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Open: 04/10/2012- Close: 04/10/2012
The Mikado Reviewed for TheaterOnline.com By: Frankie Troy Iozzio
Frankie Iozzio The Collegiate Chorale presents The Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan) Celebrating it's 70th anniversary season, the Collegiate Chorale's hilarious adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado is presented wonderfully by some Broadway familiars. Victoria Clark, Chuck Cooper, Jason Danieley, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jonathan Freeman, Amy Justman, Kelli O'Hara, Steve Rosen, and Lauren Worsham took center stage, along with The Chorale and the American Symphony Orchestra directed and conducted by Ted Sperling, at Carnegie Hall April 10 to put their spin on one of the most frequently produced musical theatre pieces in history. The two act comic opera, although set in Japan, actually has little to do with authentic Japanese culture and is merely the result of an obsession with all things Japanese that ensued during the 1860's and 1870's (this and Sullivan's insistence of only writing "serious" music without any supernatural plot). Instead, The Mikado functions as an exotic setting where Gilbert was free to satirize about British government. In the fictional town of Titipu, where it has been decreed that flirting is a crime worthy of beheading, the once capital offender Ko-Ko (Fitzgerald) is appointed the role of Lord High Executioner. He is given the duty of executing someone within the month or else his town will be demoted to the rank of "village" by the Mikado (Cooper). Meanwhile, the Mikado's son, disguised as second trombone, Naki-Poo (Danieley) arrives in town lookin for his love, and soon to be wife of Ko-Ko, Yum-Yum (O'Hara). From here on unfolds a series of hysterically macabre events that culminates in the apparent execution of three innocent people.
The mission of The Collegiate Chorale , led by Music Director James Bagwell, is to enrich its audiences through innovative programming and exceptional performances of a broad range of vocal music featuring a choral ensemble. Founded in 1941 by the legendary conductor Robert Shaw, The Chorale has established a preeminent reputation for its interpretations of the traditional choral repertoire, vocal works by American composers, and rarely heard operas-in-concert, as well as for commissions and premieres of new works by today's most exciting creative artists. The Choal's 70th season began with Rossini's Moïse et Pharaon and continued with Tippett's A Child of Our Time and Bruckner's Te Deum. The season will conclude with a program entitled Contemporary Voices led by Maestro Bagwell on May 21, 2012 at St. Bartolomew's Church.
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Venue: Carnegie Hall : 881 7th Avenue |
