A Feel-Good Opera About the Teacher We All Wish We’d Had

Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a Double Album in Stereo and 5.1 Channel Surround Sound DSD that is Gordon Getty’s fourth opera. This is a new studio recording featuring Nathan Granner, Melody Moore, Lester Lynch, and Kevin Short, as well as the San Francisco Boys Chorus and Barbary Coast Orchestra, under the baton of Dennis Doubin.

Based on the popular 1934 novella Goodbye, Mr. Chips and other stories by James Hilton, the opera 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’ 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, “thousands of them, and all boys,” 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. For Getty, after decade of fascination with the character and story of Mr. Chips, the completion of this opera is the realization of a long-held dream.

Gordon Getty is a PENTATONE artist with a vast discography. Goodbye, Mr. Chips is his fourth opera recording on the label, after Plump Jack (2012), Usher House (2013) and The Canterville Ghost (2015). Melody Moore, Nathan Granner, Lester Lynch and Kevin Short have been featured on many PENTATONE recordings. Conductor Dennis Doubin and the San Francisco Boys Chorus make their label debut.

Barbary Coast Orchestra
San Francisco Boys Chorus
Dennis Doubin, Conductor

Cast (in order of appearance)
Merrivale – Lester Lynch, baritone
Chips – Nathan Granner, tenor
Kathie – Melody Moore, soprano
Faulkner – Michael Jankosky, tenor
West – Bruce Rameker, baritone
Ralston – Kevin Short, bass-baritone
Rivers – Kevin Short, bass-baritone
Grayson – Kevin Korth, baritone
Maynard – Samuel Faustine, tenor
Linford – Melody Moore, soprano