The 1970 Mt. Oread Grand Duke

This recording has acquired almost legendary proportions. It was the first stereo recording of The Grand Duke and features the complete first night version of dialogue and music, including some lines that eluded Reginald Allen in his First Night Gilbert and Sullivan.

The diction is uniformly excellent, so that one can understand everything even without the libretto. Once one gets past some of the broad midwestern accents, the soloists range from decent to excellent. The chorus is very good but suffers from ragged and tentative entrances. The weakness is the orchestra, which was thin, particularly in the strings and most noticeable in the overture and exposed parts.

Despite being recorded at a live performance, the audience is not intrusive; there seemed to be little reaction, possibly because of the unfamiliarity of the work. There is also very little stage noise.

That said, it is still an amateur performance and one which I would not listen to frequently unless I wanted to hear the dialogue. For a performance with dialogue, there is little choice between this version and that of the Washington Lyric. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and the choice would appear to depend on which recording one might be able to find.