PENTATONE releases Goodbye, Mr. Chips, featuring Nathan Granner, Melody Moore, Lester Lynch, Kevin Short, San Francisco Boys Chorus, Barbary Coast Orchestra and Dennis Doubin, in January 2025.
A Feel-Good Opera About The Teacher We All Wish We’d Had
PENTATONE releases Gordon Getty’s fourth opera, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, in a new studio recording featuring Nathan Granner, Melody Moore, Lester Lynch, and Kevin Short, as well as the San Francisco Boys Choir 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 decades 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.
“I think ‘Goodbye, Mr. Chips’ is for all ages and all time. I imagine a young reader would see the narrative through the experience of the boys of Brookfield. Reading it as a man of 80-plus years, I saw the story through Chips’ eyes.”
Gordon Getty, composer
Digital Release Date: 17 JANUARY 2025
Physical Release: JANUARY 2025
Released as a Standard 2CD and in digital formats for streaming and high-resolution downloads.
