The Mikado

The Mikado is a 1885 comic opera by W.S. Gilbert (1836–1911)[1] and Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900)[2]

The full title is The Mikado, or The Town of Titipu but it it is generally known simply as The Mikado.

The original text

It has been said that the falling of a Japanese sword from a wall in Gilbert's house gave him the idea of writing this opera. The Mikado, however, was first produced on March 14, 1885, and it was more probably due to a Japanese Exhibition which was held in London in 1884. To give the "artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing" production, Gilbert obtained the services of a Japanese male dancer and a tea girl from Knightsbridge colony to teach the company Japanese deportment, the snapping of fans to denote anger or delight, the little running steps, the giggling and strange hissing of the girls, essential details which have been handed down from one producer to another and which is still faithfully portrayed in modern productions.

Performance history in South Africa

1886: First performed in the country by the Wheeler Company, opening at the Theatre Royal, Burg Street, Cape on 3 July, and running for four weeks. The cast, brought from England, included Ben Wheeler, Frank Wheeler (as "Ko-Ko"), Henry Harper ("Pooh-Bah"), Emily Seyton ("Katisha"), G. Hall ("The Mikado of Japan"), Miss Pell ("Nanki-Poo"), Robert Bolder ("Pish-Tush"), Mrs B. Wheeler ("Yum-Yum"), Miss E. Ross ("Pitty-Sing") and Katie Leechman ("Peep-Bo"). The musical conductor was William Ramsden. After a few nights Miss Pell was replaced in the tenor role of "Nanki-Poo" by local singer A.R. Bennett.

1887-8: Performed over the course of eight months by the Searelle Opera Company under the auspices of the Wheeler Brothers, as part of an impressive repertoire of operatic works, with a cast that included Luscombe Searelle, Blanche Fenton, Amy Fenton, Paul D'Arcy, and a number of local performers from the Wheeler stable.

1890-1: Performed by The Edgar Perkins Lyric Opera Company , an opera company managed and directed by Edgar Perkins. The company included R.S. Gregg, E. le Hay, Dennis Coyne, Frank Wheeler, Harry Miller, Ada Bemister, Carrie Nelson, Harriet Wood, and Ella Bankhardt. Musical direction was by James Hyde.

Circa 1892: According to an undated and unnamed newspaper clipping The Mikado was staged by the Port Elizabeth Amateur Operatic Club and presented by the founder of the Operatic Club, Charles William Smart, being "the Conductor". The only clue we have as to the date is a reference to the Mayor, John McIlwraith, who was present at the show. He was Mayor in 1891, 1892 and 1894. It is possible the show was presented in 1892 at the opening of the new Port Elizabeth Opera House. If staged in 1891, before the opening of the Opera House, it would have been staged in the Theatre Royal.

1893-4: Performed in the Opera House Cape Town by the Lyric Opera Company of Arturo Bonamici and Edgar Perkins, as part of their repertoire while touring the country at the time. The cast of the company included Leonora Braham (as "Yum-Yum") , Grant Fallowes, Marie Elba, and miss Templar Saxe. The season lasted from Augsut 1892 till February 1893.

circa 1900: Performed by the Woodstock Amateur Operatic Society under the guidance of Amos Bailey one of their first three Gilbert and Sullivan offerings, put on in a small school room in the local school.

Thursday, October 11, 1900; Performed by the Port Elizabeth Amateur Operatic Club at the Port Elizabeth Opera House under the direction of John Cecil Carden.

1902-3: Performed in South Africa by the visiting D'Oyly Carte Opera Company as part of their repertoire of Gilbert and Sullivan works, presented over the course of two seasons, including appearances at the Good Hope Theatre, Cape Town. The cast included Jessie Huddleston and Frank Holt, with Harry Burton directing the orchestra.

1902: Performed in East London, conducted by Theophil Wendt.

1906: Performed in the Cape Town Opera House (under the management of Wheeler and Smith) Cape Town as part of a season of Savoy operas put on by a company that included C.H. Workman, Fred Billington, Albert Kavanagh, Jessie Rose and Nancy Freyne, with Francois Cellier as the conductor.

1922: A concert version by the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra with the Cape Town Amateur Operatic Society was given on Saturday 22 November 1922.

1930: Staged by the Port Elizabeth Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society to celebrate their 200th performance, at the Port Elizabeth Opera House from September 8 - 13. Directed by Edwin George Draycott and produced by Walter Prout. Cast: George Shegog (The Mikado), C Connolly (Nanki-Poo), Leslie Abernethy (Ko-Ko), L G Leppan (Poo-Bah), David McLaren (Pish-Tush), Mrs Gordon Robson (Yum-Yum), Mrs Ian Rae (Pitti-Sing), Mrs G Hart (Peep-Bo), Dorothy McClelland (Katisha).

1936: Staged by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert & Sullivan Society

1939: Presented by the City Amateur Light Opera Company at the Alhambra Theatre early in December 1939, conducted by William Pickerill.

1946: Staged by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert & Sullivan Society

1948: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

1951: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

1955: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society at the Alhambra Theatre, conducted by Walter Swanson and produced by Marjorie Hill (14 - 22 October 1955).

1955: Staged by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert & Sullivan Society

1955: Port Elizabeth City Hall from June 21 - 25. Produced by Will Jamieson with Merle Loveless as Musical Director. Scene and costumes were loaned by the King William's Town Amateur and Dramatic Society. Cast: Robert Searle (The Mikado), Arch Taylor (Nanki-Poo), Herbert Henderson (Ko-Ko), Basil McGrath (Pooh-Bah), C Fuller Peterson (Pish-Tush), Hubertus de Vries (Go-To), Rhoda Tiltman (Yum-Yum), Dee Hart (Pitti-Sing), Judith Murray (Peep-Bo) and Alida Louw (Katisha).

1960: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

1962: Staged by the JODS in the Alexander Theatre, directed by Anthony Farmer, with Louis Kernick (Pish Tush), Leslie Phillips (Nanki-Poo), Derrick Lewis (Ko-Ko), Harold Lake (Pooh-Bah), Marjorie van Zyl (Yum-Yum), June Hern (Petti-Sing), Jean Steagemann (Peep-Bo), Nohline Mitchell (Katisha) and Harry Hambleton (The Mikado of Japan). Musical direction by Edward Dunn and settings by Farmer.

1965: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

1966: Staged by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert & Sullivan Society

1968: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

1973 Presented by the East London Light Operatic Society at the Guild Theatre, directed by Webster Booth, musical direction by Jean Fowler.

1977: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

1977: Staged by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert & Sullivan Society

1985: A centenary production, sponsored by the JODS Trust, was staged in the Wits Theatre Complex in May/June. directed by Joseph Ribeiro, choreography by Jill Waterman and the Wits Orchestra conducted by Professor Walter Mony.

1986: Directed by Teddy Davies for the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society and performed in the Baxter Theatre. The cast included Peter Kramer, Henry Lankester, Christopher Gilmour, Cliff Downey and others.

1994: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

2008 Presented by EastCape Opera Company on tour.

2015: Staged by the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society

Done by the Turffontein Operatic Society in 19** at the Standard Theatre for the Patriotic Fund. Among the performers were Charles Sparrow,

The Mikado (CAPAB, 19**). (Dir) Murray Dickie & Andy Gibson, Designer: Bruno Santini, with Aviva Pelham, Evelyn Dalberg, Marilyn Bennett, Sally Presant, Andrea Haller, Manuel Escorcio, (Christine Reynolds’s chorus)conductor: Michael Tomaschek, Terence Kern, De Wet van Rooyen, Fritz Morley, Henry Lankester, John Eagar, Miranda Kark.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mikado

Eastern Province Herald, October 5, 1900.

Unnamed and undated newspaper clipping, circa 1892.

D.C. Boonzaier. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 382, 385, 389-390, 398, 410-411, 423-4, 428, 435

Port Elizabeth Gilbert and Sullivan Society theatre programme, 1955.

JODS theatre programme, 1962.

Wits Theatre programme, 1985.

Barrow, Brian & Williams-Short, Yvonne 1988. (1986 production, Cape Town).

Sjoerd Alkema. 2012. "Conductors of the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, 1914-1965: a historical perspective". University of Cape Town. Unpublished PhD thesis.

Arts Theatre Club archive held by George Mountjoy.

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