Mikado [Import]

A total classic, this is Gilbert and Sullivan performed at its very best! Opera Australia has captured the very essence of Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera in this version of `The Mikado'. The opera opens at a cracking pace under the baton of conductor Brian Castles-Onion, and the joy and fun of Sullivan's music has you smiling before anyone has so much as set a foot on the stage. Then the entertainment really begins with Gilbert's libretto.

In the best tradition of this opera there are the mandatory contemporary asides and props built-in, including an iPad used by Ko-Ko for his `list' - which contains many very relevant people who `will not be missed!'. The stage sets are beautiful, simple and fanciful, and are used to great effect by the artists on stage; the costumes are gorgeous and again, fun. The cast clearly enjoy performing this opera, and praise must surely go to Orchestra Victoria which does an amazing job performing this fast paced and elaborate score.

Yes, as mentioned in other reviews, initially there are a few problems with the camera work and movement blur but this seems to disappear after the first 10 minutes and after that all seems to be okay. On my TV speakers the stereo audio was perfectly fine, and much better than many other movies I have on DVD.

This, in my opinion, is a rare treat, a hilarious and unstuffy production - which is what Gilbert and Sullivan surely had in mind when they set the opera in Japan and satirised the British institutions of the time. Should my DVD ever stop working I would buy another copy. Immediately!

Oh I loved it... A wholesome evening of pure entertainment...in spite of some lyrics being added, now that the copyright is dead.. not too commendable, but acceptable.

I have never seen such flippancy on stage for a G&S. The Aussies have gone home with whatever satire it could muster and add on to, and done it in style. To begin with, they have erased the Brit Stiff Upper Lip approach to the work that is almost a norm in the British productions that I have watched on the DVD over the years.... That made certain parts of even Mikado a little tiresome. None of that here....

The male voices are clearly no match for the British productions in any way. Perhaps we may tend to feel that after being exposed to the D'Oyly stuff for decades now...
Ko-ko (Anthony Warlow) steals the show, although I cant go to the extent of calling his voice and rendering one of the 'greats' by a mile. Nanki-Poo (Kanen Breen) is not too far behind, and the clarity of the blu ray captures his braces clearly enough. He has a crisper voice than Warlow, and acts a bit like his venerable look-alike, Dick Van Dyke (if you haven't noticed)and is a bit of an over-actor... Pooh-Bah (Warwick Fyfe) fits in beautifully too in his role, and is the best of the three voice-wise. Parts of Pish-Tush and Mikado are performed quite creditably, although not as flamboyant as the others on stage, but rather good voices, I must add...for the roles.

The ladies - Katisha (Adele Johnston)is surely the pick of the lot. She seems to have walked straight out of an Alice in Wonderland or a Sleeping Beauty ballet - Garish as garish can be, but very effective comedic-ally. Taryn Fiebig as Yum-Yum is pretty indeed, but strangely, her singing and diction leave much to be desired. The other two sisters, Jacqueline Dark is excellent in voice and acting as Pitti-Sing and Annabelle Chaffey has done justice to her role of Peep-Bo

The chorus line is a little thin, and in some places, cohesion and precision do lack. But that is more like nit-picking.

Lastly, the orchestra and the conductor Brian Castles-Onion have rendered a very crisp and sprightly performance, although again, slightly wayward at times.

Full marks to the choreography that is BRILLIANT, sets, stage craft, costumes (effectively garish and as caricaturized as they can get) - video is very good and so is the editing and sound. They have spared NO expenses, which is really delightful for us blu ray watchers.
One more thing, the booklet that came with the disc is par excellence for once....

Yes, I would recommend this blu ray to just about any G&S fan - delightfully different is what I should surmise....

I have no quibbles with the seller price or service. They were great. It was the disc I was very disappointed in. The tempi were leaden but the singing adequate. Apparently some genius decided that he or she was a better lyricist than Gilbert and a better composer than Sullivan. The lyrics were "improved" in a couple of songs and were so Australia specific that I had no interest in them. The overture was cut but a clumsy medly of greatest hits from the opera thrown together. I also think the orchestra was scaled back to chamber size.

Nanki-Poo was dreadful. His voice in places was rough and strainted but that paled beside his effeminate, silly and embarassing characterization. He was amateurish, always mugging for the camera, flopping his hands and cutting up like he was caging drinks before a drag show. Ko-Ko and Pooh-Bah weren't much better.

I have Pirates and Pinafore and they were great. This production just sinks under it's too cute and silly leaden singing.