United Kingdom International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival 2025 [2] – Charles Court Opera, The Mikado: Soloists and Orchestra of the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company / David Eaton (conductor). Buxton Opera House, Derbyshire, 8.8.2025. (RW)
Charles Court Opera has been associated with the Festival since its founder, John Savournin, appeared as a teenager on the Festival stage over a decade ago when he regularly performed in its Youth productions. One always expects to find some novelty in Charles Court adaptations of the plot of the operas, but not its music.
In this version of The Mikado the action takes place in the British Consulate in Japan where stuffy government ‘mandarins’ reign supreme and behave exactly as they might in Westminster. Without a spare seat or a dry eye in the Buxton Opera House this fabulous performance has done amazing things with W. S. Gilbert’s book. The audience were given a version of this comic opera they never ever expected to see.
With a Mr Humphries style Pooh-Bah in charge, a bunch of females act as a Secretariat. Amongst them is a Miss Victoria Plum (Miss Plum = Yum Yum), betrothed to a business-minded Ko-Ko. From here the lean Pooh-Bah is found in control and eager to offer information at a price
A modified score by David Eaton cuts a few redundant chorus items to aid the flow. The Festival Orchestra under Sally Robinson’s leadership played superbly as always and here under David Eaton’s baton lifted nuances from Sullivan’s score with particularly noticeable piccolo passages.
Star of the show was Matt Kellett with his wide-eyed portrayal of Ko-Ko, a Jack-the-lad cockney who could be the son of John Wellington Wells maybe. The extended Act II scene with Katisha from ‘Tit Willow’ to ‘Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast’ was a master stroke of continuous, hilarious banter with kiss dodging of acrobatic standards. As a minion, Ko-Ko is full of high jinks while Katisha as his stooge responded well.
With superb singing, the eight-strong company amply filled this Matcham designed theatre of 901 seats, with forte passages of the Act I finale unusually drowning the orchestra. Magnificent! Such professionalism can teach modern performers that microphone reinforcement is unnecessary, perhaps.
This Charles Court performance is being repeated at Bury St Edmunds and Wilton’s Music Hall in September, and at Winchester in October.
Raymond Walker
Featured Image: Charles Court Opera’s The Mikado © Charles Smith
Production:
Director – John Savournin
Original Choreographer – Damian Czarnecki
Set and Costume designer – Rachel Szmukler
Lighting designer – Rachel E Cleary
Cast:
The Mikado & Pish-Tush (Peter Rush) – Matthew Palmer
Ko-Ko (Colin Cole) – Matthew Kellett
Nanki-Poo (Charles Chauncey Drew) – Jack Roberts
Pooh-Bah (Hugh Barr) – John Savournin
Yum-Yum (Victoria Plum) – Alys Roberts
Pitti-Sing (Milly King) – Martha Jones
Peep-Bo (Pip Bow) – Fiona Finsbury
Katisha – Catrine Kirkman