1907 G&T CARRIE TUBB Complete Yeomen of the Guard GILBERT & SULLIVAN GC 3701
$
50
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Description
A series of great OPERA Records from early G&Ts to World War II recordings on 78 rpm Victrola Records
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Often overlooked, some of the first complete opera recordings were the G&T and Gramophone complete Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta issues recorded from 1906 - 1908
Although recordings of individual G&S excerpts were made as early as 1898, this 1906Mikado is the first compilation that qualifies as something like a complete opera. The occasion for this milestone was a new repertory season at the Savoy directed by W. S. Gilbert himself, in the Company's first London appearance in several years. Naturally, interest in the operas was at a peak, and G&T meant to capitalize on it.
The Opening Aria sung by Carrie Tubb
Please see top of the page for condition
Caroline Elizabeth Tubb (17 May 1876 – 20 September 1976) was an English soprano of the early 20th century, and later a teacher of singing at the Guildhall School of Music. She made her debut at London's Royal Opera House in 1910, where she appeared in such works as Elektra and Hänsel und Gretel. With Thomas Beecham's opera company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, she sang in Die Fledermaus, The Marriage of Figaro and The Tales of Hoffmann. Later, she mostly appeared on the concert platform, including at 54 Prom concerts and at the major British music festivals. She also made some early recordings. Around 1930 she retired from singing and began teaching. On her hundredth birthday she was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music.[1]
The 1907 G&T Yeomen
Cast Sir Richard Cholmondely Peter Dawson Colonel Fairfax Ernest Pike Sergeant Meryll Peter Dawson Leonard Meryll Ernest Pike Jack Point Stanley Kirkby Wilfred Shadbolt Peter Dawson Elsie Maynard Eleanor Jones-Hudson Phoebe Meryll Carrie Tubb /Florence Venning /
Eleanor Jones-Hudson Dame Carruthers Florence Venning Kate [not indicated]
Sullivan Operatic Party
Unnamed Orchestra
Recorded in London, February 1907
This was the second more-or-less complete set issued by G&T, capitalizing on publicity surrounding the repertory season W. S. Gilbert personally supervised at the Savoy during 1906-7. Like the earlier 1906 Mikado, the cast were an ad-hoc team of studio artists called the Sullivan Operatic Party (S.O.P.). As seen above, casting the roles consistently did not occur to anyone, as most of the sides were meant to be purchased individually anyway (though they were also bundled as a set).
The single-sided catalogue numbers shown below, which do not even adhere to a consistent numbering scheme, clearly indicate that the items in the set were released at different times. However, once the set was complete, they were issued together in a box with a descriptive booklet, in December, 1907 (just in time for Christmas, one might speculate).
The HMV re-issue, on the other hand, was clearly designed to be purchased as a set, as shown by the relatively consistent numbering (even though discs were still available individually). Still, there are anomalies that indicate the marketing considerations that governed recordings of the time. The two tenor arias, for example, were issued on the same disc (B409), even though they come at disparate points in the opera. And, since there were originally an odd number of single-sided discs, a selection had to be designated to stand by itself. The fact that "Rapture, rapture" was chosen may indicate that the omission of this number in stage performances had already become customary. (The reason could also be simply that it was the "left-over" 10-inch side after all the others had been allocated.)
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