Gilbert & Sullivan: Master Collection
TheMaster Collectionincludes 10 Gilbert and Sullivan operettas produced for British television. The Opera World series (1982) is the only comprehensive Gilbert and Sullivan series on video. It comprises 12 G&S; works (if you cheat and countCox and Box, written by Sullivan without Gilbert), including, for some titles, the only available version. (Cox and Boxand the one-act farceTrial by Jury, their first collaboration, are not part of this set.) In terms of quality, the series is uneven. There are some treasures, but some productions have a disconsolate penny-pinching look, and a few need more rehearsal. The casts are a blend of Broadway singers, British and American comedians, and D'Oyly Carte veterans, with stars including Vincent Price (Ruddigore), Joel Grey (The Yeomen of the Guard), and singer-songwriter Peter Allen (The Pirates of Penzance). Frequent standout performers include Keith Michell, Clive Revill, Kate Flowers, and Anne Collins, who shines as a procession of unloved older women.Of the series, the standouts areRuddigore, a trifle of a ghost story set to gorgeous music, andThe Sorcerer, a buoyant tale of a magic potion that causes a whole village to fall in love with the wrong people;Iolanthe(a House of Lords satire mixed with ethereal fantasy),The Gondoliers(with Sullivan's Italianate, most radiant score), andPrincess Ida(a satire of higher education for women set in an Arthurian kingdom) are also well worth seeing. The others--The Pirates of Penzance,The Mikado,H.M.S. Pinafore,Patience, andThe Yeomen of the Guard--are less satisfying.--David Olivenbaum