The D’Oyly Carte, famed for its association with the Gilbert & Sullivan operas since 1875, is now a memory. However its legacy lives on in many recordings and this 1958 version of The Mikado is arguably the best on record. Hearing it again I was struck afresh by the opera’s brilliance.

In 1958 the company was still in fine fettle with a brilliant ensemble and had begun refreshing its principal line-up, such as replacing attenuated tenor Leonard Osborn with the superior Thomas Round. Ann Drummond-Grant was also a welcome change from the tradition of hooty altos; Jean Hindmarsh is a delightful Yum-Yum. Donald Adams delivers a splendid Mikado and Kenneth Sandford’s Pooh-Bah is first class. Sadly, as the patter man, Peter Pratt was never as good as Martyn Green or John Reed who came before and after him. Reed is heard to advantage as a spirited defendant in Trial by Jury.

At 35 minutes and without dialogue, Trial by Jury is the miracle that got G&S off to such a fine start in 1875. This excellent recording is almost a match for the benchmark under Sir Malcom Sargent on EMI. Compared to...