'Die Piraten' G and S auf Deutsch!!

I have always enjoyed browsing in Charity shops, and now that CDs appear to be as outdated as the Dodo, and the Kindle seems to have replaced 'real' books, at least to some extent, there are some real bargains to be had. The 'Crisis' shop in Putney is always worth a visit - affluent areas are usually happy hunting grounds - but recently has had a very large donation of rare Gilbert and Sullivan recordings. A lot of these are 'pirates' and to these I shall return in a later Blog, but for now I want to consider a different type of 'Pirates' - 'The Pirates of Penzance' in a German version ('Die Piraten') broadcast by WDR/Bayerischer RF in June 1968, with the Koln Rundfunk Orchestra, conducted by Franz Marszalek (no, me neither, but he was a well-know operetta conductor in Germany and was particularly associated with the Cologne Radio Orchestra). The cast is impressive: Gerd Nienstedt, a Bayreuth bass stalwart who sang 14 roles there, is luxury casting as the Pirate King, a very young Arleen Auger is perfect as Mabel, and, extraordinarily, Martha Modl, one of the greatest dramatic sopranos of the twentieth century, is Ruth, the 'Piratical Maid of All Work'. She has great fun tearing a passion to tatters - this is high camp, and hugely enjoyable. I think Alexander Malta is the Sergeant of Police, although the cast list is eccentric and the role is not included, although Tom, Jack, Paul, Mac, Cecily, Emmie, Isabel and Edith (who they?) are. Anyway, whoever sings the Sergeant's opening number, he's excellent. German playfulness extends to some pretty extensive rewriting, or at least reallocation, of the vocal lines, particularly where the chorus is concerned - some of which is given to solo voices. The most radical alteration is turning 'A Policeman's Lot' into a duet for Ruth and Major General Stanley - ein schweinerei for G and S purists. But I am not a G and S purist and I loved listening to this excellent performance with some sterling singing. The German dialogue is also dispatched with aplomb. A further reason to listen to this recording (Gala GL 100.566) is the twenty or so bonus tracks, with a wide range of curiosities, including Joan Sutherland, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Shore singing 'Three Little Maids' from 'The Mikado' - very good it is too!!