Gillbert & Sullivan: The Mikado

Owen Brannigan (The Mikado), Richard Lewis (Nanki-Poo), Elsie Morison (Yum-Yum), Sir Geraint Evans (Ko-Ko), Monica Sinclair (Katisha), Ian Wallace (Pooh-Bah), John Cameron (Pish-Tush), Marjorie Thomas (Pitti-Sing), Jeannette Sinclair (Peep-Bo) Glyndebourne Chorus & Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Malcolm Sargent

Gilbert and Sullivan’s greatest success, and still the most popular of the Savoy operas, The Mikado exploited the craze for Japanese culture that had been sweeping London in the years before its premiere in 1885. Its exotic setting allowed Gilbert to satirise British society with relative impunity and sometimes macabre wit in a plot which, though driven by the constant threat of violent execution, inspired some of Sullivan’s most delightful and touching music.