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You are here: Archive Home > Mikado  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. Libretto Rich text format [756Kb] (opens in most word processors) PDF File [204Kb] A version of the libretto formatted for use with palmtop computers is available from the Palm Pirates web site. Early D'Oyly Carte prompt book [PDF File, 8.85MB] Another Early D'Oyly Carte prompt book [PDF File, 7.46MB] Libretto published by Oliver Ditson, (n.d.) [from the Internet Archive] Libretto with illustrations by Russell Flint, (1911) [from the Internet Archive] 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 Music IMSLP has various editions of the vocal score, band parts, and full score, available for download as PDF files. Vocal Score: A nineteenth century American edition of the Vocal Score published by Pond can be downloaded from the Internet Archive in a variety of formats. Autograph Score: The Internet Archive also provides a digitized, browsable of Sir Arthur Sullivan's original manuscript. Scores: Sources of Vocal Scores, Reduced Orchestrations, etc. Vocal Score Errata Musical Solutions — G&S MIDI Rehearsal Files — David Cookson's site includes MIDI rehearsal files for all the G&S Operas, plus Cox and Box and Haddon Hall. Dance Arrangements Lancers (arr. P. Bucalossi) Polka (arr. P. Bucalossi) Quadrille (arr. P. Bucalossi) Waltz (arr. P. Bucalossi) The Mikado Lancers arranged for piano duet by P. Bucalossi. This score is available to download as a PDF file [5.89MB] courtesy of David Stone. 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 Mikado by W. S. Gilbert (1921) [from the Internet Archive] Discography: Marc Shepherd's Mikado Discography Recordings: Favourite Airs from The Mikadoperformed by the Edison Light Opera Company. Edison Blue Amberol 2179. Restored by Adam Cuerden. [MP3 file, 3.9MB] Complete 1907/8 Odeon recording with Walter Passmore as Ko-Ko. [From the Internet Archive.] 1926 D'Oyly Carte HMV recording. [From the Internet Archive.] 1936 D'Oyly Carte HMV Recording [From the Internet Archive.] 1951 D'Oyly Carte Decca Recording [From the Internet Archive]  1926 Promotional Film for the new Ricketts Costumes for The Mikado Carl Rosa Production of The Mikado [2001] Artwork Mikado Picture Gallery — beautiful watercolours by W. Russell Flint of scenes from the opera. Ricketts' 1926 costume designs for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company D'Oyly Carte Picture Gallery — Pictures of D'Oyly Carte Productions, 1885-1982 Illustrated Music Covers: for dance arrangements American covers European covers American Mikado Poster Collection — A collection of high resolution scans of American Mikado posters from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Mikado Trade Cards Clip Art Clip art Index, page 1 Clip art Index, page 2 Clip art Index, page 3 Opera of the Week Discussion — Transcript of a discussion of The Mikado by members of the SavoyNet distribution list, Compiled by Bill McCann. This extensive discussion provides substantial background information on this opera, and is a must for anyone wanting to understand it better, produce it, or perform in it. Web Pages Microsoft Word File (254K) Self-extracting Zipped Microsoft Word File (139K) Text (ASCII) File (239K) 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. A chapter on The Mikado from the book Gilbert and Sullivan Opera, A History and a Comment, by H. M. Walbrook, published in London in 1922. 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 |
