From Alamy.com
“The Mikado” was first performed on March 14th 1885, and ran for 672 performances at the Savoy Theatre. It’s run was the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre. And, “The Mikado” had the quickest revival of all of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, being only seventeen months. It was the ninth collaboration between Gilbert and Sullivan. It became Gilbert and Sullivan’s greatest success. For the music publisher, Chappell, “The Mikado” was a best seller. It was estimated that 150 companies were producing the operetta by the end of 1885 in Europe and America. According to the Wikipedia page, ‘by setting the opera in Japan an exotic locate far away from Britain, allowed Gilbert to satirise British politics and institutions more freely by disguising them as Japanese’.
From the Evening Star, 5th February 1886.
From the Kumara Times, 2nd January 1886.
After the production of “Princess Ida” Gilbert had an idea for the next operetta which involved a lozenge. This Sullivan objected to this; he wanted to write a grand opera or at least one that was more realistic. Sullivan suggested to Gilbert that they ought to try something new. According to legend, a sword fell off the wall in Gilbert’s study and this led to the thought of writing an operetta with a Japanese setting. In interviews, Gilbert mentioned the Japanese sword but made no mention of the fact that it fell off the wall. There had been a Japanese Exhibition near where he lived and some of the Japanese people had been walking in the area. However, this fact is doubted because this exhibition commenced after Gilbert had completed the first act of the operetta. “The Mikado” opened just two months after the Japanese village opened in London. During the 1860s and 1870s there had been a craze for all things Japanese. When Gilbert wrote to Sullivan outlining his ideas for the operetta emphasising that the subject would provide opportunities for beautiful scenery and costumes, Sullivan agreed immediately.
Japan had been closed to the world and anything Japanese seemed exciting, different and exotic. Gilbert ensured that the details of Japanese customs were portrayed, such as the flick of fans or the shuffling walk of the ladies. Although the characters are Japanese, Gilbert satirises English customs. Gilbert ordered the material for the dresses from Liberty in Regent St, London. However, in the original production the costumes worn by the main characters were genuine. For example, the costume worn by Rosina Brandham as Katisha was about two hundred years old. Gilbert had antique suits of armour brought over from Japan but was dismayed as they did not fit the cast because they were quite small. Also, Gilbert asked a Japanese woman to teach the cast Japanese deportment, how to walk or run with the toes turned in, as gracefully as possible: how to spread and snap the fan either in wrath, delight or homage and how to giggle behind it. In addition to this, they were taught Japanese make-up.
Cover from the programme for the Really Authentic Gilbert and Sullivan performance Trust of Dunedin.
The first song that was written for the operetta was ‘Three Little Maids from School are We’, this being four months before the first performance of “The Mikado”. Apparently, the chorus ‘Miya Sama’ was a war song of the Imperial Army of Japan in 1868, only the last four bars of the song were different from the original.
It took nine months for “The Mikado” to be written and this was done in complete secrecy. The first performance, with Sullivan conducting, was attended by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. One critic at the time stated that ‘the music consisted of a string of musical jewels of great price all aglow with the lustre of pure and luminous genius’.
According to Wikipedia ‘the show was by far the most successful example of merchandising in the 19th century. Mikado trading cards were created that advertised various products. Other Mikado products included figurines, fabrics, jewellery, perfumes, puzzles, toothpaste, soap, games, wallpaper, corsets, sewing thread and stoves’.
The website Classicalnotes.net states ‘the extraordinary century-long history of Mikado recordings was paved by Sullivan himself a mere three years after the premiere. In one of the earliest Edison cylinders, made at an October 1888 dinner toast in London, Sullivan reacted to a demonstration of the new invention with both humour and startling prescience:
I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the results of this evening's experiment - astonished at the wonderful power you have developed and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever. But all the same, I think it is the most wonderful thing that I have ever experienced and I congratulate you with all my heart on this wonderful discovery’.
From personal collection.
The following is a quote from Leslie Baily’s The Gilbert and Sullivan book ‘soon after the opening of “The Mikado”, Gilbert had a serious dispute with Carte. It should be explained that the working arrangement between the three partners was as follows: Sullivan and Gilbert had a veto on engagement of artists, and they themselves engaged all principals, but Carte held the preliminary auditions, and he always engaged the chorus and understudies. Sullivan and Gilbert had entire control of the rehearsals, but after the first night Carte was expected to keep a nightly eye on the standard of the performance. Carte, as manager of the Savoy Theatre, controlled the day-to-day business, both back-stage and at the box-office: he paid the cast and stage staff, supervised advertising, purchased equipment and kept the theatre in good order. It is important to keep this in mind, in view of the deteriorating relationship of Gilbert and Carte from now to the time of the Carpet Quarrel. Gilbert now said that he thought that Carte had too much control’. Sullivan avoided any conflict, and he was not interested with day-to-day management and was happy with the arrangement.
Sullivan was asked to write a symphony by the Leeds Festival Committee, for the next festival in 1886. He wrote the oratorio “The Golden Legend” and he was engaged to conduct the whole Leeds Festival.
“The Mikado” was a world-wide success. One pirate production in the United States went to great lengths regarding the score. The full orchestral score has not been published, only a piano score was available. Using this piano score as a guide, the producer of the pirate production had musicians arrange an orchestral score. This producer was prevented from buying material at Liberty’s and also, he was unable to buy items in Paris. Carte managed to stage “The Mikado” before the pirated version of it. Even so, Carte was unable to stop all pirated productions of “The Mikado” in the United States. The ‘official’ version of “The Mikado” was performed 430 times in New York.
The first authorised production in Australia of “The Mikado” was on the 14th November 1885 at the Theatre Royal in Sydney produced by J. C. Williamson. Vienna’s leading critic, Eduard Hanslick wrote that the opera’s “unparalleled success” ‘was attributable not only to the libretto and the music, but also to the wholly original stage performance, unique of its kind, by Mr D’Oyly Carte’s artists…riveting the eye and ear with its exotic allurement’.
When an amateur production of “The Mikado” was produced in Christchurch in August 1888 The Star on the 11th August 1888 has this to say about “The Mikado” ‘when Messers W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan began their career, opera of the lighter kind had fallen to a very low ebb. Music of the flimsiest sort, a libretto of the weakest order, dialogue risky where not broadly suggestive, and scant attire of the female performers, were among its most pointed features. With one bold, shrewd stroke the two Englishmen hewed out a new and better form of work. They lifted the whole thing into a higher, purer region. Scholarly music, yet gay, melodious and bright and effervescing as champagne; almost every number betraying a master-hand either in the vocal parts or in some delicate touch of the orchestration; a libretto and plot quaint and whimsical, dialogue polished, refined and humourous as the most exacting of literary minds could ask; dress and action the perfection of modest picturesqueness – such was the substitute for the old bad style that Gilbert and Sullivan provided. The beauty and worth of their work has been recognised by the Empire – by the English-speaking world, and they have made their fortunes’.
“The Mikado” was performed in Yokohama, Japan on the 28th and 30th April 1887 by the Salinger Company. It states in the Taranaki Herald on the 3rd August 1887 that ‘the British Consul, in the first instance, strongly protested, but on the title of the opera being changed to “Three Little Maids from School” his objections were overruled by the Minister at Tokio (Sir Plunkett) who sent an official document to Mr Salinger, granting permission of His Majesty the Mikado, providing all personal references to himself and other officials were carefully expunged. The words Mikado and Japan were, therefore changed to “King” and “Country”. These were the only changes made in the opera’.
The Evening Star on the 26th October 1888 informs their readers that an interview with one of the performers at the Savoy Theatre in London, George Grossmith ‘the music is always taken first. The principal singers and the ladies and gentlemen of the chorus are seated in a semicircle on the stage. A cottage piano is in the middle, and we are rehearsed as an ordinary choir would be. Sir Arthur Sullivan usually first composes the difficult choruses, especially the finale to the first act – an elaborate score. The quartets and trios arrive the next week, the duets and songs the last’.
One of the first mentions of “The Mikado” in the New Zealand papers is on the 7th May 1885 in the New Zealand Times. It informs the readers that ‘in their new opera, “The Mikado”, Messers Gilbert and Sullivan have departed from the well-worn track they have followed so long with success. By placing the action in Japan, Mr Gilbert has found sufficient scope for the exercise of his eccentric humour without striving as usual, to arose laughter chiefly by wildly incongruous ideas. Mr Gilbert’s forte is satire, and his shafts fall harmlessly when directed at a people whose foibles is little known. The beautiful Japanese landscapes and splendid dresses are a great attraction, and infinite pains have been taken to make the groupings and movement of crowds as picturesque as possible’.
One review of the London production of “The Mikado” in the Evening Star on the 8th May 1885 states that there are fewer catchier melodies and more of the music of the future in the operetta. It states that the numbers that received the most applause were the most frivolous. Some of the English papers however praised “The Mikado”. One account states that “The Mikado” has ‘no backbone’.
From the Evening Star, 10th July 1885.
According to one account in the New Zealand Times on the 9th May 1885, the cast of “The Mikado” were given coaching in Japanese manners from the occupants of the stalls at the Japanese Industries Exhibition that was being held at South Kensington. Old Japanese armour was obtained for use in the operetta. This account praises Sullivan’s music but fears that Gilbert has ‘written himself out’.
The Evening Post of the 13th May 1885 informs the readers that J. C. Williamson has purchased the colonial rights of “The Mikado”.
The first performance of “The Mikado” was on the 19th October 1885 at Fifth Avenue with Sullivan conducting. And the first performance of “The Mikado” in Melbourne was on the 20th February 1886.
The Otago Witness dated the 20th August 1886 states that “The Mikado” and “Trial By Jury” was recently performed by D’Oyly Carte’s Company at the Wallner Theatre in Berline. The houses were full even though the performances were in English.
From personal ephemera collection.
One article in a later newspaper in that year, informs their readers that Gilbert and Sullivan receive most of their income from the sale of books and music. One account in the Lyttelton Times on the 12th July 1886 states that ‘the latest Mikado in New York is that which has been introduced by the Kiralfys into The Black Crook, at Niblo’s Gardens, New York. They have changed all the music of Gilbert and Sullivan’s opera to dance time and the ballet gives the opera in pantomime. It is the hit of the season, and every night the house is crowded to the doors. It is said to be perfectly intelligible and never to become tiresome’. The Otago Witness on the 26th November 1886 states that D’Oyly Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan have made profits of £100,000 from the performances of “The Mikado”. It seems that the New Zealand public became familiar with some of the music of “The Mikado” through transcriptions of the music; quadrilles, waltzes and polkas were available to buy.
From the Evening Star dated 7th March 1887.
The first performance of “The Mikado” in Dunedin was on the 9th March 1887. It was produced by Williamson, Garner and Musgrove and was performed at Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier and Auckland. This company produced “The Mikado” in Sydney and Melbourne where it ran for nearly a year. One reviewer on the 10th March 1887 in the Evening Star states that ‘Sir Arthur Sullivan’s music is constructed largely on forms which are eminently suggestive of the East, and it has a distinct character about it throughout the whole opera. Its originality is striking, and while instrumentation is a decided feature, the vocal parts could not have been written more effectively’. The Otago Witness on the 22nd April 1887 informs their readers that “The Mikado” was going to be produced at the Eden Theatre in April. It says ‘as a sort of preliminary experiment to test the tolerance of the Parisian public before the production of “Lohengrin”. Mr Gilbert’s insult to France, if not quite so deadly as Wagner’s, is more recent, and it will be interesting to see how the French will listen to the work’. It carries on later in the article by saying ‘before “Pinafore” was produced, French opera bouffe, in which the plot usually turns on an intrigue, had no competitor’.
Lyttelton Times 25th March 1887.
From the Press, dated 25th March 1887.
It opened in Wellington on the 25th April 1887 and was attended by the Governor General. The second performance was attended by The Premier the Hawke’s Bay Herald of the 29th April 1887 states, and it says that ‘the early adjournment of the House on Wednesday was owing to the desire of a large number of honourable members to see “The Mikado”. The review on the 26th April 1887 in the Evening Post has this to say ‘the music is often times quaint and at all times pretty, but it is of a character that requires repetition for its full appreciation. To some extent, the same can be applied to the dialogue, which is brim-full of fun and satire, but many points in which cannot be fully understood in a first representation’. One reviewer of the Wellington production stated that the audience applauded the scenery for the second set. It also states that the most popular songs are “The flowers that bloom in the Spring” and “Tit-Willow”. Following the Wellington performance, it is produced in Napier on the 23rd May 1887. And, the first Auckland performance was on the 30th May 1887. The Auckland Star reviewer on the 1st June 1887 is full of praise stating that ‘of the libretto little needed to be said, for Mr Gilbert’s great skill of versification and singular facility for satirical drollery are too well known to stand in need of expositions. In “The Mikado” his wit is as exuberant, his satire as incisive, and his knack of presenting the ludicrous in speech or action in its absurdist setting is as irresistibly laughable as in any of his precedent productions. Sir Arthur Sullivan’s inexhaustible fund of light, sparkling and melodious music is as manifest as ever. Still, “The Mikado” is not likely to prove as popular in its musical side as “Patience’, “The Sorcerer” or “H.M.S. Pinafore”. Its airs are fewer and not so catchy, but it is a far more pretentious work from an artistic point of view than “Pinafore”. The orchestral accompaniment is composed with more solidity and attention to form, and some of the concerted vocal numbers are of a high order of merit’. The reviewer does concede that there are some lovely songs in “The Mikado”, one of them being “Willow, Tit-Willow”. And, at the end the reviewer states ‘“The Mikado is undoubtedly an original and very able work’.
An interesting article in The Star on the 7th May 1888 states that ‘”The Mikado” is an opera that touches upon Japanese ways and habits, and yet we suspect that Sir Arthur Sullivan and Mr W. S. Gilbert will be surprised to learn that scraps from their work have been sung before the great bronze image of Buddha, at Kamakura, Japan. A party of Americans lately stood before this famous statue, and, as the natives gathered around and set up a great clatter, the Americans broke out as one man in “Here’s a how d’ye do”. The Japanese were awed by the song, and thought it was offered as an invocation to Buddha’.
On the 29th September 1891, J. C. Williamson’s Juvenile Opera Company presented “The Mikado” in Gisborne according to the Poverty Bay Herald dated the 30th September 1891. The article comments on ‘the intelligence and ability of the children who have taken such a rich conception of the opera’. The average age for the performers was 12 years old. It is also commented on ‘their juvenility greatly adds to the realistic appearance of the scenes, for the Japanese are a diminutive race, and the litheness of body of the children enables them to bend themselves into most graceful, picturesque attitudes’.
The Hawkes Bay Herald on the 19th March 1889 has this to say ‘Gilbert and Sullivan should be canonised as the patron saints of the modern musical amateur. Whatever may be W. S. Gilbert’s weaknesses when he strives to walk dramatically alone, there is no doubt that in conjunction with Sir Arthur Sullivan he has raised the tone of comic opera and thoroughly popularised it with the playgoing public. Free from the coarseness of average opera bouffe, bright, sparkling, melodious, refined, the work of the partners is eminently suited for production by the more advanced type of amateurs’.
On the 9th April 1899 the Press states ‘the popularity of “The Mikado” in Holland may perhaps be the reason why Messers Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera has been converted into an equestrian ballet now playing at the Royal Netherlandish Circus in Amsterdam. It is not easy to understand exactly where the equestrian element, as the American says “comes in”, but the performance is said to yield unbounded satisfaction to the Amsterdam spectators. In Holland, we may note, English authors and composers have no rights. Hence the fact that two theatres in Amsterdam were lately performing “The Mikado” simultaneously. The “equestrian Ballet” will, it is stated, be reproduced shortly in Cologne’.
Programme cover for the Auckland Operatic Society (Inc) production of “The Mikado” at His Majesty’s Theatre in June 1962.
In the programme for the Auckland Operatic Society production of “The Mikado” in 1962, the producer John N. Thompson discussed the fact that copyright on the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas had lapsed. He states ‘in approximately 1960 half a million signatures supported a petition to the British Parliament to waive the law of copyright and pass an Act to ensure that the works of Gilbert and Sullivan remained permanently under the control of a private company. Great though the interest and support were, the petition failed, and it remains to be seen whether the traditional presentations will give way to experiment and innovation so that they will spoil the intention of the author and composer’. He carries on by saying ‘character interpretation will undoubtedly differ, different dramatic possibilities will be explored and emphasis placed to a differing degree upon the musical, spoken and visual balance and such differences should stimulate us enormously’. At the end he reassures that this production will not greatly differ from previous productions of “The Mikado”.
The Gilbert and Sullivan Book, Leslie Baily, published by Spring Book 1967