The Sargent/Glyndebourne Pirates (1961)

Cast Major-General George Baker Pirate King James Milligan Samuel John Cameron Frederic Richard Lewis Sergeant Owen Brannigan Mabel Elsie Morison Edith Heather Harper Kate Marjorie Thomas Ruth Monica Sinclair Pro Arte Orchstra Glyndebourne Festival Chorus Conductor: Sir Malcolm Sargent Recorded 6 February (Overture) & 30-31 December 1958 & 1-2 January 1959

EMI CDS747785-8

HMVD 5 73062 2

This was the sixth of Sir Malcolm Sargent's series of G&S recordings with grand opera singers, the Pro Arte Orchestra and the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus. Particularly notable is Owen Brannigan, who evidently made enough of an impression that D'Oyly Carte cast him in their own Pirates (1968), even though he had never played this or any other role with them on stage.

This recording is certainly a capable one, but it does not hold up well next to the superb D'Oyly Carte recording of 1968 with full dialogue. It has been re-issued on CD coupled with a 1972 recording of Sullivan's overture "In Memoriam" with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Vivian Dunn. There was also a cassette re-issue in which it is coupled with the Sargent Ruddigore.

The album cover shown below, featuring what appears to be a pirate picking his nose, must be one of the most ill-judged covers ever chosen for a mainstream G&S release.

Seraphim SIB-6102