No 13 — July 1979 Edited by Michael Walters
BRIEF GLIMPSES AT THE D'OYLY CARTE SEASON, (Sadlers' Wells Theatre).
THE MIKADO, 6 January 1979: I did not catch the name of the conductor this evening, but so impressive was the conducting that I can assume that it must have been Fraser Goulding, the new M.D. (from Guildhall School of Music & Drama) who, based on hearings of him at later performances, must be the best thing that has happened to the Company since Isidore Godfrey. The Overture began very slowly and ponderously, lifting into the oboe solo which was taken faster than usual, and this tempo produced an intensity when the tune is repeated in the strings. The Allegro began gently, gathering momentum, but then relapsing into grace again for "braid the raven hair". There was an excellent climax at the end, and the whole thing had both dignity and poise. How good to hear somebody doing something intelligent with the music. We had understudy tenor, soprano and contralto. Richard Brabrooke (Nanki?Poo) has a beautiful voice, clear and firm, though perhaps a little hard in tone on top. "A Wandering Minstrel" was a showpiece, taken with subtlety and interesting variations in tempo. Elizabeth Denham was not really up to the fireworks of Katisha. Ken Sandford was in excellent voice and great form. He spoke his lines with great enthusiasm.
YEOMEN, Saturday 20th January: An impressive performance. Barbara Lilley's "'Tis done" was the only really disappointing thing. But that's one of those things, I just don't think she has the strength for this part. The best things were the scene between Sandford and Metcalfe, and Pat Leonard's Dame C. She may not have the most sheerly beautiful voice in the history of DOC (though I seem to recall it was a lovely sound in the lighter parts ? perhaps she shouldn't be singing the contraltos?) but her dramatic rendering of the role and the way she handled her dialogue were better than anything I have heard in 19 years of DOC going. Fraser Goulding conducted with grace and delicacy. The Overture was a thing of beauty. Geoffrey Shovelton was in magnificent voice, and sang his two songs better than I can recall having heard him do them before. Gareth Jones sounded as if he had a cold and cracked on several notes as 2Y. The conductor is the first person I have heard for a long time to have the tact to follow John Reed, and the latter's performance gains much in stature as a result. Tonight it was very good, and the finale was incredibly moving. The dingy room for the opening scene has (thank goodness) been dispensed with.
RUDDIGORE, Saturday 3rd February 1979. Royston Nash was conducting and it showed. The overture sounded incredibly vulgar (Geoffrey Toye must have been turning in his grave). The first act was slow and seemed interminable, though the chorus sound was very good. Pat Leonard acted Dame Hannah superbly, but her voice does not seem to be quite heavy enough, though it is deep enough. She was low on volume, and seemed only to be able to sing the music by distorting her vocal tone. Meston Reid was in a raucous mood, and was shouting a lot. There is no doubt that it is a fine voice, but G&S seems to cramp his style. I think the voice is really too big, and when he is singing twice as loudly as everybody else on the stage, he still sounds as if he is holding back, and would be more comfortable if he could sing even louder still. Jane Metcalfe's Mad Margaret was tame ? she sang beautifully, but she was unable to arouse any real pathos, and she seemed to be largely walking through it. Even in the second act, it was all mannered ? by contrast the way Pat Leonard said "it made me dreadfully unhappy to hear of all your goings on, you bad, bad boy" was said straight from the heart, and brought tears to my eyes. The other parts were much as they have been, though Ken Sandford's Sir D, which he attacked with glee in Act 1, was more subdued than usual in Act 2 "only to trample them in the dust when they were at the very zenith of their fullness" was almost gentle ? but this may have been an elaboration tailored to a specific Mad Margaret. John Ayldon seemed to have a cold, and his magnificent S. R. was not as good as I have heard it. John Reed's Robin stays the course well, and. even seems to be improving (to my surprise) ? though in his verse of the patter trio, he was obviously fighting very hard with Nash to try to make the latter follow him.
IOLANTHE, Monday 5 Feb: [Frederic Lloyd was in the Dress Circle slips for Act1, but had disappeared by act 2]. This was the new cast, which we had not seen before. Fraser Goulding was conducting. The Overture was very fine, starting off very slowly and gradually gaining momentum. I am definitely warming to this production, which is gradually changing for the better. The bridge over the stream is now at an angle instead of straight, and Iolanthe no longer comes out from under it. The lighting is much warmer and has more colour to it, helping to relieve the dull leaden greyness. The silver is still a severe liability, however, largely because it does not look like silver, it looks like steel. Charles Hayter was absolutely right. The sight lines have been improved from the balcony and the bridge on the backcloth in Act 2 no longer seems to end in mid?air (though it still spans a non?existent river). Peter Lyon (Strephon) has a superb deep voice, and acted with gusto and intelligence. Pat Leonard's way of singing "O foolish Fay" is, the best I have ever heard, addressing the verse to the fairies in a rather declamatory style, and then addressing the refrain to Willis in a warm and wistful sotto voce. Wonderful. And Kenneth Sandford played up to her, as if recognizing that here at last was a Fairy Queen who really was worth giving his heart to. John Reed's LC is now developing a senile dignity and becoming more believable than it was before. For the first time I wakened up to the fact that here really was a vintage performance by a man who had given up hamming and was at last genuinely and sincerely acting the part. It has been many years of waiting, but worth waiting for. F.G. was a sympathetic conductor to him, and they seemed to understand each other and to work together in harmony. The two principal fairies were well differentiated in "in vain to us you plead", with the irritable "don't go" of Leila (Helene Witcombe) contrasting beautifully with the more pleading tone of Celia (Suzanne O'Keefe) on the same words. Fleta was Linda D'Arcy, and Meston Reid was Tolloller. Lorraine Daniels (Iolanthe) has an unpleasing wobble and her ballad "He loves" was sung in a coarse and raucous?voiced way. The wings of the Peers at the end were carelessly done. Those of Mountararat and Tolloller were quite clearly visible long they were supposed to have materialized because the two Earls didn't seem to be able to keep facing front, and kept turning round.
YEOMEN, [DATE?] [Suzanne O'Keefe as Kate]. This went rather well, in spite of a dreadfully dull audience. Fraser Goulding conducted a fine overture with lots of grandeur and delicacy. He conducted with style and panache, contrasting remarkably with Royston Nash's lack lustre tempi of the Saturday night. The dull audience intruded itself into the second act which started to drag. There was a fine performance in Michael Rayner's senile Lieutenant, doddering and bumbling about to perfection. I think this is the best Lieutenant I have seen but I never remember Rayner doing it so well before. (Somebody suggested to me that he was doing a caricature of Henry VIII). Pat Leonard was a relief after the inept Dame C of Elizabeth Denham on Saturday (she sang off tune and got her words all wrong). Pat Leonard, though she has started to force her voice a bit for these alto parts, acted so wonderfully. The way she says "pray God I shall die and be buried in it, and there is not a stone in its walls that is not as dear to me as my own right hand" was somehow so deep and genuine. Nobody else I have heard has ever said it like that. Jane Metcalfe's Phoebe is commendably underplayed, but perhaps too much so. One could do with a little more fun. The only tempo I disliked was the Madrigal which had the effect of being rushed, and lacked feeling.
PIRATES, Mon. 19th Feb. David Mackie conducted competently, though perhaps a little immaturely, as though he hadn't enough confidence in himself (borne out by the fact that he declined to take a bow on entering, but slipped in very unobtrusively). The Overture tended to be a bit oomp?cha! James Ward's MG really has gone over the top and is over?acted, over?stylized, and has far too many gestures. He is a "busy" actor. His diction was bad. Michael Buchan was a blustery but unsubtle Pirate King, and he has not really got the voice for the part ? his rendering of "Oh better far" sounded a bit like my idea of how Michael Flanders would have sung it. He got the Jolly Roger tied up into a knot during the song, and Barry Clark who had to carry it offstage, tried to unravel it, grimacing as he did so. Elizabeth Denham was extremely good as Ruth. After hearing her inadequate Katisha and her incompetent D. C. it was nice to realise that there was a part which she could do well. The duet with Fred was first rate, and she acted very intelligently. Suzanne O'Keefe was a beautifully pert Isabel, bubbling with enthusiasm. Vivienne Tierney did well, but I did not feel she was up to the coloratura of "Poor Wandering One". Her top notes were not cleanly attacked, and they spread. Edith and Kate were very poor, they sang out of tune; Kate had a deep gravelly voice, not unlike Caroline Baker's but not as good.
PIRATES, Wed. 21 Feb. Most of the principals were back but we still had Tierney & O'Keefe. Royston Nash was conducting in an oom?pah manner, not unlike Mackie, and on several occasions there were rocky moments when the singers threatened to get out of time with the orchestra, but there were no serious mishaps. I was sorry not to have heard Fraser Goulding conduct this opera. Pat Leonard was v good as Ruth. The way she said "no, years and years ago" slowly and sadly, was beautifully done. John Ayldon was his usual self. The others were much as Monday. Michael Rayner's Policeman is a mastery piece of comic invention ? sorry this is the last time we'll be seeing it. The business with the invisible "thing" on the floor is a remarkable idea ? I wonder when it began? Although mentioned by Martyn Green, I am sure it was not there when I first used to see the opera, and I have been told it was Arthur Jackson who put it back and/or elaborated it into its present form.
PATIENCE, Friday 23 Feb. 1979: Not a wildly exciting performance, largely due to Royston Nash's dreary conducting and lacklustre tempi. Ayldon and Sandford were the only ones in Act 1 who managed to instill any life into the proceedings. On several occasions the singers came dangerously near to getting out of time with the orchestra. Barbara Lilley was her usual erratic self, and the second run of her opening song may have included the optional top D, but it was such a fluffy sound that you couldn't tell, her tremolo embraced about three notes for every one. Reed was mannered as usual.
PATIENCE, Saturday Matinee 24 Feb: I did not make any notes. The performance was better than the night before. The conductor was unidentified, but from the style I think it must have been Mackie, as it did not sound good enough to be Goulding.
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