| The Mikado- Gilbert And Sullivan / Australian Opera | 
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| Director: Andrew Greene
Actor: Peter Cousens
Studio: KULTUR VIDEO
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $16.73
You Save: $13.26 (44%)
New (28) Used (5) from $16.73
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 49360
Format: Classical, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 150
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 4316
UPC: 032031431690
EAN: 0032031431690
ASIN: B001ARDBZI
Theatrical Release Date: 1990
Release Date: August 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New! Factory Sealed! US Retail DVD! Customer service is our #1 priority. Thank you for choosing MediaThrill.
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| Similar Items:
| • | Gilbert & Sullivan - Pirates of Penzance / Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, Australian Opera | | • | Gilbert & Sullivan - H.M.S. Pinafore / Trial By Jury - David Hobson, Anthony Warlow, Colette Mann, Tiffany Speight, John Bolton Wood, Richard Alexander, Opera Australia, State Theatre, The Arts Centre Melbourne | | • | Gilbert & Sullivan - The Gondoliers / David Hobson, Roger Lemke, Australian Opera | | • | Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Eric Idle, Lesley Garrett, Richard Van Allan, Felicity Palmer, Richard Angas, Bonaventura Bottone, Susan Bullock, English National Opera | | • | Gilbert & Sullivan - Patience |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Australian Opera's colorful production of The Mikado is an experience designed to seduce the eye, charm the ear and tickle the rib.
Wit, ingenuity, and a veritable riot of colourful and restless spectacle
continue to make The Australian Opera production of The Mikado an experience designed to seduce the eye, charm the ear, and tickle the rib...
THE
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
The sets are breathtakingly oriental and full of surprises. The costumes are a masterpiece of eccentricity, weaving together traditional Japanese and
traditional London City .
THE DAILY MIRROR
Anne-Maree McDonald Peter Cousens Heather Begg
Graeme Ewer Gregory Yurisich
Robert Eddie Jennifer Bermingham
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| Customer Reviews:
 Perfection... In All But October 26, 2008
Australia Opera knows how to stage Gilbert and Sullivan brilliantly, but this Mikado has many weaknesses. It is an early version staged without the direction of dedicated Savoyard Stuart Maunder who later improved it in the 2004 production greatly. It also had David Hobson as Nanki-Poo and Anthony Warlow as Ko-Ko who take their characters seriously and impart them to their audiences. If there was a TV production at the time, that is the version to release.
My criticisms of this performance has to do with the effort needed to sort out visual details of set, costumes, extreme makeup and keep up with the never ending and very heavy handed comic business.Kept characters from developing. Some of the story needed to be simply told. As a company manager observed of this production at the time, that it lacked "sweetness".
The lovely Anne-Marie McDonald was at her best singing "The Moon and I". Peter Cousens, imported from the Australian musical theater, was a very bland Nanki-Poo and had no feel for G&S and I wished for him a more operatic voice. Graham Ewer had an uninteresting interpretation of Ko-Ko, but no matter, the words of Gilbert shine through. The highlight of the production is Heather Begg's magnificent Katisha. Maybe the best ever.
I recommend all Opera Australia G&S productions but hope it is possible to have the update version of The Mikado 2004 ,or the coming 2009 production to replace this one. That happening, we will have "attained happiness" in "perfection" and not "in all but".
 Dated, but still good August 26, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is possible the least spectacular of the Opera Australia Gilbert & Sullivan DVDs, possibly due to the fact that it is over 20 years old and now rather dated. Having said that, it is still a polished and enjoyable performance and ranks well compared to productions by most other companies, as indeed do all the Opera Australia Gilbert & Sullivan DVDs.
The cast do a great job, both in their singing and acting. Anne-Maree McDonald is one of the most convincing Yum Yums I have seen, cleverly letting us see the conceit of the character that is all but hidden under the sweet frame. The highlight performance for me, however, is Heather Begg's portrayal of Katisha. Heather gives a powerful and dynamic performance that captures the essence of the character perfectly.
Some "contemporary" use of humour is used during the Pooh-Bah & Nanki-Poo exchange concerning Pooh-Bah's various roles that makes references to the Australian political scene that existed at that time (1987). Some of this humour may be lost to non-Australians or even younger Australians that were not familiar with the era. It is otherwise, fairly loyal to the original script.
On the downside, the sets are a little bit flat and unimaginative, but one can generally overlook these things when presented with such polished performances. All in all, another great performance by Opera Australia.
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