Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance

While I quite enjoy a few operas in my own clueless way, Lakmé and La Bohéme to name a couple, I am even less familiar with operettas. I say this to point out that while I am not entirely ignorant, I am hardly an expert on the genre. If you want the review of someone who knows what he or she is talking about; this is not it. This is an "average person" review.Caveat aside, I consider this an outstanding recording.First, the music is fun and catchy, and the lyrics are clever. I find myself humming many of the songs just like I would a pop song. I don't know how anyone could resist songs like "Poor Wandering one," "When The Foeman Bares His Steel'" and the kinetic "I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General." There is a reason "Pirates" has been going strong for about 135 years now. Quite simply, Gilbert & Sullivan created a masterpiece.I have only one complaint about the music, and it is a minor one. Several of the songs, most notably "When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold," have keyboards that sound very dated. I had flashbacks of "Muskrat Love." Fortunately, most of the recording has aged very well.The cast is wonderful. I think Linda Ronstadt has a beautiful voice, and her vocals are in peak form here. "Sorry Her Lot" is one of her most memorable moments, and she is spectacular. I was pleasantly surprised by the strong performance by Rex Smith. I think Smith has a great voice and brings his character to life. Most of all, I think I enjoyed the performance of Kevin Kline, who contributes great vocals that highlight his skill for comedy. Kline plays the Pirate King so well, you can almost see the expressions on his face. I also enjoyed the brilliant performances by the remaining members of the cast.I suppose it might bother some that actors and pop stars are employed rather than opera singers. Not only that, but the accents are American instead of British. There are most likely a number of things some people might complain about, but I lack the sophistication to be bothered. I believe that the producers intended to stage an operetta that would be more appealing to the "average person."A few of the negative reviews state that the singing is horrible, and that the singers are untalented. That is absolutely false. Whether a fan or not, anyone who thinks Ronstadt can't sing urgently needs to replace the batteries in his or her hearing aid.Finally, I appreciated how the lyrics were enunciated well and easy to understand. If one does miss a word or phrase, the libretto is included with the cd. I mention this because the story is so funny and clever that it would be a shame to miss a single word.While this album is not for everyone, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys, or think they might enjoy a hilarious romp falling somewhere between an opera and a musical.

I saw a local production of this recently and decided to order this CD afterwards. I've been playing it in my car and it's so much fun to sing along with!

I love this version of Pirates of Penzance and am so happy to get almost the exact cast of the movie on CD. The only person who is different from the movie itself is Angela Lansberry who played Ruth. The actress they have instead is very good though and I don't miss her very much at all. Also, this is the entire Opperetta, including the longer versions of the songs they had to trim for the movie and a few extra songs that they decided to take out to shorten the length of the film. One song in the 1st act was removed entirely and it has become one of my favorites.The songs are beautifully sung by Rex Smith, Kevin Kline, and Linda Ronstat and is so far the best version of this famous opperetta out there. Also the CD contains the lerics for the songs, enabling the listener to fully understand the marvelous words of Gilbert.This is a CD that is worth listening to over and over! Culture and fun rolled into one! :-)

In 1980 I saw Joseph Pap's legendary Central Park production of The Pirates of Penzance. It was wisely brought toBroadway later that year with almost everything in tact, except for one of the principal stars. It swept the Tony Awardsthe following year to no one's surprise and became a huge success. The actors, the music, the orchestration, the costumes, the scenic design and the direction were all perfection. I play this Broadway soundtrack to remind me of thegreat time I had at both productions. The CD is no longer being made and is now a collector's item. Grab it immediately where ever you may find it - new or used. Enjoy! Autopilot238

I had been watching the DVD movie with Angela Lansbury as Ruth. Kevin Kline is amazing as the Pirate King, and Rex Smith and Linda Ronstadt spectacular. I watch it often because it is so dang clever. Then I ordered the sound track to listen to in my car. But it is not quite the same. Ruth is different and sounds sultry instead of ... Lansbury. I am not a huge Lansbury fan but she is so good in that role and plays it non-sultry, which I prefer. The soundtrack is still great, of course, and it has two CDs which include songs not on the movie DVD. You don't get the expressions and humor as much from the music only, but it is still great and still clever.

This is a wonderful DVD. I got this as a stop gap until the VHS came out on DVD, but now I may not. Yes, the technical aspects are not the best. But it is the filming of an actual performance at the Delacorte Theater. It's not as slick as the production with Angela Landsbury, but Patricia Routledge, later to be Hetty Wainthrop and Hyacinth Bucket, more than holds her own, and the production has those small details that usually are left out of a much-edited and rehearsed film. You really get the feeling you are there watching a live performance. If you are a G&S fan, this is a DVD you must have. It is a gem of a performance, with wonderful actors/singers.

It is very difficult to understand the words of practically everything sung by the chorus of a D'Oyly Carte Opera Company recording of Gilbert & Sullivan. Not so with this brilliant Broadway cast album of The Pirates of Penzance. You can listen to this one without the printed copy of the book and lyrics in hand. The individual cast performances are fresh and give the feeling that this musical is being performed for the first time. This is not the pro-forma, ritual performance that sounds like everyone is just going through the motions. You will want this on your portable player for a long time.

LINDA RONSTADT as Mabel. Wonderful cast.

Bought the long playing record years ago, so pleased to see it was still available on CD. Excellent rendition of G&S operatic.

What l liked about this is Linda Ronstadt and Kelvin Kline, they work well and the rest of the cast are wonderfull.