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The Mikado
Date of Show:
Tuesday, 17th May 2011 (All day)
Venue:
State Theatre Opera Australia travels back to the Town of Titipu for a night of merry mayhem, made all the merrier by the presence of guest artist Mitchell Butel.
Americans like to proclaim that they invented musical theatre but if Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1895 comic masterpiece is not an integrated book musical then I do not know what is. A pointed send up of British bureaucracy transplanted to an en vogue Japanese setting, The Mikado is classic boy meets girl musical comedy that ably retains its power to charm and delight.A revival of Christopher Renshaw’s 1980s staging sees the colourful characters inhabiting a mantelpiece of oversized Japanese knick knacks. Tim Goodchild’s design cleverly combines the best of British with the wonder of the Orient. Gentlemen of Japan don kimonos and bowler hats, reading The Times on their fans. The Mikado is made up kabuki style as a union jack. The train of little ladies enter on a train of their boarding school trunks.
The sets and costumes may be familiar but revival Director Stuart Maunder imbues the company with lashings of effervescent energy, aided by Brian Castles-Onion spritely conducting of the sublime score. Tempi are brisk, and Cariole Todd’s choreography adds further wit and pleasure to proceedings. The Opera Australia Chorus are in splendid form, managing all that is thrown at them with gusto and grace.
Central to the success of the evening is the masterstroke casting of Mitchell Butel as newly appointed Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko. To the uninitiated, think of Butel as the lovechild of Martin Short and Robin Williams, although, in actual fact, his style is all his own. At the height of his comic powers here with not only the time-tested humour of W. S. Gilbert but with a host of inspired ‘ad libs’ and affectations, Butel has the audience in his pocket throughout. Koko’s Little List, with all new lyrics by Butel himself, is an absolute riot, skewering pollies and bogans alike, not to mention a jibe at a certain upcoming big budget sequel about a man in a mask. The triumph of Butel’s performance, above all the hi jinx and non sequitirs, is his sincere and affecting rendition of “Tit Willow”.Butel is well matched by a principal cast of Opera Australia regulars. Jacqueline Dark adds another string to her ever expanding repertoire as the formidable Katisha. Following notable predecessors, including Judi Connelli and the great Heather Begg, Dark makes the role her own with her stately presence, strong mezzo voice and perfect diction.
Kanen Breen is a daffy delight as the charmingly fey Nanki-Poo, using his lanky frame to comic effect. Breen’s rich, legato tenor voice is of higher quality than might normally be cast in the role. Taryn Fiebig sings “The sun whose rays are all ablaze” as an exquisite art song. Warwick Fyfe is a pompous but endearing Pooh-Bah. Richard Alexander’s powerful bass voice establishes his command as The Mikado.
Opera Australia has a long tradition of including accessible English language works in their season. A perfect sampler for music theatre fans, it should be noted that tickets for The Mikado are significantly less expensive than for other operas. Diehard fans will thrill to the latest comic layers and newcomers will surely fall under the spell of the Town of Titipu.
The Mikado plays at the State Theatre until 28 May.
Photos: Branco Gaica (#1), Jeff Busby (#2 & #3)
State:
VIC