The Mikado or the Town of Titipu

There is one bad bit of casting: Felicity Palmer, of that extraordinary voice, most definitely does not have "a caricature of a face." Even if she weren't lovely to look at, she is so very lovely to listen to.

This production of "The Mikado" in formal English dress does not quite fit with the songs and general story. Yes, "The Mikado" has been produced in many different settings, and perhaps the people who do the producing figure, "Well, heck, we don't have any Japanese performers, why should anything else be Japanese?"

OK, we have already suspended our disbelief, so let's do it completely.

That's about it for criticism and complaint. The singers are simply magnificent, even Eric Idle, who is still mostly known as a "Monty Python" comic. Probably it would be wrong to try to single out anybody else because in this English National Opera production, the individual performers are, again, simply magnificent, and each and every one deserves huge bravos and plaudits.

Since this "The Mikado" is one of several at YouTube, you can watch it, compare it to any of the several others, and watch it again. And re-watch it again. "The Mikado" is apparently the most popular of the Gilbert and Sullivan creations, and there is even a motion picture version, also at YouTube, released in1938, in addition to one more produced the same year as this one, 1987, one from Canada, and still more.

Probably none of them are not worth watching at least once, and I certainly recommend this ENO version.

This is a fine Mikado with modern attire instead of the Japanese.

Eric Idle hams it up and is rather good.

But, personally, I much prefer the 1982 version seen on television which has a stellar singing cast with the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra led by Alexander Faris. The costumes appear to be authentic and set the mood for this great satire.

You will enjoy the Eric Idle production very much.

If you want to see a brilliant performance of Mikado, played to perfection with expert timing and panache, don't watch this version. If you want to see a hammy version with Eric Idle strutting around in 1930's english gentlemen's private club society, this is the one to watch. It's a lot of fun and a good intro to Gilbert and Sullivan, but after this, rush out and rent the Canadian Stratford version. You'll see the difference between good and great. Nobody does G&S better than Brian McDonald and the Stratford group.

I am a big Gilbert and Sullivan fan, and this Mikado is not just the best Mikado but also one of the better G&S productions I've seen. The only problem I had was some slightly fuzzy sound quality, other than that it was delightful and very inventive.

The camera work and visual effects are well above average, the sets are wonderfully exotic and the costumes are truly lovely. The music is outstanding, with droll lyrics and often beautiful melodies. The story is standard but very charming, and the dialogue is always delightful, witty and quite subtle sometimes too.

As for the choreography, one of the best assets about this Mikado. The Busby Berkeley-like tap dancing is simply splendid and a hoot. There is also some stylish orchestral playing and rock-solid conducting.

The Mikado(1987) is blessed by all-round great performances. Eric Idle is a hilarious Ko-Ko and Bonaventure Botone is one of the more convincing Nanki-Poos I've seen, he is very likable. Lesley Garrett as Yum Yum sings beautifully, Mark Richardson is a vocally rich Pish-Tush and Richard Angas is a very imposing and quite seedy Mikado complete with an amazing costume. My favourite performances are Felicity Palmer as Katisha, she sings and acts with humour, nastiness and pathos, and Richard Van Allen as Pooh-Bah, in perhaps the best interpretation on VHS/DVD.

All in all, the best Mikado thus far though I am re-watching the Stratford version as soon as possible. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is the story of a faraway almost-forgotten land. No, not feudal Japan but Britain in1987 when a commercial television company was able to broadcast opera to peak-viewing audiences. Unfortunately, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put a stop to all that and, in 1992, Thames received its own short, sharp shock when it lost its franchise.

When I was 12 years old I was a fairy in Iolanthe. Since then my interest in opera has tended towards the more serious end of the spectrum and I have never seen a Gilbert and Sullivan opera live. My knowledge of The Mikado is limited to the excellent, but truncated, 1939 Hollywood version and the execrable 1996 Australian version which is still, sadly, doing the rounds.

We have to be grateful for Sky Arts rediscovery of this English National Opera production, directed by Jonathan Miller, a recording that I did not even know existed. Miller updates the production to the 1920s and there is nothing at all Japanese about the sets or costumes. This may offend a few purists but I found it delightful. It stars Eric Idle as Ko-Ko, bringing his own Little List to the production. His comic timing is wonderful. I particularly enjoyed his licking the Mikado's boot and his exclamation when he has to read the Mikado's decree: "It's in Japanese!" His delivery of Gilbert's dialogue is strangely reminiscent of Monty Python.

Lesley Garrett is Yum-Yum, making clear her star quality at a very early stage in her career. There is a hilarious Pish-Tush from Mark Richardson with an outrageous Yorkshire accent and an even more outrageous orange toupee. Richard Van Allen is a droll Pooh-Bah. Bonaventura Bottone is slightly disappointing as a rather fruity Nanki-Poo. Richard Angas plays the Mikado as a jovial giant turtle in a huge fat suit with his scrawny neck sticking out of an outsize collar. His dancing is a delight, as is the Busby Berkeley style dancing of the ensemble of bellboys, schoolgirls with lacrosse sticks and maids with feather dusters. Finally, I must mention Felicity Palmer's delicious performance as the scheming Katisha, despite being much too attractive to be completely convincing in the role.

The sound quality is not brilliant. It sounds as though you are listening to a performance in your local scout hall. Visually the production is a bit fuzzy but probably state of the art for 1987 with on-stage hand-held cameras and some vignetting which other reviewers have found irritating. This is a triumph for Jonathan Miller but, if he was watching this broadcast last week, I'm sure he would have cringed at the sight of the Gentelemen from Japan making slitty-eyed gestures and karate-chop motions.