Martyn Green - Recordings and Books

Recordings and Books

In addition to his D'Oyly Carte recordings, Green made four additional Gilbert and Sullivan recordings: Martyn Green's Gilbert & Sullivan (Columbia, 1953), The Mikado (Allegro-Royale, 1954), Martyn Green Sings the Gilbert & Sullivan Song Book (MGM, 1962), and The Pirates of Penzance (RCA-Victor, 1966). He appeared on the 1956 soundtrack recording of The Stingiest Man in Town and the 1969 cast album of Canterbury Tales. He did work for radio and television in America including an adaptation of the Major-General's Song for Campbell's Soup. In 1956, Green recorded selections from A Treasury of Ribaldry (edited by Louis Untermeyer, published by Hanover House). He also recorded songs and stories for children, for example, with Julie Andrews (and music by Moondog) in 1957, "Songs of Sense & Nonsense - Tell It Again, and a recording called Arabian Nights' Entertainment.

Green wrote two books: an autobiography, Here's a How-de-do in 1952, and an annotated songbook, Martyn Green's Treasury of Gilbert & Sullivan (New York, Simon & Schuster) in 1961. There are two editions of Here's a How-de-do. The American edition (New York, W. W. Norton & Co., 275 pp.) is somewhat more candid and expansive in dealing with D'Oyly Carte personalities and situations than its British counterpart (London, Max Reinhardt, 210 pp.). He also wrote an introduction to Leslie Ayre's 1972 "The Gilbert & Sullivan Companion", in which he commented wryly that the Gilbert and Sullivan operas "have been translated into many languages, including American and Australian...."

Green's papers are housed at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center in the Mugar Memorial Library at Boston University.