Cellier: The Mountebanks (operetta) / Suite Symphonique

"The Mountebanks is a late work but a delightful one...Andrews is a seasoned enthusiast for this lightweight, charming score, as he was in Sullivan's incidental music to Macbeth and The Tempest for the same label, and the cast is ideal: Soraya Mafi and Thomas Elwin, delectable as the lovers Teresa and Alfredo, with terrific support." Sunday Times

"The Mountebanks is as much a Savoy operetta as any of Sullivan's…Nevertheless [Cellier] has his own distinctive voice, flowingly melodic, orchestral writing more elegant and modern-sounding , looking forward to Edwardian operetta. What he rather lacks is Sullivan's comic quirkiness…This [recording], painstakingly edited from surviving parts, does the work more than justice, with John Andrews's sprightly conducting." BBC Music Five Stars

"It is a pleasure to have this rarity so skilfully done. John Andrews shows himself once again the ideal Savoy conductor, directing with a light hand that conjures affectionate results from his BBC forces…The singers are extremely good, especially at getting the words across…I fell in love with Soraya Mafi's warm and distinctive Teresa." Opera