"...Having listed some of the more serious demerits of the score and libretto, I should turn the coin and mention that most of the vocal performances are excellent.  As mentioned above, the choral singing is outstanding.  So too, is the orchestral playing by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with David Lloyd-Jones lovingly attempting to bring some order to Sullivan's helter-skelter scene shifting.  The tournament at the Lists at Ashby in Act I is a particularly striking showcase for the fine instrumentalists.  Baritones Neal Davies and Stephen Gadd are sonorously impressive as Richard Coeur-de-Lion and the Grand Master of the Templars, respectively.  Peter Rose offers excellent diction (illuminating some of Sturgis' more cringe-worthy passages) and sings with an excellently firm line, making a believably paternal Cedric the Saxon.Catherine Wyn-Rogers uses her highly individual voice to bring the eccentric Ulrica vividly to life, and James Rutherford brings passion, but a rather arch vocal quality to the 'villain' Brian de Bois-Guilbert.  Sadly, soprano Janice Watson is a major disappointment as Lady Rowena, severely compromising most of her scenes with unsteady tone, ambiguous pitch, and raw, squally high notes.  It's a shame, because Lady Rowena gets some of Sullivan's most pleasing music, and Watson simply isn't up to the task.  Luckily, Geraldine McGreevy shines forth beautifully in the soprano range as Rebecca, offering poised, heartfelt singing with shimmering tone and touching vulnerability.  Finally, Toby Spence carries the title role with absolute assurance, impressively filling out his character with virility and youthful heroism.In summary, Chandos are to be commended for producing this luxurious set with scrupulous attention to detail and making Sullivan's Ivanhoe available for modern reappraisal.  Though the opera itself falls well short of masterpiece status, it is an important addition to the audio catalog, and we are lucky to have such a sonically superior and well-performed version to enjoy." -David Laviska --MusicalCriticism.com, June 22, 2010"Derived from Sir Walter Scott's enormously popular novel and setting a libretto by Julian Sturgis, Ivanhoe was produced as the opening work in 1891 at Richard D'Oyly Carte's brand-new Royal English Opera House, now the Palace Theatre in London's Cambridge Circus. It enjoyed an impressive, unparalleled run of 155 consecutive performances (with a double cast), which no other grand opera to this day has equaled in its first outing. It had a sumptuous mounting, with hundreds of supers and lavish costumes and scenery by the decorative talents from the Savoy Theatre... This is a romantic opera that requires full-force, late-nineteenth-century singing and a strong orchestra and chorus. If any modern case were to be made for Ivanhoe, this new recording would be the one to make it. Planned for the late Richard Hickox and conducted by David Lloyd-Jones, it contains several admirable British singers, notably Toby Spence in the title role. Neal Davies is fine as King Richard, as are Peter Rose, as Ivanhoe's father, and Geraldine McGreevy, as Rebecca. The two Norman knights, Brian de Bois-Guilbert (James Rutherford) and Maurice de Bracy (Peter Wedd), have their respective vocal highpoints." -RICHARD TRAUBNER --Opera News - http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2010/6/Recordings/SULLIVAN__Ivanhoe.htmlArthur Sullivan's Ivanhoe is among the most prominent works on the list of operas that almost everyone has heard of, but that almost no one has heard. Historically, Ivanhoe has almost universally been regarded as a failure, proof that Sullivan's gift was limited to the brilliant, but "light" music he wrote for the operettas he created with W.S. Gilbert. In fact, it received a phenomenal 155 performances in its initial production in London in 1891, but it has received a mere handful of performances since. The initiative to record it for Chandos came from Richard Hickox, who died before it could be begun, and this recording is dedicated to his memory. David Lloyd-Jones leads a large cast of soloists, the Adrian Partington Singers, and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in a first-rate performance that makes a strong case for opera. While Ivanhoe is certainly not going to find a place in, or even at the fringes of the standard repertoire, this recording should go a way toward putting to rest the platitude that England was an arid operatic wasteland between Dido and Aeneas and Peter Grimes.Sullivan was determined to write a nationalist opera independent of French, German, or Italian trends, and he succeeds to a surprising degree, because Ivanhoe doesn't quite sound like anything else. There are relatively few arias or set pieces, and the opera is carried largely by lyrical arioso, which works well because Sullivan was a master of setting the English language. He was also a sure dramatic composer. If he had been able to sustain the level of melodic inspiration, only sporadically evident here, that he conjured for The Mikado, Ivanhoe might have been a contender. There are numerous memorable musical moments nonetheless. The chorus "Plantagenesta!" has such melodic elegance and punch that it might have been written by Bizet. Various arias, including "The wind blows cold across the moor," "Her southern splendor, like the Syrian Moon," "Whet the keen axes," and "Lord of our chosen race," are terrifically engaging.Lloyd-Jones leads the opera with loving attention to detail and to its dramatic arc, drawing committed performances from the orchestra and chorus. All of the soloists are very fine and several are exceptional. Soprano Geraldine McGreevy sings with purity and thrillingly soars over the orchestra. Baritone Neal Davies is darkly eloquent as the villain. In the title role, tenor Toby Spence doesn't quite have the instrument or consistency to be in their league, but almost, and when he stays around his warmly lyrical middle register, he sounds fabulous. Chandos' sound is clean and present, but the stereo separation is sometimes awkward and unconvincing. Ivanhoe should be of strong interest to fans of late Romantic opera. --Allmusic.com, Stephen Eddins, February 2010Being a Gilbert & Sullivan addict, Advertisement I am equally interested in Sullivan without Gilbert -- and especially in Sullivan's only completed grand opera, "Ivanhoe." At last, an acceptable complete recording is available on three Chandos CDs, with David Lloyd-Jones conducting soloists and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.Opinion on this opera is varied. There is Sullivan's own diary entry that "a cobbler should stick to his last" as a starting point. He dreamed all his life of creating an English school of opera, but he was too successful in light opera to take the chance. As the legend goes, Queen Victoria herself suggested upon knighting Sullivan that he turn to more serious endeavors. Sullivan and Gilbert's producer Richard D'Oyly Carte offered to erect a lavish opera house for whatever work Sullivan chose. Gilbert was given first refusal as librettist, and Sullivan settled for a not very good libretto by one Julian Sturgis.Many characters in the novel are missing; but the libretto pretty much follows the original in a highly abridged but adequate form.The booklet accompanying the CDs gives an excellent account of the rest of the background and a good analysis of the positive aspects of the score. It does not dwell upon the negative comments of the critics in 1891, many of which can be found on the Gilbert & Sullivan Archive Web site.I found much of the chorus work exciting if not quite original, one or two sequences straight out of "Lohengrin" and "Tannhauser," both dramatically and musically, and most of the arias for the female leads quite beautiful but not quite memorable. Perhaps Sullivan lacked the inspiration Gilbert's lyrics might have given him. Who can guess?The cast is a strong one, most singing with good enunciation (final consonants hit squarely); but the enclosed libretto is still needed. Among the vocalists are Toby Spence (Ivanhoe), James Rutherford (Brian), Janice Watson (Rowena) and Geraldine McGreevy (Rebecca).The running time is 165 minutes, and each CD side holds a complete act. --Brattleboro Reformer: June 10, 2010, Frank BehrensOver at MusicWeb International Raymond J Walker has given an encouraging review of the exciting new Chandos edition of the `grand' opera Ivanhoe by Sir Arthur Sullivan. For anyone who imagines that Sullivan did not exist as an operatic composer apart from his collaborator W.S. Gilbert, this will come as a pleasant surprise. Ivanhoe is a large, romantic opera in three long acts which push towards three hours. The libretto, by Julian Sturgis, is based on the well-known novel by Sir Walter Scott. The first night was at the English Opera House (now the Palace Theatre) on 31 January 1891. It was immensely successful and ran for 155 consecutive performances. It is on my list of CDs to purchase!Raymond J. Walker begins his review by lamenting the fact that "it is amazing that we have had to wait so long for the first professional recording of Sullivan's only grand opera." He is impressed with the "the singers [who] provide a polished performance, sing superbly and support each other admirably...The chorus is fine and adds considerable weight to the opera." Finally he concludes that "For too long the establishment has turned its back on the rich scores of 19th century British composers. Ivanhoe should have been a central work to the 2000 Proms when Sullivan's centenary took place. We owe it to musicians like Sir Charles Mackerras, Ronald Corp and David Lloyd-Jones to remind us of our previous loss in this genre." This new recording from Chandos has been substantially supported by the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society's. --British Classical Music: The Land of Lost Content, John France, February 21, 2010Review Recording of the Month Perhaps it is amazing that we have had to wait so long for the first professional recording of Sullivan's only grand opera. All the more so wen it played for 155 consecutive performances in 1891 and later went touring with the Carl Rosa Opera Company. The English Opera House was built expressly for it and yet this facet of British heritage has been neglected and largely forgotten until now. We have to thank the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society's sponsors for making this expensive recording possible and Chandos for taking the initiative to mount such a worthwhile production.     The legendary Ivanhoe came to us from the Waverley novels of Sir Walter Scott in 1819. It was such a great favourite in Victorian times that its appearance in the theatre was certain. There have been two previous amateur recordings on disc (Pearl) and these appeared in 1974 and 1989; the first a live performance by Michael Thomas and a studio one by the Prince Consort. Although the latter gave a better chance of evaluating Sullivan's score, there were nuances, themes and textures that now shine and provide a different perspective. David Lloyd-Jones must be congratulated for the energetic pace he sets, never rushed but always advancing in a purposeful way. This has made all the difference to the way this kind of recording is perceived.     In the first scene, Sturgis the librettist, has to introduce the characters and background before the plot can develop. Consequently the score's opening section contains much extended recitative that cannot fully reveal Sullivan's skill as a composer. We are being introduced to motifs which cleverly weave in and out of the work, sometimes later appearing quite subtly. From Act II onwards both the action and music warms up to powerful crescendos that excite the emotions and varied means of expression. Bright brass fanfares give a true air of pageantry.     The singers provide a polished performance, sing superbly and support each other admirably. Special mention should be made of Janice Watson with sincerity of portrayal and effortless top notes; Toby Spence with his strength of delivery and powerful presence; and Peter Rose for warmth of tone and clear diction. In Janice and Toby's Act 1 Scene 2 lyrical duet, the balance is superb. The chorus is fine and adds considerable weight to the opera. What has made all the difference in this recording is the impact that is added by the meaningful phrasing of the vocal lines and absence of bland characterisation. The passages in Act I Scene 1 make more sense in expert hands and one can now understand the effects Sullivan was striving to achieve in his score.     Generally, I like the fact that the orchestra is quite forward to allow all layers of orchestration to come across and yet does not unduly mask the singers. However, in the second and third CDs there are times where there seems to be a different balance with the orchestra - more recessed - and sometimes the first and second violins are nearly lost. This said, it does not detract from one's enjoyment.     Two excellent booklet essays by William Parry and Martin Yates unveil the fascinating background of the Victorian English Opera movement and provide an analysis of Sullivan's score to help give a wider understanding to the music. I notice that a BBC R3 logo is shown, and this cheers me. For too long the establishment has turned its back on the rich scores of 19th century British composers. Ivanhoe should have been a central work to the 2000 Proms when Sullivan's centenary took place. We owe it to musicians like Sir Charles Mackerras, Ronald Corp and David Lloyd-Jones to remind us of our previous loss in this genre.When this recording was planned it was to have been conducted by Richard Hickox who sadly died a year before the recording was to take place and to whom it is dedicated. Thankfully, David Lloyd-Jones picked up the baton and has made an excellent job of providing an interpretation that is sure to please the harshest of critics.     The English Opera House that premiered Ivanhoe still stands, now the Palace Theatre in Cambridge Circus and owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I was surprised to see neither his name nor that of the Arts Council heading the subscription lists: this is the sort of venture they should surely be promoting. --MusicWeb International, Raymond J Walker, February 2010The biggest surprise revealed in this recording of Sir Arthur Sullivan's Ivanhoe is that it is not at all a bad opera. Fusty, stodgy and overstuffed it is, and unceasingly earnest in a way that is ultimately unconvincing. But it is very well made, with fine vocal writing and sensitive and at times excellent orchestration; and it attains, from time to time, a genuine sense of grandeur and spectacle, if scarcely of profundity.But then, Ivanhoe is a sort of command performance, and its source is one of the 19th century's more famous potboiler novels, by Sir Walter Scott. Scott wrote two dozen historical novels, essentially inventing a form that survives today. His works were over-plotted and made little attempt at characterization, essentially throwing numerous cardboard figures onto a vast canvas and having them enact scenes out of the past - a style that also, unfortunately, survives today. In the absence of strength of character, an opera librettist - Sullivan's was Julian Sturgis (1848-1904) - needs to create an ensemble piece, and that is just what Ivanhoe is. The libretto is serviceable, and Sturgis appears to have been far more pliable in working with Sullivan than was the notoriously prickly W.S. Gilbert. The result is a work in which the music clearly dominates the words, with Sullivan adding more character to the characters than they would otherwise possess.It was none other than Queen Victoria who inspired Sullivan's Ivanhoe. She knighted Sullivan in 1883, during the run of Iolanthe, specifically singling out his serious music - not his comic operas with Gilbert - as the reason for the honor (Gilbert was eventually knighted in the somewhat less straitlaced Edwardian era, after Victoria's death). Sullivan tried to fulfill what he perceived as his duty to create true English national opera by doing Ivanhoe, which he dedicated to his queen. And certainly the opera is thoroughly English - perhaps more "early English," as a character in Patience would have put it, but English through and through. This, despite the fact that in the time period of Scott's novel and Sullivan's opera, all the nobility spoke French (Richard the Lionheart spoke little English and lived in the south of France).What Sullivan did with Sturgis' version of Scott's novel was to create a work with three acts, each containing three scenes, hitting many of the high points of the original work. This is a very manly opera (to use a near-obsolete term), filled with posing and boasting and battles grand and small - it is set, after all, in the 12th century. Low male voices predominate, and there are only three female characters, the result being a serious if rather pretentious sound in much of the vocal music. Yet Sullivan often manages better characterization in music than Scott did in words. King Richard (Neil Davies) is too good to be true, but the nobleness of his music is impressive, and the rough good humor with which he confronts (and, of course, bests) Friar Tuck (Matthew Brook) is a high point, if not exactly a lightening of the mood. The bad guys - Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert (James Rutherford) and Maurice de Bracy (Peter Wedd - a tenor!) - strut and stamp about and are unidimensionally evil, but Rutherford manages some effective lines and de Bracy seems genuinely surprised when King Richard pardons him. Less impressive is Ivanhoe himself (Toby Spence): he spends much of the opera wounded and weak, and never becomes a very interesting character (although this is true in Scott's novel as well). Also unimpressive - one of the few irritating flaws in this production - are the multiple pronunciations of de Bracy's name, which is sometimes "BRAY-cee," sometimes "BRAH-cee," and once even "Brassy."The women, interestingly enough, have more personality than the men. Janice Watson as Lady Rowena is appropriately evanescent and seems, in her delicacy, a good match for Ivanhoe: they are just about equally colorless, although her "O moon" aria bespeaks some (well-buried) passion. Rebecca the Jewess (Geraldine McGreevy) threatens to take over every scene she is in: she is the one character with fire, intensity, self-awareness and a willingness to confront those who think themselves her betters (including de Bracy and Prince John [Stephen Gadd], who in a nice piece of casting also sings the role of the Grand Master of the Templars). Actually, to be fair, Rebecca is not the only woman with fire: Ulrica (Catherine Wyn-Rogers) uses it to burn down Torquilstone Castle - and, in a fine touch in both libretto and score, her words are written in something approximating Old English cadence, and the music reflects them.Familiarity with Ivanhoe the novel will be a big help in listening to Ivanhoe the opera, for those seeking the music's full effect. Whether the added investment of time and effort is worthwhile is a matter of opinion. Sullivan's work is scattered, a series of episodes rather than a story with a strong arc; and the "ensemble" nature of the opera allows listeners only intermittent identification with individual characters before it is time to move on to someone and something else. Certainly the singers and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, under the extremely able guidance of David Lloyd-Jones, give the music their all, and it is unlikely there will be a better Ivanhoe anytime soon. It is also unlikely that there needs to be one. This is not an endearing opera: unlike Sullivan's collaborations with Gilbert, Ivanhoe never transcends the time in which it was written, and at its most effective remains rather pale. It is not at all a bad opera, but it would be overly charitable to call it a really good one. --Infodad.com, March 11, 2010Think of Sir Arthur Sullivan and the immediate word association game answer becomes W.S. Gilbert. Wrong, say those in the know. Although their work together produced masterworks such as The Gondoliers -though why ENO haven't revived Martin Duncan's gorgeous production is beyond me - it is actually in Sullivan's other work (sans Gilbert) that Sullivan excelled. One such work was the Romantic Opera Ivanhoe, which opened the Royal English Opera House on Cambridge Circus (now the Palace Theatre), running for a staggering 150 performances during its premiere run in 1891.Forgotten for years, considered a failure and disregarded by the generations that came after (doubtless thinking of Sullivan in only one vein), Ivanhoe has now been recorded by Chandos (its premiere recording). It was to have been conducted by Richard Hickox, though his sudden death precluded such a collaboration. In his stead David Lloyd-Jones conducts a peerless British cast, including Toby Spence and Janice Watson in what can only be described as Sullivan's most unjustly forgotten work. In his liner notes for the new recording, William Parry posits that the opera is "the most misunderstood work in the history of English music." This prospectus for its glories will hopefully reverse that fate. --Entartete Musik, Gavin Plumley, January 31, 2010