Library Journal Review

The Mikado is one of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's best-loved comic operas, with catchy tunes and memorable melodies that linger long after the show is over. This delightful and rollicking 1987 adaptation by the English National Opera transforms the town of Titipu from ancient Japan to an English seaside resort of the 1920s. Producer Jonathan Miller states in the added behind-the-scenes featurette, "A Source of Innocent Merriment," that he wanted to remove the mask of tradition and present the production as a pantomime musicale of vignettes in the manner and style of the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup. The result is a strange yet hilarious production complete with tap-dancing maids and bellhops in lavish musical numbers. The comic casting is topped off by the presence of Eric Idle of Monty Python fame in his opera debut as Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner. Idle adds his personal antics and impressively holds his own while singing familiar tongue-twisting patter songs. Besides the aforementioned 38-minute featurette, the disc includes brief biographical information on the lead performers and the entire libretto, which is downloadable under the images folder with Adobe Acrobat. Originally filmed for BBC and broadcast by Thames Television Ltd., this unforgettable program is worth the price for any type of collection and should keep patrons laughing throughout the viewing and quite possibly afterward.-Stephen Allan Patrick, East Tennessee State Univ. Libs., Johnson City (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.