The Mikado: Highlights From The English National Opera Production

William Schwenck Gilbert (Composer), Bonaventura Bottone (Performer), Eric Idle (Performer), Felicity Palmer (Performer), Jean Rigby (Performer), Lesley Garrett (Performer), Mark Richardson (Performer), Richard van Allan (Performer), Susan Bullock (Performer), Arthur Sullivan (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Bonaventura Bottone, Eric Idle, Felicity Palmer, Jean Rigby, Lesley Garrett, et al.
• Composer: William Schwenck Gilbert
• Audio CD (April 16, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Madacy Records
• ASIN: B000000KA1
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #539,498 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: If You Want To Know Who We Are

2. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: A Wandering Minstrel, I

3. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Our Great Mikado

4. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Young Man, Despair

5. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Behold the Lord, High Executioner

6. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: I've Got A Little List

7. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Three Little Maids

8. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Braid the Raven Hair

9. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: The Sun, Whose Rays

10. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: The Flowers That Bloom in the Spring

11. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: On A Tree by A River (Tit Willow)

12. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: There Is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast

13. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: If You Want To Know Who We Are

14. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: A Wandering Minstrel, I

15. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Our Great Mikado

16. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Young Man, Despair

17. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Behold the Lord, High Executioner

18. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: I've Got A Little List

19. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Three Little Maids

20. The Mikado (The Town of Titipu), operetta: Braid the Raven Hair

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT faithful to the original, January 2, 2000

By 

S. Wright (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mikado: Highlights From The English National Opera Production (Audio CD)

I became interested in "The Mikado" around age 12 when I viewed an excellent production on PBS. I had a poor taped copy of the music for many years. I purchased this CD with much anticipation as I had been unable to find this music elsewhere on CD. My first listen was so dissappointing! First, Eric Idle is great as a Python, but not as the Lord High Executioner. He does not have a singing voice and he lent entirely too much unprofessionalism to this production. Most distressing was the ad lib on "I've Got a Little List". There were too many references to modern situations rather than those which were written by Gilbert and Sullivan. Additionally, there is some use of vulgar language in this production which was totally unnecessary. IF you are interested in more modern interpretations of Gilbert and Sullivan, then this may interest you. But this particular production is not for the purist. There is really no need to make changes to Gilbert and Sullivan; their wit and melodies stand the test of time and offer us a window into the society and politics of Victorian England.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eric Idle is a Great Ko-Ko, April 15, 2000

By 

Keith Anderson "npkeith" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mikado: Highlights From The English National Opera Production (Audio CD)

While Eric Idle does not have an operatic voice, he is a perfectly capable singer. As for "ad-libbing," believe me, he did not. He re-wrote "I've got a little list" to be topical for the time (I lived in England at the time, the and song was hilarious when taken in context.) As I understand it, the "patter song" ("I've got a little list," "The Major-General's song" "Love Unrequited Robs Me Of My Rest" etc.) in each Gilbert and Sullivan song was frequently rewritten to make it topical for the time. The production was directed by Miller, and was set in the roaring 20's. It worked.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Slight disputation here, November 24, 2000

By 

Kathryn A Huxtable (Overland Park, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mikado: Highlights From The English National Opera Production (Audio CD)

I liked this production, though I like a traditional one better. And as far as "how the opera was meant to be performed", the comic patter role was generally not performed by an opera singer in the old days, but by a comic actor who could sing. Idle sings well enough (barely).

Personally, I didn't care for some aspects of the 1982 PBS/BBC Mikado. The Nanki-Poo sang well, but was badly made up and being a full head taller than anyone else came off rather Karlovian, in my not so humble opinion.

I have not yet seen nor heard a perfect Mikado.