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Gilbert & Sullivan - Princess Ida / Gorshin, Christie, Collins, Opera World
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9781569385371
Format: Classical, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
ISBN: 1569385378
Label: Acorn Media
Languages: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Acorn Media
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 22, 2002
Running Time: 114 minutes
Studio: Acorn Media
Theatrical Release Date: 1982
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Editorial Review:
One of the more obscure Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, Princess Ida is a satire of higher education for women. Modern audiences may find this premise hard to stomach, but the mockery is more silly than harsh. If you can get over the predictable absurdities (hint: the man-hating heroine ends up marrying the tenor), it's lighthearted fun, with emphasis on the "light." The action is set in a more or less Arthurian kingdom, where Prince Hilarion and Princess Ida have been betrothed since infancy. Now they are to marry, but the bride-to-be has established a university for women and disdains men. The score is delicious. From an evolution lesson that depicts a man as "only a monkey shaved" to a drunken song performed by one of Hilarion's friends in maidenly drag, it's a terrific surprise for those who know only G&S's more standard works.
This version is part of the Opera World series, which produced 12 G&S operettas for British television in the 1980s. The series is of uneven quality. Here the costumes are tacky and not all the actors are equal to Gilbert's mock-solemn script, written in iambic pentameter. But as the obnoxious King Gama ("I can tell a woman's age in half a minute--and I do"), Frank Gorshin gives a full-tilt vaudeville performance. And Anne Collins, a mainstay of this series as a procession of unloved older women, is delectable as Lady Blanche, with her precise contralto and her willingness to be the Margaret Dumont of Gilbert and Sullivan. --David Olivenbaum
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Princess Ida
I had not seen this one before. I was buying it blind. I took a chance and it paid off. We enjoy Gilbert and Sullivan and love the stage setting.
Rating: - A charming, lovely "Princess Ida"
"Princess Ida" is certainly one of the least known of the Savoy Operas. The problem is that you have some of Sullivan's most delicious music wedded with one of Gilbert's weakest and most dated libretti. To be honest, I was not looking forward to watching this production. In the main, the Brent Walker series can be pretty painful for the dedicated Savoyard; and I figured the "Ida" would be a total disaster.
Imagine my surprise! A wonderful cast makes this entry one of the most charming ... Read More
Rating: - If you give me your attention . . .
. . . I will tell you what I think of this DVD.
This is a great production!
It's staged in a very entertaining format, set up as an amateur production at a charming English estate. It opens with the guests arriving at the house, the gentlemen drinking in the study, and the ladies arranging their hair and makeup. Lovely! Quite a nice way to open the performance and very effective for getting the audience into that G&S mode, while pushing the events at Castle Adamant further away from our fax ... Read More
Rating:  - Flawed production
I agree with all the other reviewers said about the performance, but the play-within-a-play format cooked up for this particular production is a jarring note and distracts from the otherwise high quality production.
This is one of the most melodic of G&S operettas and I wish it were performed more often. "Whom Thou Hast Chained" is an absolute delight.
Rating:  - Relatively great
Of the Brent Walker/Opera World Gilbert & Sullivan productions, I think this one is the best. The parts are cast quite consistently, rather than having great performers and well-prepared scenes mixed with unprepared people who can't find the tunes, catch the dance steps, or figure out their characters.
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