Gilbert and Sullivan Archive

The Mikado
 
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The most popular Gilbert and Sullivan opera, and arguably the most popular opera ever written. This opera has delighted audiences for more than a century, and spawned a number of imitations. But none were nearly as good as the original, which represented both Gilbert and Sullivan at the height of their creative geniuses.

The Annotated Mikado

An Illustrated History of the Partnership of W. S. Gilbert and
Sir Arthur Sullivan as seen through their Masterwork Comic Opera

by Wyn Craig Wade

The Mikado Web Opera

Includes MIDI files for all of the music from the opera — nearly 1 hour and 20 minutes of music — accompanied by an illustrated libretto so that you can sing-along with the music. A really great way to enjoy this most popular of all light operas.



  • Plot Summaries
    • Summary with links to the songs.
    • Summary for use in performing group programmes.
    • Long summary from the Victor Book of the Opera (1936 edition).
  • Interview given by Gilbert to the New York Daily Tribune [9 August 1885] on the genesis of The Mikado, "The Story of a Stage Play".
  • The story of The Making of The Mikado from the book "Gilbert and Sullivan and Their Operas" by François Cellier & Cunningham Bridgeman, published by Little, Brown and Company in 1914.
  • The Mikado in Japan by Joseph Raben. A first hand account of a public performance of The Mikado in Japan by GI's in 1946.
  • The Mikado in France — an article about a January 1966 BBC radio broadcast of Le Mikado, a French translation of The Mikado. It was translated by Tony Mayer for an RTF broadcast in France in 1965.
  • The Mikado in Germany — web site developed by the pupils of the gymnasium in the town Parsberg in Bavaria about their production of The Mikado in German. They produced a CD set which features them singing The Mikado in both English and German.
  • Newspaper Article from the Baltimore Evening Sun, November 29, 1910 by H. L. Mencken.


Page modified 24 April 2015