|
The year 1906 saw the beginning of a revival of interest in the Savoy operas, prompted by the D'Oyly
Carte Company's plans for a series of new productions at their London headquarters. Several near-complete
recordings resulted, The Mikado (represented below) being the first. These records, issued by The
Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd. (precursor of HMV) at the end of 1906, are generally slighted by G & S enthusiasts
because most of the singers had no connection with D'Oyly Carte; but several of them, such as the baritone
Thorpe Bates and the bass Peter Dawson, were distinguished concert artists, and the orchestral arrangements
(invariably cobbled together in the studio, since Rupert D'Oyly Carte would not release the scores for
outside use) are usually more carefully done than they are in the better-regarded rival versions.
|
