The Mikado

I have been a lover of the light operas of Gilbert & Sullivan for many years, and this filmed stage production of the best of those light operas is as close as one could come to being there and yet not be there! This production stars the D'Oyly Carte Light Opera Company towards the end of their greatest years but still starring some of the greatest members of that Company's history! John Reed as "Ko-Ko", the hapless Lord High Executioner, is a joy to both see and listen to; Kenneth Sandford as the Lord High Everything Else "Pooh-Bah" is perfect in the role that might have been made for him; Donald Adams is the ultimate Mikado, especially in his signature song "My Object All Sublime"; Philip Potter is a marvelous "Nanki-Poo"; and Valerie Masterson is as charming, demure and beautiful a "Yum-Yum" as one could wish, especially in performing "The Sun Whose Rays", one of the most beautiful songs Gilbert & Sllivan ever wrote. The sets and costumes for this filmed stage production are as historically accurate as a purist could ever wish for, and not a single line of dialogue is changed, altered, or updated (another joy for G&S purists).If you're just starting to learn about Gilbert & Sullivan, this is the very (indeed ONLY!!!) video to start off with. A must for any lover of G&S, of light opera, of true theatre, or for a truly classic video collection! (I would say "Rapture!", but after you've seen a few G&S operettas, you learn to HATE that particular word, especially since it's used in every single G&S operetta!)

A wonderful TRADITIONAL production direct from the D'Oyly Carte Opera Co.I have had the good fortune to work with both Donald Adams and John Reed and loved their performances. This is the real deal taken from the original productions as staged by D'Oyly Carte. One thing puzzled me though. The stanza in Nanki-Po's song A Wandering Minstrel if you call for a song of the sea was cut. I wonder why?Also of interest was the addition of THE original character Go-To who sang Here's a how-de-do. His part is now sung by Pish-Tush. So if you'reconfused as to where this character came from now you know. One other thing of interest is the Mikado screech. Adams is an expert with this it is done by inhaling the sound and very hard to do.ENJOY THIS PRODUCTION. IT IS A GEM.

I suspect this was an excellent performance, based solely on the fact that it was D'Oyly Carte in the 1960s, it looks expertly performed, and it's received excellent reviews. But... the sound on this DVD is like "two cats in a sack", and the video isn't so great either. Maybe the VHS version is loads better, but you have to be a dedicated fan to want to watch this.If you have the lyrics memorized it might be comprehensible, as I was able to mostly follow along after finding a text copy of the lyrics/dialogue on the web. The first time I tried to watch it, I listened for about five minutes, realized I had no idea what the *#&@! they were saying, and started looking for other resources beacuse otherwise I was going to return it. No subtitles, more's the pity.Frankly, it sounds like a typical Frumpies album: literally taped in someone's bathroom. It's musical, but with a ton of echo... maybe this was originally filmed in mono? The audio stream claims to be 2-channel Dolby. Impressively awful, whatever it is.As for the video, it looks like it was filmed in Ektachrome, exposed to UV light for about twenty years, then soaked in water for another twenty. My inexpert guess is that it was actually filmed in Technicolor and not preserved very well, and whoever did the DVD transfer either did it from a poor VHS copy (unlikely) or didn't try to do any restoration/enhancement to the film transfer. A bit grainy, but the worst problem by far is the washed-out colors; everyone looks like they've been living in a cave, wearing the same clothes, for the last 40 years. Odd flashes of color, but it's mostly drab.I recommend this one, but only because the vast majority of G&S video productions are horrid things guaranteed to induce agony and irritation. All of them (and I *do* mean all of them) have major problems. This one is the least wretched because the quality of the performance makes up for not being able to understand or really see it.Frankly, I have given up on the idea of ever seeing a truly enjoyable Gilbert & Sullivan production. I am unlikely to see a decent live performance. Nobody's going to film a new one "straight" because that would require effort, and only a few people these days would want to see it. Most modern versions have been heavily rewritten and the older ones are poorly filmed or badly performed.From now on, I'll stick to the sound recordings.

I'm not a big Gilbert and Sullivan fan, but enjoy good productions regardless of the topic. And where The Mikado has a tinge of what an ultra-sensitive person might call "Racism", it is in fact only using a mythical or fantasy Japanese setting as a backdrop for what is arguably a tale about European class politics.Shot on film this production has a very video like quality due to what I suspect is a showscan like telecine transfer. So where the imagery is 16 millimeter in terms of definition, the motion is quite smooth.The play itself is far more endearing than the 30's color film production some decades prior to this one, and truer to the story than that film.The performances are very British, and add to the authenticity of the film and what it was supposed to be about. All in all it's a fun watch, even though Light Opera isn't really my thing. Musicals tend to skew away from the heterosexual male demographic, but, if done properly, can pull in all audiences. A good love story always sells, and I suppose the Mikado, and specifically this production, is no different.Even though it's essentially a "one shot" play shot on film and transferred to video, it doesn't have that "soap opera" video effect, and looks pretty decent.Give it a shot.

had to have it since I was Nanki Poo in my high school production an years ago

This peformance at the Buxton Festival, known to us for a long time since we first saw it on TV and recorded it ourselves, took a lot of finding and is the best production of the Mikado my wife and I have ever seen.Koko and Katisha are superb and the 'keystone cops' and 'sugical scrub' teams are brilliant. The slapstick is delicious.In our quest for this we got a very different and very old production on a DVD and the comparison is startling. The old looks like, and is, a film screen-play on a stage set, and is rather conservative and pedestrian. This Buxton Festival production is a live stage production by the company which knows its G & S filmed live on-stage and with a live and appreciative audience. It is worth every penny.

I think The Mikado (or alternatively, The Town of Tittipoo)has got to be one of Gilbert and Sullivan's most famous and popular operettas to date. It never ages, it's always full of G&S catchy songs with that very clever illiteration and rhythm-rhyming and quirky Japanese sounding names, that's so very Gilbert and Sullivan. Always been a favourite of mine.

This is a worthwhile version of this old favourite. Excellent soloists and chorus.

My father used to sing Gilbert and Sullivan and I thought this a great version, just wish I had a leaflet with all the words to the songs. I found it hard to remember the words as he (my father) died over 25 years ago. However, the melodies came flooding back.