Almost 30 years on from its premiere, Jonathan Miller’s dazzlingly inventive staging returns to the London Coliseum for what has become for many the definitive production of this much-loved Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera.
The Mikado is still the most frequently performed Savoy Opera, which was a type of comic opera that was born in Victorian England in the late 19th century. The opera opened on 14t March 1885 in London and had then record-breaking 672 perforamnces, making it the second longest run for any work of musical theatre! In the same year it opened in London, 150 theatre and opera companies are estimated to have produced it by the end of the year. Thanks to its vivid characters and exotic nature, tt remains especially popular with amateur and school productions.
Set in an ever-so English 1930s seaside hotel, Miller’s Marx Brothers-inspired song-and-dance Mikado is a popular hit with audiences of all ages. The combination of Gilbert’s virtuosic wit, Sullivan’s memorable melodies and Miller’s hilarious antics is irresistible.
Distinguished bass Robert Lloyd sings the genial Mikado for the first time, 46 years after making his ENO debut, while Richard Suart, the acknowledged master of the Lord High Executioner’s pathological ‘little list’, returns as Ko-Ko. ENO Harewood Artists Mary Bevan and Anthony Gregory play the lovers Yum-Yum and Nanki-Poo, while ENO Mackerras Conducting Fellow Fergus Macleod makes his company debut.
Please note: Sunday 29 November will be filmed as part of ENO Screen. Thursday 3rd December will be broadcast live as part of ENO Screen.
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