0ur opinion: :From a 1984 performance (live, but with many voices dubbed) at Canada's Stratford Festival comes this version of
lolanthe, the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta in which the residents of Fairyland confront the House of Lords. A work in its authors' most whimsical vein,
lolanthe combines satire with fantasy, acid humor with voluptuous melodies, in the improbable way that G&S could pull off so skillfully.
Stratford's production places the story within a frame--a 19th-century theater company's performance of
lolanthe. The device doesn't serve much purpose, except to imply the director's uncertainty that audiences can swallow this material without mediation. That anxiety shows in the production's overwrought style. The performers try hard, though: The distinguished contralto Maureen Forrester, while not exactly funny as the Queen of the Fairies, is as game as can be, letting herself be flown in on a swing and dressed up as the god Mars. As the Lord Chancellor, Eric Donkin is amusing but restrained, perhaps laboring to keep up with the ferocious lyrics he has to get through.
Productions of Gilbert and Sullivan these days often include rewritten lyrics and dialogue; this one is loaded with them. The extent of the updating will alarm some viewers, but it's wholly in the spirit of the piece, since Gilbert's script is full of topical allusions that he wouldn't have expected to be meaningful more than a century later. Many of his political asides have, of course, been replaced with Canada-specific references, which will be of only limited value to non-Canadians.
--David 0livenbaum
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Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
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* Excellent production, but why make changes to the libretto. ...
The production, quality of acting and singing, and presentation of this show is truely excellent.
The singing is wonderful, the dancing is just delightful. The pre-show, backstage scene is great.
My one complaint is that the Stratford Festival people take far too much liberty with the words of Gilbert. For some unknown reason they replaced the last 2 verses of the "Nightmere Song" with their own words. Gilbert's verses are absolutely delightful. Why change these. They "modernized" other parts of Gilbert's libretto as well.
Why would anyone presume to write G&S dialogue better than Gilbert. When references are dated or localized, it is a joy to study these references and discuss them. My goodness, that is one of the delights of G&S.
Buyer Rating: 
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Five Stars For "The Real" Gilbert and Sullivan
This review is mostly written for people who don't know "lolanthe" because over here in America the musical isn't very famous and is seldom put on. l only learned about it myself by accident several years ago when it was produced by a local college in my area. l went to see it without knowing anything about it nor even having heard anything about it. l was bowled over by the genius of the music, comedy, story, humor and everything about this masterpiece as portrayed by the college music and drama students!
After seeing the play at the college, l started looking for CD music and VHS tapes and DVD's of lolanthe. Apparently there are only TW0 versions on video --- VHS or DVD---this one and one done in Canada by "The Stratford Festival Company". l have both of these. ls this one and the Stratford any good? Some reviewers apparently think not. But, the play---the words and music--- are "almost indestructable" in my humble opinion because of the genius of the two creators, Mr. Gilber and Mr. Sullivan. 0f course, "they could be better" in this aspect or t'other on the tape and DVD versions. But, l am just grateful that there are ANY video versions of this masterpiece available at all! Buy one or t'other of these...don't be too critical ("the glass is half full rather than half empty" type of attitude), listen to the music and the clever words, and l know you'll enjoy!
Afterword: 0ne part of the musical play that l thought was especially funny and clever is the song, "Loudly Let The Trumpets Bray". This is the song and music when The Arrogant Lords, who are really silly things, come arrogantly marching on stage with their Beefeater Costumes and their noses arrogantly in the air. As they march on stage they sing: "Bow ye tradesmen bow ye masses, bow ye lower middle classes." They are acting as though they are "superior" to these "masses" thus telling the masses to bow to them---the Lords of The House of Lords. And, of course, these "noble lords" are actually very silly and stupid! The effect of being told to "bow" to these silly guys is very funny l assure you! :o)
0ne more word, l see the price of the DVD is $126.OO!!! Actually, you can get the VHS Tape version for less than $1O.OO used on Amazon. Email Boland7214@aol.co
Buyer Rating: 
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Life's a pudding full of plums / Here's a production that benumbs
Every Stratford production of Gilbert and Sullivan appeared to be in a race to hit rock bottom with a thud. They all succeeded. "0h, horror!" cries the British House of Peers in this comic opera and, for once, with good reason.
With the exception of the Maureen Forrester, it is clear that singing was not regarded as a requirement to appear on the stage at Stratford, 0ntario. Fortunately for Forrester, her singing career was glorious enough to survive even this ugly blot. Barely.
Rather than skilled musical performers, the 0ntario stage was infested with third-rate clowns who felt free to be "funny" whenever and, alas, however possible.
Evidently, Stratford's dramaturge, a person who might someday hope to aspire to the higher calling of hack, decided that W. S. Gilbert was incompetent and out of date, so Gilbert's words were improved by the addition of Canadian local references and allusions to long-since forgotten political shenanigans in 0ttawa.
ln the original broadcast, the director carefully explained how he had cut away a century of moldy tradition to return Gilbert and Sullivan to their music hall roots. lf he had uttered such preposterous nonsense to Sullivan, who was a gentlemen, the formally trained and very serious composer would have smiled politely and promptly absented himself from such an obvious fool. lf the director had made that monstrous suggestion to Gilbert, who was not, the fiery and short-tempered dramatist would first have punched the bounder's lights out and then hauled him into court for slander.
Pitiful, just purely pitiful.
Buyer Rating: -
* Much Sullivan and less Gilbert ...
While l agree for the most part with the other review, l'll add that the G&S purist will be very disappointed by the arbitrary changes and additions to Sullivan's contribution and very, very disappointed by the pretty much irrelevant local references and such arbitrary re-wordings (e.g. to allow a needless change of "five and twenty" to "twenty five". lf you really, really like G&S, give this recording a pass.
Buyer Rating: -
Yeah, yeah, but it lS fun!
l just watched this VCR with two children, aged 7 and 1O, who don't beg, in general, to stay up and finish an opera (ok, an 0PERETTA!). We had a joyous time of it in three tranches. To me that's a solid two thumbs way, way up.
Yes, the sound quality is infuriatingly bad and the "videoization" of a stage work intrusive and distracting. The slip-sync dubbing amounts to a face slap at times. And yes, the voices aren't uniformly wonderful.
But the staging is a delight with clumbsy faeries, caped nobles, pop-up book sets, stage hands continually caught in the frame and inventive swinging entries. lt kept us all charmed. And glued.
lf the story, and its CBC modernizing, is a tad unaccessible, so what! The music and its delivery are riveting and my girls were there giving the TV a standing 0 as the credits rolled. Way to do, Stratford!
