Complete recordings of IOLANTHE started to appear comparatively late in the recording history of G & S, the first being in 1923 whereas substantially complete recordings of PINAFORE, MIKADO and YEOMEN appeared as early as 1907/8. This perhaps reflects the fact that although always regarded as one of the top six, this opera has always been slightly less popular than MIKADO, GONDOLIERS, PIRATES or PINAFORE. The 1923 recording is currently available on the Sounds On CD label, distributed in the UK by Music Hall Masters. See the links page.
The 1929 recording along with the 1927 GONDOLIERS and the 1959 PINAFORE is often described as being the 'perfect' IOLANTHE. I do not say that I would go as far as to endorse such an accolade. However, despite its age, this is a remarkable document, not least for the performances of Derek Oldham as Earl Tolloller and the inimitable Bertha Lewis as the Fairy Queen. Nellie 
Biercliffe is a most touching Iolanthe and Winifred Lawson a spine-tingling Phyllis.
George Baker (never a member of D'Oyly Carte) gives his first, and very proficient performance of the Lord Chancellor. Sir (then Dr) Malcolm Sargent, who was at this time Musical Director of D'Oyly Carte, gives a sparkling rendition of the score which has probably not been bettered, but which so clearly queers the pitch of his 1957 recording.
The recording is available on 2 discs from Arabesque - Z8066-2 - and includes various recordings from 1902 - 1912 as a filler to the second disc. The most remarkable of these is that of The Mikado's Song recorded by the role's creator, Richard Temple.
IOLANTHE was not recorded again until 1951. Now it was DECCA who took up the challenge and this recording was the first of three D'Oyly Carte IOLANTHE's that they would issue.
Despite the remarkable Isidore Godfrey in charge and the presence of a number of vintage D'Oyly Carte post-war stalwarts in the cast this recording seems to fall somewhat short, certainly compared with other recordings of the same era.
Martyn Green gives an excellent account of the Lord Chancellor whilst Ann Drummond-Grant, better known as a principal contralto in later years, is absolutely superb as Iolanthe. The rest of the cast is somewhat disappointing and the whole just does not seem to spark into life. However, this is not to say that the performance is any less than an enjoyable evenings entertainment.
The 1951 recording is currently available in three releases. Firstly from Naxos - 8.110231-32 (pictured) - secondly from Regis - RRC2049 - thirdly from Pearl - GEMS0163 in a three disc set coupled with PATIENCE. It has to be said that the Naxos release is probably the better, the Regis having been transferred at an unpleasantly high modulation. Pearl have chosen to place Act One of the two works on Discs 1 and 3 respectively with both Act Twos on disc two - rather a clumsy arrangement. Both the Naxos and Regis releases are coupled with the 1951 recording of PINEAPPLE POLL.
What happened between 1929 and 1957 is just not known. Suffice it to say that Sir Malcolm Sargent's Gilbert and Sullivan 'Glyndebourne' series as it has come to be known is, in general, pretty dire. Sir Malcolm, once a brilliant musical director of D'Oyly Carte (as witness his early recordings) turns in some of the most dire, lack lustre performances one could imagine. Sadly IOLANTHE is one of these - it is slow, heavy and uninteresting. Such a pity as the cast should have been eminently suited to the opera. This, unless you already own it, really is one to be avoided at all costs. The recording has been available on the HMV Classics label - HMVD 5 73675 2, however, yet another re-packaging and re-release see the recording resurface on the Classics for Pleasure label.
For most, the 1960 D'Oyly Carte recording has to be the definitive IOLANTHE. Isidore Godfrey is on excellent form as are the New Symphony Orchestra of London and the band of the Grenadier Guards.
The cast, too, comes from that last 'golden age' of the post-war D'Oyly Carte. Headed by John Reed as the most delightful of Lord Chancellors, Donald Adams (Mountararat), Thomas Round (Tolloller), Alan Styler (Strephon), Yvonne Newman (Iolanthe) and Mary Samson (Phyllis), all of whom give unforgettable performances of this, the most pastoral and delightful of all the G & S Series. It is a recording that preserves the true style of G & S as had been preserved by D'Oyly Carte (at that point in time) for almost 90 years. Just in case you think I've forgotten, there is Gillian Knight as the most formidable of all Fairy Queen's. Some find the stilted delivery of the dialogue hard to take - but this is how it was - and it is so eminently understandable - modern day performers can learn so much from this remarkable recording.
This recording has recently been repackaged and is available from DECCA - 473 641-2. Click the image above to hear Thomas Round perform "Spurn not the nobly born".
It took 13 years for D'Oyly Carte/DECCA to supplant the above recording with a new one. The feeling is very much that they only did so because they had embarked on a third series of recordings and they wanted to preserve the current cast of the day on record. Certainly the 1974 recording is very good, and those who grew up with these casts will go into raptures of nostalgia when they hear these recordings, but it seems odd that as DECCA reissued their G & S recordings the only performances to be chosen from the third series were UTOPIA and GRAND DUKE (neither of which had been recorded in full in the earlier series, and PIRATES and MIKADO and this appeared to be for the continuity of John Reed in the patter roles. A great pity as there is much in the third series to admire, even if the 'DECCA sound' had become somewhat dry and reverberant at times.
By the time of this recording of IOLANTHE the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra had been playing for the D'Oyly Carte recordings for 10 years and this shows. There are some glorious moments, most especially the overture and the contribution of the woodwind throughout. John Reed and Kenneth Sandford repeat their performances of Lord Chancellor and Willis and it is interesting to heard how the roles have developed over the intervening years. Lyndsie Holland is in excellent and commanding voice as the Fairy Queen. Judi Merri is a surprisingly deep and rich-toned Iolanthe, while Pamela Field is a delightfully innocent Phyllis. John Ayldon and Malcolm Williams are well matched as Mountararat and Tolloller whilst Michael Rayner comes over far better on CD as Strephon than he ever did on stage. Majorie Williams, Patricia Leonard and Rosalind Griffiths are exceptionally strong as the three fairies.
The full dialogue is included again, but it is here 13 years since the expiry of copyright and the delivery is more natural than on the 1960 recording. Whether this is a good thing or not is for the listener to decide, but to me either version is equally acceptable and enjoyable.
This recording is currently only on the private Sounds on CD label and is issued under licence from DECCA themselves. Chris Webster has digitally re-mastered DECCA's master tape and produced a wonderful, warm two CD set which it is well worth seeking out. Sounds on CD issues are available from two sources currently, Music Hall Masters in the UK, and 78s2cd in the USA. Both suppliers will export outside their respective countries and items are paid for on-line. The catalogue number for IOLANTHE is VGS 251. See links to both sites on the links page.
The glory of the 1991 recording is the musical standard. As far as style is concerned it has nothing to add to the D'Oyly Carte recording of 1960 and, of course, there is no dialogue.
Richard Suart as the Lord Chancellor is at the beginning of his Gilbert and Sullivan career, and perhaps all the better for that fact as he does not over-play the part to the extent that he tends to do with later roles in later recordings.
Jill Pert is an excellent Fairy Queen and displays her original D'Oyly Carte credential with much credit. The rest of the cast are all excellent, but there is not the atmosphere, despite this being the product of a stage production.
On the credit side, this recording uses a set of orchestral parts created from Sullivan's original manuscript score and also included the song "Fold your flapping wings" for Strephon.
The second disc is filled out with the recently re-discovered Act Two ballet from Gilbert and Sullivan's Opus 1 THESPIS.
The recording is available from TER - CDTER2 1188.
In 1962, with the cessation of the copyright in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, the Sadler's Wells Opera Company (now English National Opera) staged a highly successful production of IOLANTHE. So successful that highlights were almost immediately recorded and a television broadcast also took place. It is sad that only highlights were recorded as the quality and freshness of this particular production shine through. The selection is strange - with the exception of the Fairy Queen's aria and the Quartet, Act Two is complete. The overture is included but only five relatively short numbers from Act One plus the final section of the Act One finale. However, the power and enthusiasm of this company, not hide-bound by the restraints of copyright, is obvious. Of particular mention in an overall superb and vintage Sadler's Wells cast, must be Patricia Kern as Iolanthe - her plea to the Lord Chancellor in Act Two is totally heart-rending and really was only ever equalled by D'Oyly Carte's Peggy Ann Jones who, alas, never recorded the role.
The LP version of this recording was a collectors item for some thirty years and extremely scarce. It returns to the catalogue coupled with the complete Sadler's Wells MIKADO (1962), a revelation in itself. The recording is available from EMI Classics for Pleasure CD-CFPD 4730.
The medium of film allows the director the freedom to move in and out of fairyland, around the palace of Westminster, in and out Iolanthe's pond and so on. This is one of the notorious Brent Walker series first issued on video in 1982 and prefaced by some ghastly introductions by Douglas Fairbanks Jnr.
This production is thankfully lacking in the "star" names that spoil some of the other presentations in this series and is certainly one of the better performances overall. The cast is headed by Derek Hammond-Stroud (Sadler's Wells, English National Opera) as the Lord Chancellor, Anne Collins as the Fairy Queen and Kate Flowers as Phyllis. Alexander Oliver is (unusually) a tenor Strephon. The London Symphony Orchestra is conducted splendidly by Alexander Faris. The video in general is quite delightful and a good evening's entertainment.
Douglas Faibanks Jnr. is still present, but then the advantage of DVD is that you can skip him!!
The set has been reissued in new packaging, with complete production libretto included in each case, by Universal (catalogue number DVD 8228651-11), the rrp is £99.99 although it can be found much cheaper. www.amazon.co.uk often retail this set for considerably less and it has been seen on the shelf in W. H. Smith for £69.99. It is also worth checking www.ebay.co.uk . Each separate disc has its own catalogue number and this DVD is now available separately - 822 870-2.