cannot, after all, be blown up by the Public Exploder – but Captain Fitzbattleaxe has stolen theaffection of Princess Zara, whom both of them wanted for their own. Fitzbattleaxe is so passionately inlove that he is starting to be concerned about the impact on his singing voice (A Tenor, All SingersAbove). The Wise Men seek their revenge by stirring up the people of Utopia in protest against thenew regime: everything is so perfect that there is no work for the army, the navy, the doctors orlawyers. Zara realises she has forgotten the most crucial element of British civilisation: government byparty. Once there are political parties, the two sides will spend all their time working to undermine eachother, and no progress will ever be made. The crowd is delighted, the Wise Men are thrown into gaol,and the people sing the praises of ‘a little group of isles beyond the wave’.

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Patience, or, Bunthorne’s BrideTwenty lovesick maidens are pining for the poet Bunthorne, whose exquisitely languid posturing hasswept them off their feet. Bunthorne, however, has his heart set on the simple milkmaid, Patience,who in her innocence has never loved anyone, and cannot understand why everyone is so keen to be inlove when it seems only to make people miserable. When the ladies’ fiancés, the Dragoon Guards,arrive (The Soldiers of Our Queen), they are horrified to discover that their soldierly virtues have beenrejected in favour of a foppish poet, and even their bright uniforms are mocked as being of tastelesslyprimary colours.

Bunthorne, however, has been shamming all along, and actually despises the aesthetic pretensions hehas been faking (Am I Alone and Unobserved?…If You’re Anxious for to Shine). He confesses this toPatience, but she still professes herself unable to love him – though she does admit to the LadyAngela, one of Bunthorne’s admirers, that she did, as a four-year-old, once have a crush on one of herplaymates. Lady Angela tells Patience that love is the one truly unselfish pursuit in the world, andPatience, impressed, resolves to fall in love at the first opportunity.

By a remarkable coincidence, at that moment along comes Archibald Grosvenor, another aestheticpoet, who turns out to be Patience’s childhood love. But as Grosvenor is now perfection itself, to lovehim would be a selfish act, and therefore impossible. Instead, Patience decides to offer herself toBunthorne; the other maidens are about to return, disappointed, to their Dragoons when Grosvenorappears, poetic, aesthetic and far more handsome than Bunthorne. The ladies immediately transfertheir affections to him. Bunthorne is livid and resolves to take action (So Go to Him and Say to Him).Grosvenor, however, is heartily sick of being mobbed by admirers (A Magnet Hung in a HardwareShop), and so when Bunthorne threatens to curse him unless he renounces his poet’s demeanour, hetakes little convincing. But the plan backfires when the ladies, seeing that Grosvenor has becomeordinary, abandon their aesthetic ideals and embrace ordinariness themselves. Now that Grosvenor isno longer perfect, Patience is free to marry him; the Dragoons pair off with the ladies, and Bunthorne isleft alone, with only a suitably poetic lily to keep him company.

The SorcererSpirits are high in the village of Ploverleigh, where two youngsters of the local gentry, AlexisPointdextre and Aline Sangazure, are looking forward to celebrating their wedding. But not everyone issharing in the general rejoicing. The young village maid Constance is pining for the local vicar, Dr Daly.

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Daly is miserable at his single state, but can’t even begin to imagine that a girl like Constance would beinterested in him. And Alexis’ widower father and Aline’s widowed mother share a love which mustremain hidden for the sake of social propriety. Alexis, determined that love should unite all classes andranks, engages a sorcerer (My Name Is John Wellington Wells) to prepare a love potion that willcause everyone in the village to fall in love with the first person they set eyes on – except for marriedpeople, on whom the potion will have no effect.

The elixir works like a charm, and Alexis, who like Aline and Wells has not partaken, enjoys the wildshuffling of ages, ranks and professions which has resulted from the new partnerings. He tries topersuade Aline that the two of them should also drink, to seal their own love, but Aline is hurt by hislack of trust, and refuses. Meanwhile, the potion’s effects are beginning to come rather too close forcomfort: Alexis’ blue-blooded father has fallen for the decidedly lower-class Mrs Partlett, and Aline’sformidable mother has set her sights on Wells himself. And when Aline decides to drink the potionwithout admitting to Alexis that she has given in to his persuasion, the first person she sees onawakening is the vicar, Dr Daly. Alexis appeals desperately to Wells to undo the spell, but a human lifemust be sacrificed in order to reverse the effects. The villagers refuse to allow Alexis to offer his ownlife, and so Wells is obliged to step into the breach. A burst of flames carries him off to the underworld,the spell is broken and the villagers are free to pair off according to their true feelings.

The Pirates of Penzance, or, The Slave of DutyFrederic’s 21st birthday also marks the end of his appenticeship – as a pirate. This unusual careerchoice had resulted from a misunderstanding on the part of his old nursemaid Ruth, who had misheardthe word ‘pilot’ and committed the lad to a life of crime. In an effort to atone for her error, Ruth hasremained with Frederic, becoming maid-of-all-work to the pirate band. Believing her to be beautiful (sheis, after all, the only woman he has ever seen), he agrees to take Ruth with him as he returns tocivilisation – where, being ever the slave of duty, he will be obliged to devote himself, albeit reluctantly,to the extermination of his former colleagues.

As Frederic and Ruth make their way towards civilisation, they encounter a group of beautiful younggirls out for a ramble along the coastline. Frederick, furious, realises that Ruth has lied to him about hergood looks, and sends her away. The girls are shocked to discover that they have run into a pirate, evena soon-to-be-ex-pirate, but one of them, Mabel is moved by his plight and agrees to be his helpmeet ashe sets about reforming his life (Poor Wandering One). Almost immediately, though, the pirates arrive

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and capture the whole party. These are not just any girls, though: they are the daughters of a Major-General, who soon appears on the scene (I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General). Hesaves the situation by playing on the pirates’ one weakness: they are all orphans, and routinely letorphans go free. The Major-General announces that he too is an orphan, and he and his daughters arereleased with all courtesy.

Ruth and the Pirate King, however, have discovered an interesting paradox. The terms of Frederic’sapprenticeship bound him to the pirates’ service not until his 21st year, but until his 21st birthday – andFrederic was born in a leap year, on February 29. In the light of this revelation, Frederic, bowing to dutyas ever, feels obliged to inform them that the Major-General had lied to them. Outraged, they aredetermined to be avenged (Away, Away, My Heart’s on Fire).

Now that Frederic is not longer there to lead it, a planned attack on the pirates is looking like a ratherrisky affair. The Sergeant of Police muses on the drawbacks of his profession, and wonders whetherperhaps criminals should be left to themselves, since deep down inside, they are just like anyone else(When a Felon’s Not Engaged in His Employment). The pirates arrive (With Cat-Like Tread) andeasily defeat the police, but the Sergeant triumphs when he orders the pirates to yield in the name ofQueen Victoria: even pirates love their Queen. The pirates are revealed as noblemen who have goneastray, and the Major-General allows them to marry his daughters, with his blessing.

Trial by JuryIn the Court of the Exchequer, a jury has assembled to hear a case of Breach of Promise of Marriage.The Defendant freely admits that he jilted the Plaintiff because she proved to be a bore, and has sincefound himself someone more congenial (When First My Old, Old Love I Knew). The Judge, who infact rose to his exalted position through the very same offence (When I, Good Friends, Was Called tothe Bar) falls for the Plaintiff as soon as she appears – dressed in her wedding gown and accompaniedby her bridesmaids, for full effect. The Defendant justifies his behaviour as being only natural, sinceNature herself is constantly changing (Oh, Gentlemen, Listen, I Pray), and he offers to marry both thePlaintiff and his new love, in an effort to satisfy all parties. The Judge is prepared to accept thisproposal, until he is reminded that bigamy is in fact illegal.

It then becomes a matter of the damages to be awarded. The Plaintiff makes a great display of her lovefor the Defendant, playing up the suffering she has had to endure in losing him. The Defendant

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counters this by claiming to be a smoker, a drunkard and, when tipsy, a violent bully whom the Plaintiffwould not have been able to endure even for a day. The Judge suggests getting the Defendant tipsy totest the veracity of his claims, but nobody else (except the Defendant) is in favour of the idea.Frustrated at the lack of progress, the Judge proposes his own solution: he will marry the Plaintiffhimself. This meets with general approval, and Judge and Plaintiff embrace to loud rejoicing.

The Grand Duke, or, The Statutory DuelThe Grand Duke of Pfennig-Halbpfennig is not a popular man. The latest grudge against him has beenoccasioned by his monopolising of all the parsons in the city to prepare for his coming nuptials. This hasmade it impossible for Ludwig and Lisa, two of the members of Ernest Dummkopf’s theatricalcompany, to celebrate their own wedding. It’s just one more reason to resent the Duke, and in fact allof the actors in the troupe are already members of a plot to blow him up. The conspirators have asecret sign by which they are able to recognise each other: they must eat a sausage roll (By theMystic Regulation) – clearly, a strategy that seemed like a good idea at the time… Quite apart fromthe nausea that the plotters are now enduring as a result, the sign is not foolproof, as Ludwig discoverswhen he meets a man who returns the secret salute by eating three sausage rolls. He reveals all thedetails of the plot to the stranger – who turns out to be the Grand Duke’s private detective.

Emergency measures are required to save the situation. Ernest and Ludwig agree to fight a statutoryduel, a local legal fiction which requires duellers to settle disputes not with pistols, but with playingcards: the one who draws the lower card becomes legally dead, with all assets and responsibilitiespassing to the winner. In this case, the winner will be able to go to the Duke and confess the wholeplot, protected by his status as informer. The loser will be ‘dead’ and beyond punishment, but becausethe law of statutory duels just happens to be due to expire the following day, he will be back to life inno time, his criminal record cleared by his having ceased to exist. The two men draw their cards, andLudwig’s ace beats Ernest’s king.

Meanwhile, the Duke’s fiancée, Baroness Caroline von Krakenfeldt, is upset to read in a newspaperarticle that her husband-to-be was betrothed in infancy to the Princess of Monte Carlo. The Dukereassures her: the agreement is only valid till the Princess’s 21st birthday, which is tomorrow, and thereis no chance that the promise can be enforced before then because her debt-ridden father cannot leavehis house without being arrested by his creditors. His matrimonial security thus ensured, the Duke isless calm about his physical safety, once he learns of the sausage roll-eaters’ plot. Inspired by his panic,

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Ludwig, instead of denouncing the plotters, offers the Duke a sure way to avoid being blown up: astatutory duel, rigged to guarantee Ludwig’s victory. Ludwig will then be the one blown up, and theDuke can come back to life safely the following day.

Once he is made Grand Duke, however, Ludwig immediately extends the Statutory Duels Act foranother hundred years. But he soon discovers that he has inherited an awkward tangle of wives:Caroline, whom he is obliged to marry as heir to the the former Duke; Julia, the theatrical troupe’sleading lady, who claims the right to play the leading lady’s role; Lisa, the girl he was engaged tohimself; and the Princess of Monte Carlo, whose father has invented the game of roulette, made afortune and paid off his debts. But a few timely words of legal advice provide the answer: according tothe Act, in a statutory duel, the ace counts low, not high. Ludwig never was Grand Duke and so cannothave extended the Act, which expires then and there, returning Ernest and the Duke to the land of theliving, and allowing the correctly matched couples to finally celebrate their weddings.

The Yeomen of the Guard, or, The Merryman and His MaidColonel Fairfax is imprisoned in the Tower of London, and his execution is to take place that very day.But Phoebe Meryll and her father are determined that Fairfax shall be saved: Phoebe, because she is inlove with him, and her father because Fairfax has twice saved his life in battle. A plan is hatched: ifPhoebe can get the key to Fairfax’s cell from the evil gaoler, Wilfred (who is in love with Phoebe), thenFairfax can disguise himself as Phoebe’s brother Leonard, who will go into hiding. Fairfax, unaware ofthe plan, contemplates his approaching death philosophically (Is Life a Boon?) but asks one favour: thecharge of Sorcery which has been laid against him was falsely made by a wicked cousin, who willinherit his estate if he dies unmarried. He therefore begs to be allowed to marry someone – anyone –before he dies.

For a suitable sum, a volunteer is found: the singer Elsie Maynard, who with the jester Jack Point hasbeen entertaining the passers-by with a ballad (I Have a Song to Sing-O). Elsie will do it for themoney, as her mother is ill and she has expensive medicines to buy; Jack is not keen as he plans tomarry Elsie one day himself, but he consents when assured that the secret marriage will last only onehour. When Phoebe’s plan succeeds and Fairfax escapes, Elsie and Jack are distraught. Wilfred isblamed for the escape and his life declared forfeit. Jack sees an opportunity: if Wilfred will swear thathe has seen Fairfax swimming across the river, and shot him dead, Jack will provide him with a newcareer by teaching him the art of a jester. The deal is done, and the lie announced; Elsie is now awidow, and Jack asks her to marry him.

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Fairfax, still disguised as Leonard, tells Jack that he doesn’t know how to court a lady and provides ademonstration on Elsie (When a Wooer Goes a-Wooing). By the time Jack realises that Fairfax isserious, it is too late: Elsie has fallen for the handsome ‘Leonard’. Phoebe is also devastated, and in heranger and hurt she accidentally reveals Fairfax’s true identity to the mocking Wilfred; to buy his silence,she reluctantly agrees to marry him. Elsie on the other hand is delighted at the prospect of herimminent wedding to ‘Leonard’, but suddenly Fairfax arrives, visibly still alive. Elsie is distraught andrefuses to even look at him while she begs him to set her free to go to ‘Leonard’, but when finally sheturns to face him and realises who he is, her despair is transformed to delight and the room erupts intojoy – all except the broken-hearted Jack, who collapses, unconscious, at their feet.

The Mikado, or, The Town of TitipuThe gentlemen of the Japanese town of Titipu are being serenaded by a travelling singer by the nameof Nanki-Poo (A Wandering Minstrel I), who has come looking for his beloved, Yum-Yum. But his questis in vain: Yum-Yum’s guardian Ko-Ko, formerly a cheap tailor, has risen to the exalted rank of Lord HighExecutioner of Titipu, and will be marrying Yum-Yum this very day. Ko-Ko arrives (Behold the Lord HighExecutioner…Taken from the County Jail) and preens a little by rattling off a list he has made of thetypes of people who would be ripe for his axe (As Some Day It May Happen). Not that his targets arein any serious danger: the only reason Ko-Ko is Lord High Executioner is that he was himself undersentence of death, caught out by the Mikado’s morality laws, under which flirting had been made acapital offence. Alarmed at the scope of the Mikado’s decree, which seemed likely to condemn justabout everyone to death, the town fathers had appointed Ko-Ko executioner, reasoning that, as the firsthead he would have to cut off would be his own, executions would be unlikely to take place.

Yum-Yum arrives (Three Little Maids from School Are We) and Nanki-Poo reveals to her that he isactually the son of the Mikado, travelling in disguise to escape the advances of the elderly and uglyKatisha, a lady of his father’s court, but not even the heir to the throne can overturn the law (Were YouNot to Ko-Ko Plighted).

Orders just in from from the Mikado, however, are about to change the situation completely: anexecution must be carried out within the month. Ko-Ko, at his wit’s end, comes across Nanki-Poopreparing to commit suicide in his despair at losing Yum-Yum, and strikes a bargain with him: as long as Nanki-Poo will allow himself to be executed in a month’s time, Ko-Ko will allow him to marry Yum-Yum now.

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All is made ready for the wedding. Yum-Yum in her bridal finery ponders with delight her own beauty(The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze), but can’t forget the grim reality that her days of wedded blisswill be few (Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day). Ko-Ko arrives with even grimmer news: it turns outthat when a married man is beheaded for flirting, his wife must be buried alive. Under these conditions,a wedding is clearly out of the question (Here’s a How-De-Do); Nanki-Poo insists that Ko-Ko beheadhim on the spot, but the Lord High Executioner has never even executed a fly before, and is unable tobring himself to do the deed.

The Mikado arrives with great pomp and ceremony (A More Humane Mikado); Ko-Ko assumes he hascome to see that his orders have been carried out, and so he provides a faked death certificate, alongwith a graphic but totally fictitious description of the deed. But actually, the Mikado has come in searchof his son, and is not pleased to learn from the death certificate that Nanki-Poo has just been executed.The only way for Ko-Ko and his conspirators to avoid execution themselves is for Nanki-Poo to reappear– but that he refuses to do, as Katisha is still determined to have him. Reluctantly, Ko-Ko agrees to wooKatisha himself (The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring). Summoning up all his poetic powers, hefinally manages to melt her heart with his pleading (On a Tree by a River, a Little Tom-Tit) andpersuade her that his suit is genuine (There is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast). Once they aresafely married, Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum return, Ko-Ko manages to talk his way out of the lies he hadspun to the Mikado earlier, and the town erupts in celebration (For He’s Gone and Married Yum-Yum).

Natalie Shea

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Executive Producers Martin Buzacott, Robert PattersonMastering Michael Roberts, Sony DADCEditorial and Production Manager Hilary ShrubbPublications Editor Natalie SheaBooklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd

This compilation includes recordings by important Australian artists, originally released on LP and available now

on CD for the first time. Some minor surface noise may be apparent. Transfers and audio reconstructions by

Michael Roberts, Sony DADC.

ABC Classics thanks Michael Roberts (Sony DADC), Cyrus Meher-Homji and Lucy McBride (Universal Music

Australia), Greg Dobbs, Jeanette McConnell, Claudia Crosariol, Alexandra Alewood, Laura Bell and Virginia Read.

CD1 3, 5, 9, £-%, &, *, ™, ¢, §, CD2 3, 6, 7, !, *, ), ¡,§ licensed courtesy of Universal Music Australia

Pty Limited.

� 1959 CD1 9; � 1960 CD1 £, $, %; � 1961 CD1 3, 5, ¢, §; � 1962 CD1 *, ™; � 1965 CD1 &; � 1968 CD2 3,

6, 7; � 1973 CD2 *, ), ¡, §; � 1976 CD2 ! Decca Music Group Limited. � 2001 CD2 #; � 2010 CD1 1, 2, 4,

6-8, 0-@, ^, (, ), ¡, #, ∞, ¶, CD2 1, 2, 4, 5, 8-0, @-&, (, ™, ¢, ∞, ¶ Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

This compilation was first published in 2010 and any and all copyright in this compilation is owned by the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation. © 2010 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand byUniversal Music Group, under exclusive licence. Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved. Anycopying, renting, lending, diffusion, public performance or broadcast of this record without the authority of the copyrightowner is prohibited.

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