I'm listening this morning to my 2011 recording of Victor Herbert's Eileen. I was going to send the Amazon reviews to the man funding this new recording project, and I found, after eight years of nothing new, a 2021 rave review for the recording:
This is absolutely one of the best light opera recordings ever made. In Eileen, Victor Herbert wrote a score that is consistently memorable and free of turn-of-the-century Broadway cliche. Its Irishness is probably largely responsible for this, as Herbert, being Irish, drew it from his soul. Love songs, yearning for homeland, and snappy patriotic choruses fill the work, interspersed on this recording with just the right amount of dramatic dialogue. Herbert's harmonies are moving and irresistible, but never obtrusive. He was one of the finest orchestrators in musical theater, as was Harold Sanford, who assisted him in that time-consuming effort.
David Brophy and his forces give us the performance of a lifetime. The tempos are well chosen and the orchestra and chorus respond with dedication and alacrity. All of the cast singers have voices ideal for their roles, making the love songs even more meltingly beautiful. The Irish speech in the dialogue is a delight to hear, and the inclusion of songs that were cut from the show is a most welcome bonus.
To top it all, New World Records gives us sound with excellent presence, just right for this kind of music. And the booklet contains detailed notes and the text of everything sung and spoken in the recording.
