A PC MIKADO

W.S. Gilbert (Joshua Miller), Richard D'Oyly Carte (Matthew Wages), and Arthur Sullivan (David Macaluso)
(photo by Carol Rosegg)

For us, art and music of quality are what it's all about; we confess to care not a whit for political correctness and we resent tampering with the classics.  We approached New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players' new production of The Mikado with a great deal of trepidation.

We need not have worried. Whatever offensive material that was extirpated from the original "really won't be missed". This version succeeded on every level and can be recommended without reservation. Director David Auxier's concept is a framing device that brought to mind Mike Leigh's fascinating film from 1999--Topsy Turvy--which showed the trials and tribulations that underpinned the seemingly effortless oeuvre of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Today, in similar fashion, a full year of labor and much consulting and compromising with a mostly Asian advisory board were not visible in the finished product. What the audience gets is a lengthy evening of effervescent entertainment that flew by in double time. Part of the credit goes to the prodigious talents of composer Arthur Sullivan and librettist W.S. Sullivan. The rest goes to Mr. Auxier's concept and a lot of hard, but invisible, work.

In a clever framing device, we get a glimpse of the interaction among Gilbert, Sullivan, and impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte. There are petty squabbles and negotiations plus various complaints from the members of the D'Oyly Carte company. A case of writer's block is solved when Gilbert gets knocked out by a falling sword which D'Oyly Carte has brought back from a London exhibit of Japanalia. As we recall, in the Victorian period, Great Britain was fascinated by the recent opening of trade with Japan.

The blow to Gilbert's head leads him to imagining all of the cultural inconsistencies of his own nation grafted onto a mythic Japan. The Mikado is the result. Gilbert's skill always lay in satirizing the ridiculous bureaucracy, sexual prudery and cultural inconsistencies of his time and place. Moreover he did so by skillfully using his native language in a manner that has never been equalled.

Sullivan brought to the table a banquet of musical gifts. The tunes are infinitely hummable and we dare anyone to attend without humming a few of them all the way home and on into the night and next day. His rhythms are infectious and, to appreciate his consummate compositional skills, we recommend listening to the harmonies and overlapping voices of "Young Man Despair" sung in Act I by Pooh-Bah, Nanki-Poo, and Pish-Tush--or the "merry madrigal" of Act II.

Once the prologue ends, the opera begins and scenic elements and characters from the Prologue are transformed. D'Oyly Carte becomes the ambitious Pooh-Bah (sung by baritone Matthew Wages). Sullivan becomes Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko (sung by baritone David Macaluso), and Gilbert becomes Pish-Tush (sung by baritone Joshua Miller).  The men are dressed in Victorian fashion but with Japanese fabrics and accoutrements. Gilbert carries a notebook and we are never allowed to forget that he is writing his libretto in his head.  This work, like others of Gilbert and Sullivan, examines British mores and institutions and ridicules them. It is not at all unusual in the world of opera for plots to be transposed to other countries or other epochs. It is easier to look at oneself from afar!

Tenor Daniel Greenwood made a splendid Nanki-Poo and impressed with his delivery of "A Wondering Minstrel I";  soprano Sarah Caldwell Smith made a winsome Yum-Yum, his love interest. We enjoyed her aria "The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze".  It was a memorable performance, both vocally and dramatically.

The "Three Little Maids From School" trio is always a delight. Ms. Smith was joined by the lovely soprano Alexandra Haines as Peep-Bo and mezzo-soprano Amy Maude Helfer as Pitti-Sing who contributed greatly to the complicated execution plot, balancing the male voices.

Caitlin Burke brought the house down as the angry and violent Katisha, chiming in with her "daughter-in-law elect", infuriating the Mikado. There was something very touching about her softening when Ko-Ko wins her hand by singing "Willow, Tit-Willow".

Chris White electrified the proceedings with large booming tones as he related ways to "let the punishment fit the crime". He had suitably magisterial presence while keeping the humor going.

All of the singers seem to have experience in opera as well as musical theater and brought both excellent voices and convincing acting skills to the production. Mr. Auxier's direction and choreography could not have been better. The sets by Anshuman Bhatia were simple (a mountainous scene as backdrop and two shoji-screened rooms); the lighting by Benjamin Weill was dramatic.

DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!

Seth Weinstein, Gary Slavin, Alexis Cregger, Caitlin Burke, David Macaluso, and Matt Hughes

On a summer evening in the Big Apple, you might be sitting on a pier, crowded in with the sweaty masses having your ears assaulted by amplified noise--or you might be joining fellow lovers of the vocal arts at Opera America listening to gorgeous songs, sung unamplified by a bunch of talented artists, in an acoustically perfect air-conditioned hall. Readers can guess which we chose and we chose well!

In a departure from their customary presentation of full-length operettas, Light Opera of New York presented an alll-too-brief evening of songs from opera, operetta, and the popular genre of American songs. The songs were curated by Carol Davis and staged by Gary Slavin. At the piano was the fine accompanist Seth Weinstein.

Ms. Davis introduced the cabaret style evening by welcoming guests to "Bar Carol". But none of the songs were barcarolles. All the songs stayed with the theme of drinking. The singers wanted alcohol, drank it, enjoyed it or were drawn by it into sad memories.

The opening number, Sigmund Romberg's "Drink, Drink, Drink!", performed by the ensemble, set the tone for the evening, followed by "Libiamo" from Verdi's La Traviata, sung with verve by soprano Alexis Cregger and tenor Matt Hughes.

On of our favorite songs for the evening was Lehar's "I'm Going to Maxim's", sung by baritone David Macaluso with no end of rakish charm. Notable was the humor of the English translation and Mr. Macaluso's superb diction. Not a single clever rhyme was lost.

Sung in the original French and in high comedic style was Jacques Offenbach's "Ah! Quel dîner, je viens de faire", which had us grinning from ear to ear.  Ms. Cregger has a soaring soprano that was best appreciated in Johann Strauss' "Czardas".

The other soprano of the evening was Caitlin Burke whose sizable voice and darker dramatic timbre lent itself readily to torch songs. In Strayhorn's "Lush Life" she spun out the final note to a ppp in an impressive decrescendo. She also has a fine comic sense as heard in Arthur Sullivan's "Come bumpers".

Matt Hughes did a fine job with a Kingston Trio number called "Scotch and Soda", giving it a romantic inflection.  Gary Slavin filled the stage with Buffett's "Margaritaville", accompanying himself on the guitar. Later, he kept us laughing with Cole Porter's "Mrs. Lowsborough-Goodby", describing a nightmare weekend invitation.

The ensemble delighted us with another Porter tune "Well Did You Evah" a recitation of hilarious calamities and scandals. We enjoyed the evening thoroughly, especially since the point was made that a good song is a good song, no matter what the language or period. This idea was introduced to us at New York Festival of Song and we have cherished it ever since.

If you've never had a LOONY evening, keep them in mind for next season.

(c) meche kroop