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On Stage
Portland Opera Tops Off
Season with The Mikado
ruler of Japan, decrees that a public
execution m ust take place
immediately, Ko-Ko believes he’s
Before Monty Python, before the found the perfect way to get rid of
Marx Brothers, there was Gilbert Nanki-Poo. Imagine his shock when
and Sullivan. With witty lyrics, he learns that Nanki-Poo is really
whimsical plots and captivating the Mikado’s son in disguise!
music, these comic masterminds Although Gilbert and Sullivan’s
have kept audiences in stitches for fanciful tale was originally set in
more than 100 years. A topsy-turvy Japan-complete with kimonos and
tale of star-crossed sweethearts and made-up Japanese-sounding names
petty tyrants, The Mikado is a - the operetta is a thinly disguised
d elicio u sly satiric look at lampoon of English culture. When
bureaucracy, hypocrisy, and the acclaimed British director Jonathan
Miller tackled The Mikado for the
trials and tribulations of true love.
Giddy schoolgirl Yum-Yum is English National Opera in 1986, he
pledged to marry her guardian, a opted to do away with the Japanese
seedy playboy named Ko-Ko, who setting entirely.
has just been appointed to the For its first venture into the world of
exalted rank o f Lord High Gilbert and Sullivan, Portland
E xecutioner. A “w andering Opera will present Miller’s highly
minstrel” who calls himself Nanki- praised version o f The Mikado.
Poo arrives in town in search of Inspired by movie musicals of the
Yum-Yum, with whom he has fallen 1930s as well as classic Marx
madly in love. When the Mikado, Brothers’ films such as Duck Soup,
k > r
M a y 10, 2000
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the action is set in a swank hotel in
a British seaside resort town. “It’s a
stunning design concept that
captures perfectly the lighthearted
spirit of the work,” said Portland
Opera’s General Director Robert
Bailey. “We are also very fortunate
to have Nicola Bowie, who worked
closely with Miller from the very
beginning of the show, as our stage
director and choreographer.
Although W.S. Gilbert and Arthur
Sullivan had artistic careers separate
from their partnership, their most
memorable achievements proved to
be the works they created together.
Theircollaborationshavedelighted
the world since they were first
produced on the
London stage in the late
19lh century. The
Mikado was created at
the height o f th eir
popularity
and
continues to be one of
their best-loved works.
Gilbert’s lively plot is
conveyed through lyrics
that sparkle with witty
rhym e
schem es,
w ickedly
clever
alliteratio n
and
nonsensical vocabulary
words. Sullivan’sscore
matches Gilbert’s lyrics
perfectly yet has
captivating and lyrical
moments as well. Said
M iller during early
rehearsals o f the
production, “At the end
o f the evening, the
audience should feel as
if they’ve overeaten an
enormous amount of
creamery meringue.”
Page 5
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