sovay: (Psholtii: in a bad mood)
sovay ([personal profile] sovay) wrote2010-02-15 03:36 pm

The Army, the Navy, the Church, and the Stage

Oh, damn it: John Reed, patter baritone of the D'Oyly Carte.

He was ninety-four; I can't really argue. But I had just looked him up a few days ago, having finally acquired a recording of the 1968 D'Oyly Carte Pirates of Penzance (and therefore been on a limited-resource Gilbert and Sullivan bender), and was obscurely comforted that he was still alive. His Lord Chancellor features twice in last night's linkdump. Literally, I was just listening to him.

I suppose that's as good a note to go out on as any.

"Love, unrequited" (Iolanthe, 1960)

When you're lying awake with a dismal headache, and repose is taboo'd by anxiety,
I conceive you may use any language you choose to indulge in, without impropriety . . .


"If you give me your attention" (Princess Ida, 1965)

To ev'rybody's prejudice I know a thing or two;
I can tell a woman's age in half a minute—and I do.


"I am the very model of a modern Major-General" (The Pirates of Penzance, 1968)

But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

[identity profile] ravenskyewalker.livejournal.com 2010-02-15 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
(Pardon me for intruding. I stumbled across this by checking my friends of friends list.)

Aw, darn it. I quite enjoyed Gilbert & Sullivan in my youth, and should still have an LP record of John Reed's patter songs. I think that it was, in fact, a D'Oyly Carte G&S song collection, so it must've been John Reed, but without digging through the archaeological layers of stuff around here and finding the album in order to check it, I wouldn't have remembered his name. I should check those sound file links, because I'd definitely remember his voice, but am on dialup... oy.

ETA: I just went hunting on Google and dug up the exact album cover photo I remembered. The recording has been reissued on CD, "Gilbert & Sullivan: Great Patter Songs," but is only available from the UK... where I'm not. Might be worth seeing if I can order it, though.
Edited 2010-02-15 23:03 (UTC)

[identity profile] moon-custafer.livejournal.com 2010-03-17 02:58 am (UTC)(link)
Same here. I don't have my G&S recordings anymore, so I can't check if he was on them.