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MrAnthonyB2010
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 14 พ.ย. 2010
Lady Jane's Recit & Aria from Act 2 of Gilbert & Sullivan's "Patience"
The great British contralto Anne Collins ( 1943-2009 ) captured here giving her last performance of a role she truly made her own . A tribute to a wonderful artist and a lovely lady.
The production was specially devised to re-open the stage of the historic Nomansfield Theatre, Teddington. Directed and devised by Tony Baker and produced in collaboration with Carl Rosa Opera in January 2007
The production was specially devised to re-open the stage of the historic Nomansfield Theatre, Teddington. Directed and devised by Tony Baker and produced in collaboration with Carl Rosa Opera in January 2007
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D'Oyly Carte Omnibus 1982 (1).divx
มุมมอง 11K13 ปีที่แล้ว
An appearance by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on the BBC "Omnibus" programme in 1982, as the company was about to close down due to the rejection of its application for Arts Council funding.They discuss the imminent closure with Barry Norman and sing the finale to H.M.S Pinafore. The second clip has the rest of the finale.
D'Oyly Carte Opera Company perform on" Omnibus" 1982 (2).divx
มุมมอง 15K13 ปีที่แล้ว
Second part of a short appearance by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company on the BBC's Omnibus programme in 1982 just before they closed down . Its the last time the original company performed on the BBC. They perform the finale to H.M.S Pinafore.Principal performers include Meston Reid, John Ayldon,James Conroy-Ward and Patricia Leonard.
How I dearly love this show, and Lady Jane's lament hits me doubly strong at my age (don't ask!) This is a great performance with all its notes hit with comic perfection, the lyrics crystal clear.
Anne Collins absolutely OWNS this role. I have never seen anyone, yet, who matches her rich voice and impeccable comic interpretation. Her gloating satisfaction after she fiercely criticizes Bunthorne to the other esthetes is still one of my favorite "hidden gems" of this production. ("BAH! But yesterday I caught him in her dairy, eating fresh butter with a tablespoon. Today, he is not well.") I dearly wish someone would upload an HD version of this full production - it was one of the best of the series - in large part (no pun intended) due to Anne!
Check out Heather Begg in this role in the Australian opera 1995 production
By turns, I was laughing and dumbstruck all the way through, what a performance! I first thought she could just barely play her part on the cello, but the artlessness was so artful that by halfway through I felt sure it was just a brilliant act. Looking it up of course I found she had studied cello at the Royal College of Music before concentrating on voice. So wonderful to get a chance to see this!
I grew up with the whole box set of the Bent Walker 1982 "Opera World" films, and even as a little kid, Anne Collins was always my favourite. Her beautiful voice, comedy, elegance, and poise always shone. I wish there were more videos of her roles out there.
A late comment, but I absolutely agree with you. As you know, she played number of roles in that series, and she was always one of the 'stars'. I especially loved her role as Lady Blanche in 'Princess Ida'. Hope you're well!!
“ We’ve had black Mikado’s, green Mikado’s, pink Mikado’s...” Apparently bigotry is one of those old-fashioned values they treasure so.
I think it's got far less to do with bigotry and more to do with not messing what was already good.
As an ex-member of D'Oyly Carte, I have to say that never once in my time there did I witness, or hear of, any trace of bigotry. I experienced only warmth, and from everyone.
I have just seen this remarkable singer/actor as the Fairy Queen in the 1982 Iolanthe. In addition to her fine contralto voice, she had comedy skills to rival Patricia Routledge or Dawn French. A sad loss.
By far the best performance I have ever seen.
A wonderful singer and a very good actor. I remember her in many of the G&S operas produced by Judith de Paul for TV in the early 1980s. She could make a song like this, probably politically incorrect these days, funny in a baroque and fulsome way. I love her.
Anne Collins voice was a pure contralto glory. Her sense of fun inimitable. A sad loss to the world of music.
She was as great in the low voice Wagner parts as she was in the G&S ones. Singers like her are getting scarer each year.
Your comment about Anne Collins is interesting. I think the first time I heard her live at the ENO it was as Third Lady in The Magic Flute with a superb cast including David Rendall as Tamino. I also heard her do Fairy Queen in Iolanthe there. There is a fine recording of her singing Brahms' Sappphic Ode on You tube. She tackled a wide range of works. As an aspiring teenage singer I took some coaching from William Cowley, Associate Musical Director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera. Will told me that he accompanied Anne's audition for the company and they were naturally very keen to take her, but by then Sadlers Wells / ENO wanted her. That was the right career move for her. She certainly wasn't going to lack offers of work with a wonderful voice like that. There is something of a revival of the contralto voice at the moment - Stutzman, Summers, Lemieux etc During the 1990's Contraltos were encouraged to try to extend themselves into Mezzo repertory, but more repertoire is now being programmed particularly in the baroque for the true alto voice and some contemporary composers are writing roles in operas for them.
Quite superb!
Anne Collin's masterstroke is to actually play her cello, while few "Lady Jane's" can do more than mime. Anne had already honed this song in the Brent Walker production of "Patience" in 1982 (as well as being a memorable Fairy Queen in "Iolanthe"). Today we have Jennifer Bermingham in the Australian Opera production of 1995.
She started as a cellist at the RCM before switching to singing.
Felicity Palmer also played her own cello in the semi-staged Proms performance a few years ago.
The "so" called D'Oyly Carte Opera Co. of today is really like amuture night in dixie. Being from Boston, the city has always taken G&S very serirously.. And the D'Oyly Carte was treated like royalty when they were. here I was very luck to meet, Martyn Green, Peter Pratt and John Reed. They do not crank out artists like that today who perform G&S. Today's artists somehow lose the tradition in those parts. Oh, well, we still have the great memories of the DOC......
I just adore Lady Jane! She's one of my favorite G&S characters!
hilarious and what a voice!
I love this song. I did this for my voice class recital last year. I hope I did some justice to it
Ah, the comedy is brilliant.
Barry Norman says that "D'Oyly Carte has one more song to sing on this programme" which to me suggests that there has been at least one before the act II finale. Does anyone know if anything of the previous song/songs survives and if so where?
What did the Arts Council know about operetta? What a tragedy! What wasn't said clearly was D. C. had done original productions as well as the natural productions based on things evolved over the century. One of the best productions I've ever seen was the new "Sorcerer" (designs by Osbert Lancaster). Will someone please find the t. v. broadcast of the traditional "Patience" (with set not in aspic changed two sets to one: a mansion terrace!) from the West End (black and white film)? We had a private recording of the soundtrack. It's a mystery why it was lost when we can actually see the t. v. versions of "the Merry Widow" (Jeremy Brett good as Danilo - singing so why was he dubbed as Freddie "My Fair Lady" film?), and "La Belle Hélene" Sadler's Wells are now on youTube.
@last9bars On Wednesday it will be 30 since the D'Oyly Carts last night at the Adelphe. I was lucky enought to be there and had made friends with some of the cast. It is sad to think a number are no longer around like Pat and Meston.
Fabulous... I aspire to this performance BIG TIME!!!
Anne collins was absolutely a genius.
@talmadge1926 I had picked up a recording of the D'Oyly Opera Co. performing H. M. S. Pinafore and Penzance and some selections of the Mikado and immediately was hooked! To me it is what Gilbert and Sullivan should sound like, --it just sounded so right. I haven't come across anything like it since. At least we have recording to enjoy them by. A truly Great ensemble!!
Wonderful! I've wanted to see more of this since seeing a brief excerpt of it in Simon's G&S documentary. What a comedienne Anne was ! Much missed.
How funny to see this, almost 30 years later. I joined the Company in early 1980 at the princely sum of £69.50 a week. So many faces from my past in that short clip.
So I must have seen you perform many times! It must have been a disheartening feeling as the end became progressively certain, yet still having to go out nightly on stage and give of your best.
@@ZL54JK8 I can say this about it all, it was a great opportunity to see our entire country from Plymouth to Norwich, Llandudno (Tommy Trinder was playing in the other theatre), to Inverness.
Gilbert & Sullivan at its best.. We hall not see their likes again. The real D'Oyly Carte Opera Company not the bad copy that tried much later... So Sad...
G&S has been heard,and acted in my family since 1955.Does anyone remember the shows in Buenos Aires??? they were just like D'Oyly Carte,style and even voices!! I was about 7 when I went to see H.M.S Pinafore at the Casal de Catalunja in B.A. Nice to remember.
Lady Jane is my favorite G & S role and no one sings her like Ms. Collins. She sounds fabulous here. RIP
Let's not forget Gilbert had this peculiar mean streak toward middle-aged women. As the Pirate King said, "we (can) look over it" because all the other stuff is too good.
I absolutely agree. It makes his surprisingly sensitive characterization of Katisha that much more sad, somehow.
But Sullivan was kinder and gave them beautiful arias
Ohh, D'Oyly Carte ... sad demise. No matter what governments may say, Gilbert and Sullivan still remain greatly loved and popular. Don't forget the Festival in July and August in Buxton - see you there ta la. Soon as we may, off and away!
@talmadge1926 Yes, I completely agree. It is a touch which could be achieved in the 60s, I'm not sure about now. The hypocrisy of the Conservative party... Conserving what?
Nobody but NOBODY could perform G & S like the Doyle Carte. It was done with Victorian panache and whimsy and solid artistry. G & S was my introduction to "classical" music as a child and my birthday treat was often Hms Pinafore or The Gondoliers or best of all "Iolanthe". Those overweight victorian fairies with numbers on their backs all crashing into one another! It was a downright disgrace that the arts council backed by MrsThatcher murdered a dearly loved english institution.
I am living in Munich now, but in the 1950 - 1960s I was in still in London, and served in the St John's Ambulance. During that time, the 'D'oyle Carte performed all the G & S Operettas in the Golders Green Hippodrome for ca; 3 weeks , ( as fa as I can remember) and I was on duty in the Hippodrome during their performances. I saw all the performances, unforgettable, and free. It was something I can never forget. They were superb. They have not been superceeded, and never will be. If you have seen Peter Pratt perform, then you know what I mean. Memories are made of this. Wouldn't you agree ?
@@williamripsher800 Definitely. Peter Pratt was marvelous. Going to The Doyle Carte was like visiting old friends. Always received with a rousing cheer, the inimitable Isodore Godfrey conducted the orchestra with verve, as he had done since 1928 under the Richard Doyle Carte management. Much of the G&S tradition remaining so strong was due to his devotion.
Sniff.
Thanks for posting this Tony. I too think Meston missed some notes by a tone!