Patience is not one of my favourite Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, but is still worth hearing or seeing. This Opera Australia performance is wonderful, and as much as I consider the 1982 D'Oyly Carte production one of the better entries of that hit-and-miss series I consider this one the better performance. The costumes are wonderfully exotic, both with the chorus and the principals, and the sets are just as excellent. The picture quality is clear and doesn't elude the handsome production values at all, while the video direction is unobtrusive. The sound is at times suppressed, but mostly solid. It is even better musically, with energetic orchestral playing, a beautifully balanced and enunciated chorus and conducting that never feels as though it's rushing or dragging(in fact it is all very swift).
The comedy aspects are also done wonderfully. There is one bit that doesn't work, which was the feebly broken up "your conversation must henceforth be perfectly matter-of-fact" between Bunthorne and Grosvenor, which always did amuse me but left me stone-faced here. Other than that, the lyrics and dialogue are fun and witty and maintain the G&S spirit. The stage direction and choreography is always moving and energetic, that doesn't suffer at all from pointless updatings, tasteless gags, additions/omissions that make one wonder why they were added/left out in the first place. I especially loved the Bunthorne/Grosvenor duet, and the dance routine was fun and well-choreographed. Lady Jane knocking Bunthorne over was also a riot.
And you can't go wrong with great performances either. That is exactly the case here. Graeme Ewer is good as the Duke with a nice timbre to his voice, but I preferred his performance in The Gondoliers which gives him more to work from. Christine Douglas sings and characterises wonderfully as Patience, the only problem being her inconsistent and sometimes overdone accent. Heather Begg is an ever characterful Lady Jane, while Anthony Warlow's Grosvenor is one of my favourite Gilbert and Sullivan performances on DVD and Dennis Olsen is wonderfully supple as Bunthorne. Overall, this Patience is wonderful. 9/10 Bethany Cox