''The Mikado'' is a 1967 British

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

adaptation of

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's 1885 comic opera of the same name. The film was directed by

Stuart Burge Stuart Burge (15 January 1918 – 24 January 2002) was an English stage and film director, actor and producer. The son of H. O. Burge, by his marriage to K. M. Haig, Burge was educated at Eagle House School, Sandhurst, and Felsted School, Essex ...

and was a slightly edited adaptation of the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

's production of ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'' and used all D'Oyly Carte singers.

Plot

In Japan, Nanki-Poo, a young and apparently poor "wand'ring minstrel", arrives at the seaside town of Titipu in search of a schoolgirl named Yum-Yum, to profess his love for her after hearing that her ward, a cheap tailor named Ko-Ko, was to be executed for an act of flirting. The aristocratic mayor of Titipu, Pooh-Bah, and his deputy, Pish-Tush, tell Nanki-Poo that the charges against Ko-Ko were dropped at the last moment, as he was made "Lord High Executioner" to protect others in town accused of the same crime. Yum-Yum and her sisters, Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo, return home from school. Nanki-Poo wants to meet Yum-Yum in person, but Ko-Ko sends him away. Pooh-Bah does not find Yum-Yum and her classmates respectful enough. Later, Nanki-Poo, reveals to Yum-Yum that he is the son of the Mikado, the Emperor of Japan, and also that the Mikado has ordered Nanki-Poo to marry an elderly court lady named Katisha, or "perish ignominiously on the scaffold", and so he fled his home disguised as a minstrel. Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum lament that

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

is the penalty for flirting. Ko-Ko receives a letter from the Mikado containing a decree that unless an execution is carried out in Titipu within a month, the town will be reduced to the rank of a village, which would bring "irretrievable ruin". After a discussion with Pooh-Bah and Pish-Tush, Ko-Ko finds Nanki-Poo planning to commit suicide by hanging himself due to losing Yum-Yum. Ko-Ko persuades him, instead, to be executed for the good of the town and agrees that during the ensuing month, Nanki-Poo may marry Yum-Yum. Before the wedding, a furious Katisha storms into Titipu with her goons to take Nanki-Poo back to the Mikado's palace for judgement. Pitti-Sing, Yum-Yum and the townspeople thwart Katisha who leaves vowing to return with the Mikado. As Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum prepare for their wedding, Ko-Ko informs them of a twist in the law that states that when a married man is beheaded, his widow must be buried alive. Ko-Ko urges them to leave Titipu immediately before the Mikado arrives, while he makes a false

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...

in evidence of their fictitious execution; Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum prepare to leave, to be secretly married by Pooh-Bah. The Mikado arrives with Katisha, in search for Nanki-Poo. The Mikado reads in the affidavit that Nanki-Poo has been executed for flirting. Katisha insists that Ko-Ko, along with Pitti-Sing and Pooh-Bah, should be executed for killing the Mikado's heir apparent, but the Mikado suggests they should wait until after lunch before executing the three. Nanki-Poo points out that if Ko-Ko can persuade Katisha to marry Ko-Ko, she will no longer have any claim on Nanki Poo. In that case, Nanki Poo can reveal to his father that he is still alive, and all will end well. Ko-Ko tells Katisha a story of a bird who died of heartbreak, and Katisha is so moved that she accepts his hand in marriage. Katisha pleads for the Mikado to spare the lives of her new husband, Ko-Ko, and his two friends. Nanki-Poo then reveals himself and his new wife to his father, much to Katisha's disgrace. Ko-Ko argues that since the Mikado had ordered that an execution take place in Titipu, it was "as good as done ... and why not say so?" The Mikado finds great humour in this and pardons everyone, amid much rejoicing.

Cast

* John Reed as Ko-Ko *

Kenneth Sandford Kenneth Sandford (28 June 1924 – 19 September 2004) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. After service the Royal Air Force during World War II, San ...

as Pooh-Bah *

Donald Adams Charles Donald Adams (20 December 1928 – 8 April 1996) was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his own company, Gilbert and Sull ...

as the Mikado *

Valerie Masterson Margaret Valerie Masterson (born 3 June 1937), is a retired English opera singer, a lecturer and Vice-President of British Youth Opera. After study in Italy, she began to sing opera in Europe. Returning to England, Masterson performed as princ ...

as Yum-Yum *

Philip Potter Philip White Potter (February 6, 1936 – November 7, 2016) was an English singer and actor, best known for his performances in the principal tenor roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1961 to 1971. Potter recorded s ...

as Nanki-Poo * Christene Palmer as Katisha * Peggy Ann Jones as Pitti-Sing * Thomas Lawlor as Pish-Tush *

Pauline Wales Pauline Wales (12 December 1937 – 23 January 2020) was an English singer and actress best known for her performances in the mezzo-soprano roles of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. After beginning her career ...

as Peep-Bo * George Cook as Go-To :Source:

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

."''The Mikado'' (1966)"
British Film Institute, accessed 28 May 2018

Production

The 1966 production of ''The Mikado'' by the

was adapted by the director

, who had previously adapted films based on such theatre productions as ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...

'' (1963) and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

's National Theatre version of ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'' (1965). The direction of the film closely reflects the D'Oyly Carte staging of the time by

Anthony Besch Anthony John Elwyn Besch (5 February 1924 – 23 December 2002) was an English opera and theatre director. As a young man he worked at Glyndebourne assisting the directors Carl Ebert and Günther Rennert. His first work as an opera director was fo ...

, although there are some cuts.Shepherd, Marc
"The 1966 D'Oyly Carte Mikado Film"
the Gilbert and Sullivan Discography, 15 April 2009, accessed 16 July 2014 ''The Mikado'' was filmed at the

Golders Green Hippodrome The Golders Green Hippodrome was built in 1913 by Bertie Crewe as a 3,000-seat music hall, to serve North London and the new London Underground Northern line expansion into Golders Green in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England. Taken ...

on enlarged stage sets in the same way that Burge had filmed ''Othello''. It starred John Reed, Kenneth Sandford, Valerie Masterson, Philip Potter, Donald Adams, Christene Palmer and Peggy Ann Jones in their usual roles with D'Oyly Carte, and used the D'Oyly Carte chorus. The

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

was conducted by D'Oyly Carte's longstanding conductor,

Isidore Godfrey Isidore Godfrey OBE (27 September 1900 – 12 September 1977), born Israel Gotfryd, was musical director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company for 39 years, from 1929 to 1968. He conducted most of the company's performances during that period, excep ...

. Set design and decoration were by

Disley Jones Clifford Disley Jones (15 January 19264 June 2005) was an English stage and film designer. Life Jones was born in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, and left his private school after the failure of his father's timber business. He began work as a ...

and

Peter Howitt Peter Howitt (; born 5 May 1957) is a British actor and film director. Biography Early life Howitt was born on 5 May 1957, the son of Frank Howitt, a renowned Fleet Street journalist who, in 1963, broke the infamous Profumo affair, Profumo ...

. With one exception the costumes were by

Charles Ricketts Charles de Sousy Ricketts (2 October 1866 – 7 October 1931) was a British artist, illustrator, author and printer, known for his work as a book designer and typographer and for his costume and scenery designs for plays and operas. Ricketts ...

, first seen in D'Oyly Carte stage productions in 1926 and retained by subsequent D'Oyly Carte designers. The first of Nanki-Poo's two costumes was by Jones.

Release

''The Mikado'' was released in the United States on 15 March 1967. The British premiere was at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

in London, on 17 July 1967. The film has been released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

in Britain and the US.

Reception

In ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

Alan Dent Alan Holmes Dent (7 January 1905 – 19 December 1978) was a Scottish journalist, editor and writer. Early life Alan Dent was born in Maybole, Ayrshire, Scotland, of English parents. He lost his mother when he was two years old. He was educ ...

commented that the film confirmed his growing view that opera – particularly comic opera – could not be satisfactorily filmed: "I miss the theatre, the laughter … the interruptions of applause, even the encores". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' criticised the filming technique and the orchestra and noted, "Knowing how fine this cast can be in its proper medium, one regrets the impression this ''Mikado'' will make on those not fortunate enough to have watched the company in the flesh. The cameras have captured everything about the company's acting except its magic." A reviewer of the video commented in 2009, "the performance is extremely flat. One senses that the cast, lacking a live audience to interact with, are merely going through the motions." In 2017 the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Plot

Cast

Production

Release

Reception

See also

Notes

Sources

External links