Article summary

The Yeomen of the Guard, one of Gilbert and Sullivan's least satiric and most charming works, largely stars its rich, operatic score. The story, set at the Tower of London during Tudor times, is also beautifully constructed, with terrific pseudo-Shakespearean language. For such a vibrant piece, this video (part of the Opera World series of Gilbert and Sullivan works, made for the BBC in 1982) is strangely drab. The weakest element is Joel Grey as the melancholy clown Jack Point. The series mixes musical-comedy performers with opera singers, Americans with Brits. Grey's Broadway background isn't a drawback; in fact, some show-biz sparkle might have done him good. His sour, lethargic performance misses the potential for sunshine at the character's heart. Even his singing is doubtful--he has a hard time staying on key. Other actors are equally lackluster. David Hillman as Colonel Fairfax, around whom the plot's twists (and the two leading ladies) revolve, is fatally without charm. One redeeming presence is Alfred Marks as the dimwitted jailer Wilfred Shadbolt. Preposterously sure of himself, with a marvelous deadpan, this Wilfred comes to life more than anyone else on screen.

For television, the operas in this series were restricted to a two-hour length. Most easily met that limit, but Yeomen underwent deep cuts. The result is both disappointing and confusing, with some major plot developments excised. And the film has been sloppily edited: dead moments mark a couple of junctures where songs, no doubt previously filmed, were snipped out. --David Olivenbaum

Customer's review

A sadly lackluster production

It is a shame that this seems to be the only widely-distributed video recording of Yeomen of the Guard. In my opinion it was Gilbert and Sullivan's best collaboration, but this production fails to capture its spirit. A crucial element Yeomen's greatness is its balance of humor and pathos, but the humor is completely missing here. Joel Grey, especially, in his drab costume, seems to miss the Point (forgive the pun) entirely. Without seeing his brighter side, I felt no sympathy for him at the end. In fact, all of the actors cover up the humor. I also feel that the choreography is extremely dull. In some places, the chorus walks aimlessly around like zombies. The numerous cuts further detract from this performance, especially in the second act. On the positive side, the singing (with the possible exception of Joel Grey) is generally very good. Nevertheless, if you want to see Yeomen as it was meant to be performed, go see a good live production.

Disappointing, but still worth seeing

I hope someone someday will release a definitive video of Yeomen. This one is not it, although it is better than nothing and seems to be the only version available. Yeomen should be much better known, both to serious opera lovers and to G&S fans. Hoever, it is almost never performed outside Britain, and not very often there.

There are two main problems with this version- it was cut to fit a TV length and Joel Grey was miscast as the jester Jack Point. There are several numbers missing from the middle of both acts. Act two in particular has a very abrupt and truncated feel. Joel Grey is a fine musical comedy performer, but he is out of his league in this more operatic work. This is particularly noticeable in his duets with Elizabeth Gale as Elsie and Alfred Marks as Wilfred- both of them very strong singers. The casting of comedians or Broadway performers in G&S productions might work for The Mikado or Pirates of Penzance, but not for Yeomen.

Another quibble with the whole Opera World series - for the DVD release, why didn't they do optional English subtitles for the musical numbers? It probably would have been easier and cheaper than including a printed libretto with each disc.

Excellent in parts, but far from being a definitive version

In general this is an excellent production, with high quality music and singing in the best D'Oyly Carte tradition. Elizabeth Gale as Elsie Maynard and Elizabeth Bainbridge as Dame Carruthers are both superb. They capture the parts to perfection, both in singing and acting. Geoffrey Chard as Sergeant Meryll, Peter Savidge as the Lieutenant, and Alfred Marks as Wilfred Shadbolt are also excellent. But I've given this version only 4 stars because there are some definite problems with it. Joel Grey is good, but somehow his rendition of Jack Point just doesn't quite work. The part of Phoebe is a good example of how *not* to do it - fake accent, very poor acting, and excessively operatic singing. The introduction by Douglas Fairbanks reaches an apex of inanity, but it's easy to skip it. More importantly, several songs and some parts of the dialog are cut. I don't know how anyone with a heart, or with any feeling for G&S, could have cut 'Is life a boon?' from the Yeomen of the Guard. The words are even engraved on Gilbert's tombstone. Still, on the whole, I'd say it's definitely worth watching.

Yeoman of the Guard

Article summary

Customer's review

A sadly lackluster production

Disappointing, but still worth seeing

Excellent in parts, but far from being a definitive version

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