The 1961 D'Oyly Carte Patience

Cast
Colonel CalverleyDonald Adams
Major MurgatroydJohn Cartier
Duke of DunstablePhilip Potter
Reginald BunthorneJohn Reed
Archibald GrosvenorKenneth Sandford
Lady AngelaYvonne Newman
Lady SaphirBeti Lloyd-Jones
Lady EllaJennifer Toye
Lady JaneGillian Knight
PatienceMary Sansom

D'Oyly Carte Opera Chorus
New Symphony Orchestra of London
Conductor: Isidore Godfrey

Recorded in September 1961

London A-4246
London A-4246

This recording was the last of five straight operas issued with complete dialogue in 1960–61. No new operas would receive dialogue recordings after that, except for Pirates (1968).

A note on the Decca website says this recording was made at the Watford Town Hall, but Decca is sometimes slack about such details, and no other G&S recording is known to have been made there. This could well be an error for "Walthamstow Town Hall," where a number of recordings were made.

Overall, this is probably the best recording of the opera, though other sets include bonus tracks that some buyers may find compelling. See also the discussion of the 1965 broadcast, which included several of the same singers.

Decca 413 647-2
Decca 413 647-2
Issue History
DateLabelFormatNumberComments
1961 Decca Mono LP LK 4414/5
LKA 4414/5
The catalog numbers containing 'A' are Australian pressings.
Stereo LP SKL 4146/7
SKLA 4146/7
London Mono LP A 4246  
Stereo LP OSA 1217
196-? London 4-track reel-to-reel LOH-90045
197-? Decca Cassette K76K 22
1984 Decca Stereo LP 414 429-1 Digitally remastered
Cassette 414 429-4
1986 Decca CD 414 429-2
1990 London CD 425 193-2
2003 Decca CD 413 647-2
2003 Decca CD 473 631-2 24-CD set including the complete Decca G&S series on CD (13 G&S operas, plus Cox and Box and The Zoo).