The Gala Ensemble

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The Gala Ensemble
OriginUnited Kingdom
GenresLight opera
Years active2008
LabelsSony BMG
MembersSally Johnson, Elinor Moran, Hannah Pedley, Jonathan Prentice, Richard Knight

The Gala Ensemble were a British group of five opera singers formed by SonyBMG in 2008 that recorded an album of selections from the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, such as The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado.

The ensemble consisted of Sally Johnson (soprano), Elinor Moran (soprano), Hannah Pedley (mezzo-soprano), Jonathan Prentice (baritone) and Richard Knight (tenor). The musical director was Marcus Marriott. The group were assembled by Sony Records, which released their recording, The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan, in 2008.[1]

Members of the group[edit]

Sally Johnson was born in Liverpool and grew up in Penrith.[2]

Elinor Moran (born 1980) from Stoke-on-Trent, England, was a student at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester before moving to London to study voice at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She was also a member of the touring troupe Mid Wales Opera and a singing coach.[3][4]

Hannah Pedley was born in Leeds and taught singing at the Royal Ballet School.[5]

Jonathan Prentice from Bournemouth performed as a principal with the Candlelight Opera Company in productions such as Don Giovanni[6] and Rigoletto. Prentice appeared on the recording A Christmas Choral Spectacular.[7]

Richard Knight from Lichfield trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

Marcus Marriott was the musical director.

The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan[edit]

Sony BMG released the Gala Ensemble's recording, The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan, on 24 November 2008.[8] Several previous compilation recordings by the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and others have been called The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan, including a Sony Classical Records release in 2000.[9]

The disc has 15 tracks and a running time of 36 minutes. To promote the album the Gala Ensemble performed on The Alan Titchmarsh Show and BBC Breakfast on 12 November 2008.[10]

Critical reception[edit]

Few newspapers reviewed the album. The review in Leicester Mercury concluded, "I don't think this album will attract many G&S converts, and seasoned buffs will probably just dust off their original recordings."[11] The review at the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography said: "This is not an updating of these pieces, it is a bastardisation. This recording deserves outright condemnation ... support for this disc is support for the end of live G and S as we know it. It sets a precedent that electronic falsifications of this music are acceptable.[12]

The album appeared at the launch of The Specialist Classical Chart in the UK for the week commencing 25 January 2009.[13] It became the first No. 1 ranked album on the chart.[14]

Track listing[edit]

  • Modern Major General (The Pirates of Penzance)
  • Three Little Maids from School Are We (The Mikado)
  • Poor Wand'ring One (The Pirates of Penzance)
  • A Policeman's Lot Is Not a Happy One (The Pirates of Penzance)
  • When I Was a Lad (H.M.S. Pinafore)
  • The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze (The Mikado)
  • We Sail the Ocean Blue (H.M.S. Pinafore)
  • When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold (The Pirates of Penzance)
  • Away, Away (The Pirates of Penzance)
  • Gentleman of Japan (The Mikado)
  • Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast (The Pirates of Penzance)
  • My Eyes Are Fully Open (Ruddigore)
  • Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes (The Gondoliers)
  • Try We Life Long (The Gondoliers)
  • Alone and Yet Alive (The Mikado)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Bid to bring Gilbert and Sullivan back to masses", Yorkshire Post, 6 October 2008 [dead link]
  2. ^ "Former Penrith schoolgirl hitting the right notes", 16 November 2008
  3. ^ "Elinor sings praises of opera after clinching record deal with Sony", Cheadle Post and Times, 7 November 2008
  4. ^ "From classroom to recording studio", The Irish Post, 5 November 2008
  5. ^ Roberts, John. "Yorkshire singer hoping to top charts at Christmas with Gilbert and Sullivan", Yorkshire Post, 29 October 2008
  6. ^ "A night to remember", The Salisbury Journal, 13 December 2007.
  7. ^ "A Christmas Choral Spectacular", Naxos, 2005
  8. ^ "Singing teachers win record deal", The Scotsman, Press Association Ltd. 30 October 2008
  9. ^ List of some recordings entitled The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan released in 1966, 1975 (CBS), 1995 and 2000 and a list of several additional recordings of the same name. A 1998 Decca release was called The Very Best of Gilbert and Sullivan
  10. ^ Mullen, Adrian. "Gilbert and Sullivan tunes make UK chart history", The Westmorland Gazette, 12 December 2008
  11. ^ Smart, Lynda. "You've gotta have faith..." Leicester Mercury, 5 December 2008
  12. ^ Eaton, David. "The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan (2008)", A Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, Marc Shepherd (ed.), Oakapple Press, 28 June 2009
  13. ^ "Gramophone to publish new classical chart", Gramophone News, 6 February 2009
  14. ^ "Specialist Classical Chart", Gramophone online, accessed 25 November 2009
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