In the second week of our review competition and the last until our Sydney Winter season in July, it's my pleasure to announce that this week's winner is @LivAnon for her review of The Mikado. I've posted her review below, but to see it in it's original setting just click here.
Congratulations Liv, you've won two tickets to a 2011 Opera Australia production of your choice!
Other entrants this week:
- @Sixtyftqueenie reviews The Mikado and The Pearlfishers:
- @tysonarmstrong reviews The Mikado:
- Runner-up Jack Tan reviews The Mikado:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=139825912698553&topic=345
What I'd tell my friends of The Mikado
Irreverent. Energetic. Silly. Fun. British. And vastly entertaining. That's what I'd tell my friends of Opera Australia's production of The Mikado.
"Yeah, yeah," my friends would say, disdaining my rhapsodies. "What the heck is it all about?"
Well!
Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy. But alas, girl is unavailable - she's bethrothed to her guardian, a tailor turn High Lord Executioner, whom she does not love. Thus, here are two star-crossed lovers, pining for each other, staring into each other eyes, moping about.
"Heh," are my friends' response. "Boooooriiinng!"
Ahh, but not so.The High Lord Executioner, it turns out, is in a bit of a pickle. Since he took office (by default), nary was there an execution in the town. His boss, the Mikado, Emperor of all Japan ...
"Hang on .. JAPAN?!! I thought this was a British play," squawked one friend.
Oh. Did I not say it is set in Japan?
"NO!"
Oh well. It's set in Japan.And so ... may I continue?
"Go on!!"
And so, the Mikado, Emperor of all Japan, is not impressed with the High Lord Executioner and sends a message which pretty much says: Chop someone's head off, and do it now, or else! Koko - that's the High Lord Executioner's name - panicks. Whose head should he cut off?
Someone suggests Koko cuts his own head off. That's impossible! How can one cut one's head off?!
"Ohhhhhh," my friends are a little intrigued, but didn't want to show it too openly. "What comes next?"Mate, you'll just have to go and see it.
"Does it end in tears? Someone always dies in operas," someone asks.
Darling, in this one, it ends happily ever after.
Click 'Read More' below to see the rest of Liv's review and to see our runner up...
And now for our runner up, Jack Tan's review of The Mikado: View the original here
Okay, silliness over.
Courtesy of an awesome deal on Groupon, I bought a $55 voucher for Opera Australia's production of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado, which I redeemed last night for an A-Reserve ticket worth $115, about 15 rows back.
Can we say Boooyah?!! It's been FOREVER since I managed such a great deal. So thank you Opera Australia for making that available on Groupon and tweeting it. It was AWESOME. The deal, I mean.
So, what did I think of the show?
I think it was a vastly entertaining show. Fast paced, which is a blessing because the dialogue in all Gilbert & Sullivan's operettas can get a bit tedious. All those multi-syllabic words that must be delivered with a clear crisp, sharp British accent - it can slow the show right down, becoming stilted and dry. Not the case in this production - the dialogue took on a contemporary conversational rhythm that was utterly engaging. So scenes that had, in the past, annoyed me mightily, now enchanted me.
Exhibit A: Act 2, when Yum Yum extols her beauty:
It's hard to pull off sincerely. Whenever I hear this speech, I have an almost uncontrollable urge to throw a piece of rotting fruit at Yum Yum. But not in this production. Yum Yum (Taryn Fiebig) said it with so much good humour, I felt indulgent towards her. Aww, it's her wedding day, she's allowed some vanity.
Yes, I am indeed beautiful! Sometimes I sit and wonder, in my artless Japanese way, why is it that I am so much more attractive than anybody else in the world world. Can this be vanity? No; Nature is lovely and rejoices in her loveliness. I am a child of Nature, and take after my mother.
At times, though, the chop chop pace was a little disconcerting. I would have liked some of the dialogue and the music to have been slow enough I could savour it, like a glass of cold cold Diet Coke on a hot summer's day.
Anyway.
It was clear that the cast was having a wonderful time on stage, and I couldn't help but to be swept up in their good cheer. This is a major, major plus.
I especially enjoyed the male leads - KoKo (Mitchell Butel), Nanki-poo (Kanen Breen) and the Mikado (Richard Alexander). The formal, theatrical language that is characteristic of 19th century British 'musical plays' became this lively, informal, and in places, very chatty exchange that feels very contemporary. Much of it is helped along with some fantastic physical comedy, the likes of which is rarely seen in operas, I'd wager - the warbles of Koko as he expresses his thoughts and frustrations, Nanki manipulating his body and his face into exaggerated expressions and poses (he must take Pilates), the Mikado's loose, un-emperor-like posture ...
Loved it, just loved it!
In comparison, the female leads didn't impress me as much. Very unusual for me, because I almost always rhapsodize about them. But don't get me wrong, the female leads are very accomplished and I enjoyed them too, but they don't have the same rich material to work with as the male leads, with the exception of Katisha. I thought this production's Katisha (Jacqueline Dark) was rather youthful and energetic - quite an entertaining, rather than menacing interpretation. I would have preferred a darker timbre in the voice for the character, but it's a personal preference.
The highlight ofThe Mikado for me, is undoubtely As someday it may happen - a classic Gilbert & Sullivan patter song. This song had been completely rewritten (as it always is) so it's very, very contemporary. Much kudos to the lyricist because it was brilliant. There were references to political figures, the environment, social networking, a dig at Love never dies, there was even an iPad for a prop at the encore. It really should be immortalised in a Youtube video - many, many would enjoy it.
For a production that is what, 30 years old or so? it's remarkably fresh still. When I saw it last, about 4 years ago, with the incomparable Anthony Warlow as KoKo (a KoKo with the swagger of Captain Jack Sparrow), it felt slightly dated. But somehow, this production didn't, at all, feel that way. There's a vitality and vigour emanating from the cast that is infectious. I think much of it is due to Mitchell Butel's interpretation of Koko. He brought a freshness that lighten the show, a much needed contemporary (a word that kept ringing in my mind all through the show) element that infected everything else.
I think if Gilbert and Sullivan were alive to see it now, they would approve. This production had all the sensibility of the Victorian era, and is a perfect homage to that era's fascination for all things Japanese.
Orchestra Victoria was brilliant. The chorus was wonderful. The silent prop dancer people were funny and brilliant. Everybody was brilliant and wonderful!
I hummed Tit-Willow all the way home, remembering Mitchell's soothing light baritone. Like hot chocolate, with marshallows on a winter evening.
Loved it, just loved it.
And now for our runner up, Jack Tan's review of The Mikado: View the original here
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