The Gondoliers

The Gondoliers - Act I

The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on December 7 1889, and ran for a very successful 554 performances (at that time the fifth longest-running piece of musical theatre in history), closing on June 20 1891. This was the twelfth comic opera collaboration of fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan.

The Gondoliers was Gilbert and Sullivan's last great success. In this opera, Gilbert returns to the satire of class distinctions figuring in many of his earlier librettos. The libretto also reflects Gilbert's fascination with the "Stock Company Act", highlighting the absurd convergence of natural persons and legal entities, which plays an even larger part in the next opera, Utopia Limited. As in several of their earlier operas, by setting the work comfortably far away from mother England, Gilbert was emboldened to direct sharper criticism at the nobility and the institution of the monarchy itself.

Contents

Background

Genesis of the opera

The Gondoliers was preceded by the most serious of the Gilbert and Sullivan collaborations, The Yeomen of the Guard. On January 9 1889, three months into that opera's fourteen-month run, Sullivan informed the librettist that he "wanted to do some dramatic work on a larger musical scale", that he "wished to get rid of the strongly marked rhythm, and rhymed couplets, and have words that would have a chance of developing musical effects."[1] Gilbert counselled strongly that the partnership should continue on its former course:

I have thought carefully over your letter, and while I quite understand and sympathize with your desire to write what, for want of a better term, I suppose we must call 'grand opera,' I cannot believe that it would succeed either at the Savoy or at Carte's new theatre.... Moreover, to speak from my own selfish point of view, such an opera would afford me no chance of doing what I best do — the librettist of a grand opera is always swamped in the composer. Anybody — Hersee, Farnie, Reece — can write a good libretto for such a purpose; personally, I should be lost in it. Again, the success of the Yeoman [sic] — which is a step in the direction of serious opera — has not been so convincing as to warrant us in assuming that the public want something more earnest still.[1]

Pounds and Barrington as Marco and Giuseppe

On March 12, Sullivan responded, "I have lost the liking for writing comic opera, and entertain very grave doubts as to my power of doing it.... You say that in a serious opera, you must more or less sacrifice yourself. I say that this is just what I have been doing in all our joint pieces, and, what is more, must continue to do in comic opera to make it successful."[2]

A series of increasingly acrimonious letters followed over the ensuing weeks, with Sullivan laying down new terms for the collaboration, and Gilbert insisting that he had always bent over backwards to comply with the composer's musical requirements. Gilbert tried to encourage his collaborator:

You say that our operas are Gilbert's pieces with music added by you.... I say that when you deliberately assert that for 12 years you, incomparably the greatest English musician of the age — a man whose genius is a proverb wherever the English tongue is spoken — a man who can deal en prince with operatic managers, singers, music publishers and musical societies — when you, who hold this unparalleled position, deliberately state that you have submitted silently and uncomplainingly for 12 years to be extinguished, ignored, set aside, rebuffed, and generally effaced by your librettist, you grievously reflect, not upon him, but upon yourself and the noble art of which you are so eminent a professor.[3]

Gilbert offered a compromise that Sullivan ultimately accepted — that the composer would write a light opera for the Savoy, and a grand opera (Ivanhoe) for a new theatre that Carte was constructing for that purpose. Sullivan's acceptance came with the proviso that "we are thoroughly agreed upon the subject." Gilbert suggested an opera based on a theatrical company, which Sullivan rejected (though a version of it would be resurrected in 1896 as The Grand Duke), but he accepted an idea "connected with Venice and Venetian life, and this seemed to me to hold out great chances of bright colour and taking music. Can you not develop this with something we can both go into with warmth and enthusiasm and thus give me a subject in which (like the Mikado and Patience) we can both be interested....?"[4]

Gilbert set to work on the new libretto by the early summer of 1889, and by the mid-summer Sullivan had started composing Act I. Gilbert provided Sullivan with alternative lyrics for many passages, allowing the composer to choose which ones he preferred. The long opening number (more than fifteen minutes of continuous music) was the librettist's idea, and it gave Sullivan the opportunity to establish the mood of the work through music.

They worked all summer and autumn, with a successful opening on December 7 1889. Press accounts were almost entirely favourable, and the opera enjoyed a run longer than any of their other joint works except for H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado. Sullivan's old collaborator on Cox and Box (and the editor of Punch), F. C. Burnand, wrote, "Magnificento!...I envy you and W.S.G. being able to place a piece like this on the stage in so complete a fashion."[5]

Reaction of the press and public

The gavotte scene: 1890 advertisement for a touring company

Leslie Baily notes, "The bubbling, champagne-quality of the libretto brought out the gayest Sullivan, and the Italian setting called up a warm, southern response from his own ancestry. The Graphic (14 December, 1889) pointed out that the music contains not only an English idiom but 'the composer has borrowed from France the stately gavotte, from Spain the Andalusian cachucha, from Italy the saltarello and the tarantella, and from Venice itself the Venetian barcarolle'."[6]

Of Gilbert's contribution, the Illustrated London News reported, "Mr. W. S. Gilbert has returned to the Gilbert of the past, and everyone is delighted. He is himself again. The Gilbert of The Bab Ballads, the Gilbert of whimsical conceit, inoffensive cynicism, subtle satire, and playful paradox; the Gilbert who invented a school of his own, who in it was schoolmaster and pupil, who has never taught anybody but himself, and is never likely to have any imitator—this is the Gilbert the public want to see, and this is the Gilbert who on Saturday night was cheered till the audience was weary of cheering any more."[5]

There was a command performance of The Gondoliers for Queen Victoria and the royal family at Windsor Castle in 1891, the first such performance of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera to be so honoured.

The Carpet Quarrel

With the exception of their first opera, Richard D'Oyly Carte produced every Gilbert and Sullivan opera and had built the Savoy Theatre specifically for productions of their shows. However, on several occasions during the 1880s the relationship among Gilbert, Sullivan and Carte had been strained.[7]

In April 1890, during the run of The Gondoliers, Gilbert discovered that maintenance expenses for the theatre, including a new £500[8] carpet for the front lobby of the theatre, were being charged to the partnership instead of borne by Carte.[7] Gilbert had trained and briefly practised as a lawyer, and, knowing this was not appropriate, stormed into D'Oyly Carte's office to put this right. The confrontation did not go well. Gilbert was furious, and, as reported in a letter from Helen D'Oyly Carte (Richard's wife and business partner), addressed Richard "in a way that I should not have thought you would have used to an offending menial."

Things soon degraded, a legal hearing was held, and Arthur Sullivan supported Carte in the hearing, testifying that: there were outstanding legal expenses from a battle Gilbert had with Lillian Russell; and while there were some outstanding expenses, they were small. Gilbert, however, thought Sullivan had been manipulated and asked him to say he was mistaken. Sullivan refused, and, despite both desiring to reconcile, Gilbert felt it was a moral issue, and could not look past it. Sullivan felt that Gilbert was questioning his good faith, and in any event, Sullivan had other reasons to stay in Carte's good graces. Carte had put into motion plans to build a new opera house, Carte's Royal English Opera House to produce Sullivan's Ivanhoe, Sullivan's only grand opera.[7]

The Entr'acte expresses its pleasure that Gilbert and Sullivan are reunited.
Brownlow and Moore as Luiz and Casilda

On 5 May 1890, Gilbert wrote to Sullivan: "The time for putting an end to our collaboration has at last arrived."[7] Gilbert and Sullivan did not work together again for three years, and Gilbert's aggressive, though successful, legal action had embittered Sullivan and Carte. But the partnership had been so profitable that Carte eventually sought to reunite the dramatist and composer. Finally, Gilbert and Sullivan reunited through the efforts of Tom Chappell, who published the sheet music to their operas.[9] In 1893, they produced their penultimate collaboration, Utopia, Limited. But The Gondoliers would prove to be Gilbert and Sullivan's last big hit. Utopia was only a modest success, and their final collaboration, The Grand Duke, in 1896, proved a failure. The two would never collaborate again.

Roles

Synopsis

Act I

The scene opens in Venice with twenty-four young maidens declaring their passionate love for a pair of gondoliers, Marco and Giuseppe Palmieri. These two gondoliers are so gallant and peerless in their manly beauty that the maidens are waiting for them to select brides before they can consider other suitors. The male chorus of merry gondoliers enters, saying that they adore the young ladies, but the ladies explain that the two brothers must choose first. When the Palmieri brothers enter, the ladies present them with flowers. The two gondoliers amiably offer to pick their two brides in a game of blind man's buff. "As all are young and fair, and amiable besides", they feel it would be unfair to show any favouritism. They appear to be cheating by peeking out from under their blindfolds, however. Eventually, from the crowd of twenty-four maidens, Giuseppe picks Tessa, and Marco picks Gianetta – "Just the very girl I wanted!" (although the two then politely offer to switch girls). All leave to go to church for the double wedding.

W. H. Denny as The Grand Inquisitor

His Grace the Duke of Plaza Toro (Count Matadoro, Baron Picadoro), Her Grace the Duchess, their beautiful daughter Casilda, and their drummer boy, Luiz, now arrive in Venice from Spain. They have come to meet Don Alhambra del Bolero, the Grand Inquisitor of Spain, who has summoned them to Venice. As Luiz goes to announce the Duke's presence, the Duke and Duchess tell their daughter a secret that they have kept for twenty years — when she was only six months old, she was married to the infant son and heir of the King of Barataria (a fictional island kingdom -- in Don Quixote, Sancho becomes the governor of an island called Barataria). She is indignant, since the union was conducted without her knowledge. Also, as we soon discover, she is secretly in love with Luiz. However, the infant prince was stolen from his home by the Grand Inquisitor after the king of Barataria became a Wesleyan Methodist "of the most bigoted and persecuting type", and taken to Venice. The King of Barataria was recently killed in an insurrection, and the lost prince is now king. As the wife of the new king, Casilda is now the reigning queen of Barataria, and her parents have brought her to meet with the Grand Inquisitor to be introduced to her husband. Left alone together, Casilda breaks this news to Luiz, and they resign themselves to a life forever apart, with only their happy memories to comfort them.

When the Grand Inquisitor enters, he explains that the prince was raised incognito by Baptisto Palmieri, a humble gondolier, who had a young son of his own about the same age. The gondolier was a drunkard and eventually forgot which boy was his own son and which boy was the prince of Barataria. The two boys (Marco and Giuseppe) grew up and now were both gondoliers themselves. Fortunately, the nurse who took care of the infant prince (and who happens to be Luiz's mother), is now living in the mountains, married to "a highly respectable brigand". Don Alhambra says that he has located her and that she will be able to reveal which of the two gondoliers is the lost prince. If not, he says, "then the persuasive influence of the torture chamber will jog her memory."

In the next scene, the two gondoliers have married Tessa and Gianetta, and as they are extolling the virtues of marriage, Don Alhambra arrives and informs them that one of them is the King of Barataria, but no one knows which. Despite being Republicans, the gondoliers and their new wives are delighted, and agree to go to Barataria at once, acting as one individual until the actual king is identified. The Grand Inquisitor tells them, however, that ladies are not admitted until the actual king is identified, and then each couple can be reunited. The Grand Inquisitor neglects to mention that the King is married to Casilda, fearing that it would cause the men to refuse to leave their new wives. As the two wives are imagining what it will be like to be a queen, their friends enter, and Marco and Giuseppe announce their discovery and promise to reign in a Republican fashion. They announce that in their kingdom, "All shall equal be" and will create new posts such as "the Lord High Coachman on the Box, the Lord High Vagabond in the Stocks". All the men then set sail for Barataria, leaving their wives behind in Venice.

Act II

Pounds as Marco, Act II

In Barataria, the chorus of gondoliers are enjoying living under "a monarchy that's tempered with Republican equality". It turns out that Marco and Giuseppe have in fact been doing all the work around the palace for the past three months - it is the privilege of royalty! They are happy enough with this arrangement, except that they are worried about having to share a single portion of rations between the two of them, and they miss their wives. Soon, however, all the ladies arrive, having risked the long sea voyage from Venice – they could no longer stand the separation. In delight, the reunited couples have a magnificent banquet and a dance (a cachucha). The Grand Inquisitor arrives at the ball and inquires why he saw unimportant servants dancing. Realising that the Republican gondoliers have promoted everyone to the nobility, he explains that there must be a distinction between commoners and those of rank, because "when everyone is somebody, then no-one's anybody". He then breaks the news that one of the gondoliers had married Casilda when a baby and therefore is an unintentional bigamist. The gondoliers attempt to console their wives, who are distraught to discover that neither one will be queen, and that one is married to someone who was already married.

"At charity dinners, the best of speech-spinners, I get 10% of the takings!"

The Duke and Duchess of Plaza Toro soon arrive with the beautiful Casilda. They are now dressed in style, and the Duke explains how he was applied for by the public under the Limited Liability Company Act, and how they now earn a very good living. Appalled, however, at the lack of pomp and ceremony with which they were received, he attempts to educate the two monarchs in proper royal behaviour. After a lesson in etiquette, the two Palmieri brothers are left alone with Casilda. She agrees to be an obedient wife, but warns them that she is "over head and ears in love with someone else." Seizing this opportunity, the two men introduce their wives. The three ladies and two men sing a quintet about their unprecedented predicament.

Don Alhambra brings in the nurse who had tended the infant prince of Barataria twenty years ago. She reveals that when the Grand Inquisitor came to steal the prince, she had loyally hidden him away, and given Don Alhambra her own young son instead. Thus, the king is neither Marco nor Giuseppe, but her own son, Luiz. This resolves the romantic entanglements to everyone's satisfaction. Casilda finds that she is already married to the man she loves, Luiz. The two gondoliers surrender their crown to Luiz and, though a bit disappointed that neither will be a king, they can return happily to Venice with their wives. There is a final dance for the full company, reprising the gondoliers' Act I duet and the cachucha.

Musical numbers

Act I
"Try we life-long"
Act II

Productions

The Gondoliers was immediately a hit in London, playing for 554 performances, the fourth longest of the series (after The Mikado, H.M.S. Pinafore and Patience). D'Oyly Carte's "E" Company mounted the first provincial production on February 19 1890 in Preston.[10] From then on, it was never absent from the touring repertory until it was dropped in the final two seasons (September 1980–February 1982) before the closing of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

The opera fared less well in New York. It opened at the New Park Theatre on January 7 1890 and was immediately panned. Gilbert "refused to indorse [sic] the company sent to New York... because he considered the company a 'scratch' one."[11] Carte himself came to New York to investigate, brought in replacements for most of the cast, and remounted the production at a new theatre. However, the damage was done, and the production ran for just 103 performances in total. The New York press dubbed the opera "the gone-dollars."[12] The first production on the European continent was given at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna (as Die Gondoliere) on September 20 1890.[13] In Australia, its first authorised performance was on 25 October 1890 at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, produced by J. C. Williamson.

A new production, with costumes designed by Charles Ricketts, was prepared for the opening of the renovated Savoy Theatre on 21 October 1929. The critic Ernest Newman wrote: "It was a subtle stroke to open with The Gondoliers; there is a peculiar richness of blood in the music of this work that makes the new theatre and the new designs and dresses by Mr. Charles Ricketts particularly appropriate...." The performance was conducted by Malcolm Sargent, and the theatre's only box was occupied by Lady Gilbert.[14]

The first non-D'Oyly Carte professional production in the United Kingdom was given by Scottish Opera on December 12 1968, with Ian Wallace as the Duke.[15] There was also a production by the New Sadler's Wells Opera in February 1984, with John Fryatt as the Duke and Donald Adams as Don Alhambra.[15]

The following table shows the history of the D'Oyly Carte productions in Gilbert's lifetime:

Theatre Opening Date Closing Date Perfs. Details
Savoy Theatre December 7 1889 June 20 1891 554 First London run.
New Park Theatre, New York January 7 1890 February 13 1890 103 Authorised American production.
Palmer's Theatre, New York February 18 1890 April 19 1890
Savoy Theatre March 22 1898 May 21 1898 62 First London Revival; interrupted for the production of The Beauty Stone from May 28–July 16 1898.
July 17 1898 September 17 1898 63
Savoy Theatre January 22 1907 August 24 1907 75 First Savoy repertory season; played with three other operas (closing date shown is of the entire season).
Savoy Theatre January 18 1909 March 27 1909 22 Second Savoy repertory season; played with five other operas (closing date shown is of the entire season).

Historical casting

The following tables show the casts of the principal early productions and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company touring repertory at various times through to the company's 1982 closure. The roles of Ottavio and the Drummer Boy were credited only in the original production. Notable casting substitutions are shown for the first New York production; otherwise, only first-night casts are shown.

Role Savoy Theatre
1889[16]		 New York
1890[17]		 Savoy Theatre
1898[18]		 Savoy Theatre
1906[19]		 Savoy Theatre
1909[20]
Duke Frank Wyatt George Temple William Elton Charles H. Workman Charles H. Workman
Luiz Wallace Brownlow Arthur Marcel Jones Hewson Alec Johnstone Leo Sheffield
Don Alhambra W. H. Denny John A. Muir
Fred Billington		 Walter Passmore John Clulow Rutland Barrington
Marco Courtice Pounds Richard Clarke Charles Kenningham Pacie Ripple Henry Herbert
Giuseppe Rutland Barrington Duncan Barrington[21]
Richard Temple		 Henry Lytton Richard Green Henry Lytton
Antonio A. Medcalf Helier Le Maistre Leonard Russell Overton Moyle Fred Hewett
Francesco Charles Rose Mr. McCarthy Cory James Henry Burnand Ernest Leeman
Giorgio George de Pledge Alec Lee H. G. Gordon Tom Redmond Cecil Curtis
Annibale J. Wilbraham Percy Charles Charles Childerstone Leo Sheffield A. Laurence Legge
Ottavio Charles Gilbert        
Drummer Boy Arthur Mansfield        
Duchess Rosina Brandram Kate Talby Rosina Brandram Louie Rene Louie Rene
Casilda Decima Moore Agnes McFarland Ruth Vincent Marie Wilson Dorothy Court
Gianetta Geraldine Ulmar Esther Palliser Emmie Owen Lilian Coomber Elsie Spain
Tessa Jessie Bond Mary Duggan Louie Henri Jessie Rose Jessie Rose
Fiametta Nellie Lawrence A. Watts Ethel Jackson Violette Londa Ethel Lewis
Vittoria Annie Cole Miss Sadger Jessie Rose Norah McLeod Beatrice Boarer
Giulia Norah Phyllis Grace Pyne Madge Moyse Clara Dow Adrienne Andean
Inez Annie Bernard Marie Rochfort Jessie Pounds Ethel Morrison Amy Royston
 
Role D'Oyly Carte
1920 Tour[22]		 D'Oyly Carte
1930 Tour[23]		 D'Oyly Carte
1939 Tour[24]		 D'Oyly Carte
1945 Tour[25]		 D'Oyly Carte
1951 Tour[26]
Duke Henry Lytton Henry Lytton Martyn Green Grahame Clifford Martyn Green
Luiz Sydney Granville John Dean Richard Dunn Herbert Garry Henry Goodier
Don Alhambra Leo Sheffield Sydney Granville Sydney Granville Richard Walker Richard Watson
Marco Derek Oldham Charles Goulding John Dudley John Dean Leonard Osborn
Giuseppe Frederick Hobbs Leslie Rands Leslie Rands Leslie Rands Alan Styler
Antonio Harry Arnold Richard Walker Richard Walker Wynn Dyson Peter Pratt
Francesco J. W. Turnbull Herbert Aitken Leonard Osborn C. William Morgan Thomas Hancock
Giorgio Allen Morris L. Radley Flynn L. Radley Flynn L. Radley Flynn L. Radley Flynn
Annibale Hugh Enes Blackmore T. Penry Hughes T. Penry Hughes Hilton Layland Stanley Youngman
Duchess Bertha Lewis Bertha Lewis Evelyn Gardiner Ella Halman Ella Halman
Casilda Sylvia Cecil Winifred Lawson Margery Abbott Margery Abbott Margaret Mitchell
Gianetta Elsie Griffin Sylvia Cecil Helen Roberts Helen Roberts Muriel Harding
Tessa Nellie Briercliffe Nellie Briercliffe Marjorie Eyre Marjorie Eyre Joan Gillingham
Fiametta Elsie Chantler Sybil Gordon Marjorie Flinn Ann Nicholson Enid Walsh
Vittoria Winifred Downing Beatrice Elburn Ivy Sanders Ivy Sanders Ceinwen Jones
Giulia Winifred Williamson Murielle Barron Maysie Dean Laura Crombie Joyce Wright
Inez Anna Bethell Marguerite Hylder Ella Halman Caryl Fane Caryl Fane
 
Role D'Oyly Carte
1959 Tour[27]		 D'Oyly Carte
1968 Tour[28]		 D'Oyly Carte
1975 Tour[29]		 D'Oyly Carte
1980 Tour[30]
Duke Peter Pratt John Reed John Reed James Conroy-Ward
Luiz John Fryatt Philip Potter Colin Wright Harold Sharples
Don Alhambra Kenneth Sandford Kenneth Sandford Kenneth Sandford Kenneth Sandford
Marco Thomas Round Ralph Mason Meston Reid Meston Reid
Giuseppe Alan Styler Thomas Lawlor Michael Rayner Peter Lyon
Antonio John Reed Howard Williamson James Conroy-Ward Alan Spencer
Francesco Frederick Sinden David Young Jeffrey Cresswell Barry Clark
Giorgio George Cook George Cook John Broad Michael Buchan
Annibale John Reed Howard Williamson James Conroy-Ward Alistair Donkin
Duchess Ann Drummond-Grant Christene Palmer Lyndsie Holland Patricia Leonard
Casilda Jennifer Toye Valerie Masterson Julia Goss Evette Davis
Gianetta Jean Hindmarsh Susan Jackson Pamela Field Barbara Lilley
Tessa Joyce Wright Pauline Wales Judi Merri Lorraine Daniels
Fiametta Mary Sansom Anne Sessions Marjorie Williams Suzanne O'Keeffe
Vittoria Ceinwen Jones Marian Martin Patricia Leonard Helene Witcombe
Giulia Anne Sessions Julia Goss Anne Egglestone Jane Stanford
Inez Beti Lloyd-Jones Beti Lloyd-Jones Beti Lloyd-Jones Jill Pert

Recordings

The 1927 Gondoliers is admired for its excellent cast. The 1961 D'Oyly Carte recording is a good stereo recording and includes complete dialogue. The 1957 Sargent/Glyndebourne and 1991 New D'Oyly Carte recordings are both musically well regarded.[31]

The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival offers various video recordings of the opera, including its 2004 professional G&S Opera Company video.[32]

Selected recordings

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jacobs, p. 287
  2. ↑ Jacobs, p. 288
  3. ↑ Jacobs, p. 291
  4. ↑ Jacobs, p. 294
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Baily, p. 344
  6. ↑ Baily, p. 342
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Crowther, Andrew (June 28 1997). "The Carpet Quarrel Explained". The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
  8. ↑ Approximately £37,818.60 in 2006 prices
  9. ↑ Wolfson, John (1976). Final curtain: The last Gilbert and Sullivan Operas. London: Chappell in association with A. Deutsch.  ISBN 0-903443-12-0, p. 7
  10. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 75
  11. ↑ "Are Gilbert and Sullivan Out?", The New York Times (January 14 1890). Retrieved on 2007-09-08. 
  12. ↑ Baily, p. 347.
  13. ↑ Gänzl, p. 384
  14. ↑ Programme with photos of the new theatre and productions
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Gänzl, p. 385
  16. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 12
  17. ↑ Prestige, p. 147
  18. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 17
  19. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 22
  20. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 23
  21. ↑ Brother of Rutland Barrington. Gänzl (p. 384) has Rutland Barrington, which cannot be correct, as Rutland was playing Giuseppe in London.
  22. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 136
  23. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 154
  24. ↑ Rollins & Witts, p. 163
  25. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 169
  26. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 175
  27. ↑ Rollins and Witts, p. 183
  28. ↑ Rollins and Witts, 2nd supplement, p. 15
  29. ↑ Rollins and Witts, 3rd supplement, p. 28
  30. ↑ Rollins and Witts, 4th supplement, p. 40
  31. ↑ Assessment of recordings of The Gondoliers
  32. ↑ G&S Opera Company recordings
  33. ↑ Review of the 1927 recording
  34. ↑ Review of the 1950 recording
  35. ↑ Review of the 1957 recording
  36. ↑ Review of the 1961 recording
  37. ↑ Review of the 1972 video
  38. ↑ Review of the 1977 recording
  39. ↑ Review of the 1982 video
  40. ↑ Review of the 1991 recording

References

External links