Getty: Goodbye, Mr. Chips (2-SACD)

Composer: Gordon Getty
Artists: Lester Lynch, Nathan Granner, Melody Moore, Michael Jankosky, Bruce Rameker, Kevin Short, Kevin Korth, Samuel Faustine, Barbary Coast Orchestra, San Francisco Boys Chorus
Conductor: Dennis Doubin
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Pentatone
Release Date: January 17, 2025

Based on the popular 1934 novella and other stories by James Hilton, Goodbye, Mr. Chips tells the heart-warming story of a teacher at Brookfield, an all-boys English boarding school to which Chips dedicates most of his adult life. The opera chronicles Chips’s story of love, loss and learning over his decades-long tenure at Brookfield. Along the way, we’re reminded of the difference one good teacher can make as we watch Chips and his children enrich each other’s lives.

Writing both the music and libretto of his opera, Getty has shaped Hilton’s cherished story into a memory play, in which the protagonist looks back on important episodes of his life. The score encapsulates the intimacy of the plot and the nuances of its characters. Just like Chips, Getty treats each personality with a profound understanding of – and love for – the human spirit, with all its strengths and flaws. 

After decades of fascination with the character and story of Mr. Chips, the completion of this opera is the realization of a long-held dream. Goodbye, Mr. Chips is Getty’s fourth opera recording on Pentatone, after Plump Jack (2012), Usher House (2013) and The Canterville Ghost (2015). Conductor Dennis Doubin and the San Francisco Boys Chorus make their label debut.

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