Soprano Abigail Krawson most recently appeared as a townsperson in The Merry Wives
of Windsor with Boston Midsummer Opera. She was also a gypsy in Rachmoninoff's Aleko
with Commonwealth Lyric Theater and Despina in Cosi fan tutte with NEMPAC Opera. In
2011 Ms. Krawson was a young artist with Boston Early Music Festival and appeared in
Harvard Early Music Society’s production of La Calisto. A native of Canton, Ohio, Ms.
Krawson received her undergraduate degree at Bowling Green State University before
graduating from the New England Conservatory.
Mezzo-Soprano Laura Reaper most recently sang the role of Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi
with Opera Project Columbus. Ms. Reaper’s numerous credits include Dejanira in
Hercules, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and 3rd Lady in Die Zauberflöte. Ms. Reaper
also created the role of Tantie Marie for the world premiere of the opera The Toll. She has
also been featured as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Copland’s In the
Beginning. Ms. Reaper holds degrees from the Peabody Institute (BM) and Bowling Green
State University (MM).
Tenor Jordan Harris is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where he studied
with tenor Rico Serbo, was a recipient of the National Association of Teachers of Singing
Merit Scholarship, and was Musical Director of the University of Michigan Educational
Theater Company. In the fall of 2013 he performed an original composition for Stephen
Sondheim at a gala dinner in his honor. Previous credits include Scaramuccio in Ariadne
Auf Naxos, Rinnucio in Gianni Schicchi, Baker in Into the Woods, and Mitch in 25th
Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Baritone Nicholas Ward most recently performed with the Cincinnati Opera’s outreach
tour, and the Central City Opera Studio Artist Program. Stage credits include the
Backwoodsman in Show Boat, Il Conte Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, George Jones in
Street Scene, the Usher in Trial By Jury, Don Alfonso in Così Fan Tutte, Major General
Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance. He has also participated in the training programs of
Opera Saratoga and the Seagle Music Colony in upstate New York. He is an alumnus of the
University of Michigan and the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music.
Pianist Spencer Miller grew up in the Twin Cities and attended Augsburg College in
Minneapolis, graduating summa cum laude in 2013. He has performed solo recitals,
frequently featuring his own compositions, as far afield as Vienna, Austria. Also a
professional jazz pianist, Mr. Miller is a first-year graduate student at the University of
Toledo, studying with Michael Boyd.
SETTING
Titipu, a village north of Tokyo in Japan, roughly in the middle of the nineteenth century
CHARACTERS
In order of vocal appearance
Ko-Ko: A Tailor, recently elected Lord High Executioner of Titipu (Baritone)
Nanki-Poo: The Mikado’s young son, disguised as a traveling minstrel (Tenor)
Yum-Yum: Ko-Ko’s young ward and fiancée, just graduated from boarding school (Soprano)
Katisha: An old spinster and the Daughter-In-Law Elect (Mezzo-soprano)
SYNOPSIS
Scene 1:
The young maid Yum-Yum is returning home to Titipu, the day after her graduation from
boarding school, to marry her guardian Ko-Ko. Waiting for Yum-Yum to return, Ko-Ko meets
Nanki-Poo, a wandering minstrel who has just come into town. Ko-Ko tries to hire Nanki-Poo to
sing at his wedding to Yum-Yum that night. Nanki-Poo refuses the job and runs off because,
unbeknownst to Ko-Ko, he is also in love with Yum-Yum and came to Titipu to ask her to marry
him.
Scene 2:
Yum-Yum arrives and encounters Nanki-Poo, who asks her to marry him, revealing to her that
he is not just a wandering minstrel but actually a royal prince! He explains that he ran away from
the palace because his father, the Mikado, was going to force him to marry an ugly old woman—
the Daughter-In-Law Elect Katisha. Yum-Yum agrees to marry Nanki-Poo and together they
hatch a plan.
Scene 3:
Ko-Ko hasn’t executed anyone since becoming Lord High Executioner, both because he’s a very
gentle person and because he was at the top of the execution list. (He was guilty of the crime of
flirting—along with half of the town.) Nanki-Poo reports that the Mikado has ordered Ko-Ko to
begin executing people. Ko-Ko doesn’t want to but also doesn’t see a way around the order.
Nanki-Poo volunteers to be his execution victim, but only if Ko-Ko will allow him to marry
Yum-Yum for thirty days first. Not wanting to lose his own head, and sure that Yum-Yum will
marry him once Nanki-Poo is dead, Ko-Ko agrees.
Scene 4:
Ko-Ko is presiding over the marriage of Yum-Yum and Nanki-Poo when they are interrupted by
Katisha, the Daughter-In-Law Elect. She demands that Nanki-Poo marry her rather than Yum-
Yum, and delivers a new edict from the Mikado before storming off. Unfortunately, the new
edict ruins Yum-Yum and Nanki-Poo’s plan. Under the new law if Nanki-Poo is executed his
wife would also be buried alive! Nanki-Poo offers to let Ko-Ko cut off his head immediately so
Yum-Yum can have a good life without him. Ko-Ko is so moved by Nanki-Poo’s gesture that he
suggests that the two youngsters run away to another town to get married, offering to fake
Nanki-Poo’s death to appease Katisha and the Mikado.
Scene 5:
Katisha returns to Titipu demanding that Koko show her the body of the man he has executed.
Ko-Ko explains that he can’t because the body was buried out at sea, but does show her the death
certificate. Katisha is devastated to see Nanki-Poo’s name on the certificate and vows to have
Ko-Ko killed for executing the Mikado’s son. Thinking fast, Ko-Ko serenades Katisha with the
song “Titwillow” and asks her to marry him. Convinced that marrying a man closer to her age
would be a better match, Katisha agrees.
Ko-Ko reveals to Katisha that Nanki-Poo is still alive, happily married to Yum-Yum, and all four
characters celebrate their luck in romance.
Jennifer Cresswell, Artistic Director of Opera on Wheels, has written and
produced adaptations of Rossini's Barber of Seville, The Italian Girl, and
Wagner's Ring Cycle. As Co-Director of the Toledo Opera Summer Camp,
she has also produced operatic arrangements for performance by children for
the last two years. An active performer, Ms. Cresswell was last seen on stage
with Toledo Opera in the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Liù in
Turandot and as Frasquita in Carmen. Other roles in her repertoire include Blanche in André
Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche de la Force in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites
and Anna Maurrant in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. In 2011, she made her debut as a soloist with
the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and returns this spring as soprano soloist for Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony. In addition to her work with Toledo Opera, Jennifer is also a classical music host for
WGTE FM91 under her alias "Jennifer Scott."
The creative team of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan was one of the most
successful of the entire nineteenth century. Writing fourteen comic operas together, their works
were very popular in their home country of Britain especially and several, including The Mikado,
were international hits.
William Schwenck Gilbert, born in London in 1836, was the son of a retired
naval surgeon. He trained as an artillery officer and worked in a government
bureau job which he hated. After receiving an inheritance from an aunt,
Gilbert became a lawyer, but his law career lasted just a few years.
Beginning in 1861, Gilbert contributed dramatic criticism and humorous
prose to a popular British magazine, sometimes accompanied by cartoons.
Many of the characters from this work would later appear in his opera
librettos. In 1871 Gilbert wrote two plays that would become big hits, and
first collaborated with the composer Arthur Sullivan.
Arthur Seymour Sullivan was born in London in 1842 and demonstrated
impressive musical talent from a very early age. At only fourteen he won the
Mendelssohn Scholarship, enabling him to study at both the Royal Academy
of Music and the Conservatory in Leipzig.
Back in London, Sullivan took a church organist’s job and gave music
lessons. Slowly, but surely, commissions for compositions of all kinds
began to come his way after some early successes. In 1871 he first
collaborated with W.S. Gilbert on a Christmas piece titled Thespis, which
was successful as a novelty production for the holidays but nothing more.
Four years later, in 1875, the young impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte needed a short piece to
complete a triple bill at London's Royalty Theatre. W. S. Gilbert had a libretto ready, Trial by
Jury, but no composer. Carte suggested Sullivan, who liked the libretto and agreed to take the
job. Trial by Jury was an immediate success. Realizing the potential of the new partnership,
Carte contracted Sullivan and Gilbert to write for him, creating a new opera roughly every year
from 1877-1889, including The Mikado in 1885. Both Sullivan and Gilbert became wealthy men
as a result of their collaborations. D’Oyly Carte became even richer and built the Savoy Theatre
in 1881, followed by the Savoy Hotel.
Sadly, relations between Sullivan, Gilbert and Carte deteriorated and their working relationship
came to an end. Sullivan was working on an opera with when he died on November 22, 1900.
Gilbert died in 1911 while attempting to save a drowning woman.
W.S. Gilbert
Arthur Sullivan
Many of W.S. Gilbert’s opera librettos made fun of conventions of life in Victorian England.
Although set in Japan, The Mikado is a fanciful satire of Victorian British customs, not an
attempt to create a work based on real Japanese life or customs. The opera’s setting was chosen
because of a contemporary Western fascination with all things Japanese, called “japonaiserie.”
The movement to create Japanese-influenced art and commercial goods throughout Europe and
the United States began during the second half of the nineteenth century, after Commodore Perry
and the United States Navy pressured Japan to open its boarders in 1854, ending more than two
hundred years of isolation. In London, an 1885 Japanese cultural exhibition lead to an explosion
of public interest in all things Japanese which artists and merchants
quickly capitalized on.
The only authentic Japanese element in The Mikado is the name of
the town. Titipu is an Anglicization of Chichibu, a region northwest
of Tokyo. The opera’s costumes and props were based on Japanese
clothing and accessories, but didn’t follow Japanese customs of
dress. The character names are all references to puns and baby talk
in English.
The ridiculous nature of The Mikado’s aristocratic characters, and
the various laws and customs governing their actions, is clear
throughout the opera. The Mikado passes laws decreeing outrageous
punishments for small infractions: death by beheading for flirtation.
People are elevated to office for no apparent reason: Ko-Ko is made
Lord High Executioner despite being unwilling to kill anyone.
Decisions regarding marriage have more to do with outdated notions
of social position than considerations of love: Nanki-Poo’s engagement to Katisha. Whether
these circumstances were present in Japanese society was of no interest to Gilbert. They were
present in British society and on the minds of his audience, so they were fodder for his comedy.
Queen Victoria, who reigned over England during most of Gilbert and Sullivan’s life, was not a
violent despot like the Mikado. She was a champion of the arts and the under-privileged, creating
many cultural, social, and educational institutions during her long life. She was a queen,
however, with significant power. Britain was also a constitutional monarchy, with an elected
parliament serving as a counterbalance to the queen. Still, Victoria was at the peak of a large
British aristocracy that maintained control of wealth and power. There were many members of
the middle and upper classes who were irritated that they did not enjoy the same rights as the
titled. Similarly, there were members of the aristocracy who felt the rules they lived by were
outdated. Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas took these frustrations and gave them an outlet.
W.S. Gilbert's Sketch of the
Mikado
It can be hard to give an exact definition to three closely-related kinds of musical dramas: opera,
operetta, and musicals. Although they differ in important ways, they have much more in
common than separates them. All combine theatrical elements of costumes, sets, lighting, and
acting with musical elements of singing and playing instruments to create a powerful sensory and
emotional experience.
The primary differences separating opera from its close cousins is that operas tend to be
performed with some kind of orchestra, employ “operatic” singers who are trained to have a very
wide range of notes and volume that frees them from requiring amplification, and have very few
(if any) lines that are spoken. Operas tend to be longer and cover a more serious range of
subjects than operettas, which often have more spoken dialogue, may not require a full cast of
trained operatic singers, and are almost always comedies.
Musicals, meanwhile, are essentially plays with frequent musical interludes. All the dialogue is
spoken, and individual moments or situations are highlighted through the use of song. Much of
this dialogue takes place without instrumental accompaniment, which almost never happens in
operas. Songs in musicals are more restricted in their range and complexity than in opera,
making them easier to perform by singers without operatic training and even audience members.
Finally, musicals frequently employ ensembles other than an orchestra, and may even use rock or
jazz bands as accompaniment.
These distinctions aren’t set in stone, however, and it is ultimately the composer’s decision
whether to call his or her work an opera, an operetta, or a musical. In addition to artistic
considerations of the types of voices and ensemble that will be used, it is also a matter of where
the work will be performed. Since operas and operettas are typically performed without any
amplification, they cannot be performed in the very large theaters used for musicals, where
amplification makes it possible for the audience to hear the stage from seats far away.
Today, the most commercially successful and popular form of music drama is the musical. At the
time of The Mikado, however, operettas were all the rage, especially in the Britain and the
United States. Their popularity allowed Richard D’Oyly Carte to build his Savoy Theatre
specifically to accommodate the tastes of the crowds that rushed to see Gilbert and Sullivan’s
operettas. The theatre was full of luxuries for the audience and was the first public building to be
lit using electric lights, inside and outside, in the world.
What is Opera?
Opera is a theatrical drama or comedy told in music through powerful, unamplified voices.
Opera combines several art forms—vocal and instrumental music, theater, drama, visual art and
often dance—into one complete theatrical experience. When successfully produced, an opera’s
directing, singing, acting, stage setting, lighting, conducting and orchestral playing will create an
unforgettable spectacle that can move audiences to tears or elation—or both. This powerful
appeal made opera the most prestigious and lucrative genre for composers to write in for more
than two hundred years. The most famous operas performed today come from the period
between the composers George Frideric Handel (whose first opera was written around 1705) and
Richard Strauss (whose final opera was premiered in 1942). Opera continues to be a prestigious
and popular genre for composers to write in, and many new operas are performed every year.
The Basic Elements of Opera
Singing Is The Primary Method Of Expression.
The most defining aspect of opera is that the majority of lines are sung instead of
spoken. The characters express their thoughts and feeling in song rather than
speech. Because it usually takes longer to sing something than to say it, however, the action
may sometimes seem slower than in a play. Occasionally, even in an opera, characters may
speak rather than sing, but the vast majority of lines will be sung.
Opera Combines Many Different Art Forms.
Much of the excitement of opera comes from its use of multiple art forms. Opera combines
singing, acting, orchestral music, poetry, dance, mime, theatrical scenery, costumes and
lighting in a unique art form all its own. The word "opera" itself is an Italian word derived
from the Latin word "opus," which means work (as in work of art).
An Opera Tells A Story.
As in a play, opera is performed on a stage with scenery, props and lighting, by actors
wearing costumes, make-up and wigs to create a specific character, time, and place. While
the actors sing their lines they are accompanied by a piano, small instrumental ensemble, or
even a full orchestra, that may be either to the side of the stage or beneath the stage in the
orchestra “pit.” Opera stories come from many different sources: mythology, the Bible, fairy
tales, literary classics and history. Operas may be about mythological gods, historic heroes,
royalty, or ordinary people from the past or present. The words sung in an opera are written
down in a libretto (Italian for "little book"). The libretto is sometimes sung in a language
other than English, depending on the nationality of the composer and librettist (the author of
the libretto).
A synopsis, which is a summary of what happens in the story, may be read before attending
an opera. The libretto and synopsis of most famous operas can be found in libraries;
recordings on compact disc and DVD are also available. A synopsis is also usually provided
in the printed program at a live performance; English translations of characters’ lines are
often projected on a screen over the stage so that the audience can easily follow the story.
The Music In An Opera Reflects The Mood And Events In The Story.
The addition of music to telling a story tends to greatly increase the emotional intensity of a
performance. Even if you cannot understand the words being sung, the music provides many
clues. It reflects a character's feelings; it hints at a turn in the plot; it may even describe an
event (a storm, for example). If something sad or frightening is about to happen, you may
hear a warning in the music before the action takes place.
An Opera Is Structured Like A Play.
Most operas begin with an overture, which is an introductory piece of instrumental music
that often presents musical themes heard in the opera. As in a play, an opera is divided into
one or more acts and various scenes that contain a mixture of arias (one singer), duets (two
singers), ensembles (more than two singers, such as trios, quartets, etc.), scenes with a
chorus, and sung dialogue called recitative.
The Creative Team
Many people work together to create an opera production. Members of the creative team include
the singers, the conductor, the stage director, and the designers (sets, lighting, costumes, wig and
make-up). These careers often involve many years of study and hard work to master.
The Conductor
The conductor communicates information about the music and the timing of the show to the
singers on the stage and to the orchestra through the gestures he or she makes, often using a
baton. The conductor is usually addressed using the Italian term as “Maestro” or “Maestra.”
The conductor trains for his/her work just like the singers. He or she must have a broad
knowledge of singing, the orchestra, and music in general. The orchestral score, with
approximately twenty staves (individual lines) of music, must be studied and mastered long
before rehearsals even begin. The conductor uses the score as a guide as he or she coaches
the singers and the orchestra toward a performance.
The Stage Director
An operatic stage director faces all the challenges of a theatrical stage director, plus a few
special concerns. The opera must be staged to obtain the greatest emotional effect by
moving the singers about with a natural flow that enhances the meaning of the story without
interfering with the music. The composer has built the framework within which the stage
director must work. Entrances, duets, fights, exits, shipwrecks, and all other stage “business”
must take place within a specified number of measures or beats. Action must be compressed
or extended as written by the composer. Like a conductor, a stage director must be
completely familiar with the musical score. He or she must know Italian, French, German,
or whatever language is being sung, as well as have a working knowledge of everything and
everyone both on stage and backstage. He or she is also often the person working with the
designers to make sure everything on stage is a cohesive whole.
The Designers
Every element the audience sees on stage (the sets, the costumes, the lights, the wigs and
make-up) requires a person with special skills to plan and implement how that element is
going to enhance the story of the opera. Set designers create sets that transport the audience
to a different time and place, and that remain light enough to move around during scene
changes and small enough to store in the theaters “wings” (space off to the side of the stage,
out of the audience’s view). Costume designers must make each character unique through
what they wear. Lighting designers take a theater that is normally completely dark and use
electric light and color to create different settings (night vs. day) and moods (energized,
spooky, etc.), and to draw the audience’s attention to different characters or locations on
stage. Wig and Make-up designers can adjust an actor’s age, hairstyle, add distinguishing
marks like scars and tattoos, and help further tailor the unique impression each character’s
appearance makes on the audience.
The Process of Producing an Opera
The process of producing an opera begins years before the audience arrives to enjoy it. The head
of an opera company sits down with the company’s artistic director and decides what operas
they’d like to produce for a given year, or season. They consider what operas they’ve recently
produced, what operas their audience would most like to see, and operas that might be new or
less familiar but that they feel are excellent. They then decide on the artistic team that will
produce each opera and begin hiring designers, a stage director, and singers, renting sets and
costumes, and coordinating schedules with the theater.
Singers are often hired to sing a role a year or more in advance and, in the world of professional
opera, must have their roles memorized before the first rehearsal. If the role is new to them they
need to not only learn all their notes but also all the words to their role, often in a foreign
language. In addition, singers must learn the parts of the singers and orchestra around them so
they’ll know how those elements relate to their own role. Voice teachers help singers with their
vocal technique and vocal coaches help them with language, musical style, and character
development. Coaches also play the orchestra score on the piano so singers can learn their parts
in the context of the whole. Singers are always in the process of learning new roles so that they
can work in many places, including other countries. This advanced preparation is crucial because
there is rarely much time to rehearse once the cast, conductor, and director are assembled.
The design team is made up of a set designer, lighting designer, costume designer, and wig and
make-up designer. Their job begins well-before the rehearsal process when they choose a look, a
style, and a flow for the production with the stage director. They then work with the opera
company to build or rent the sets, wigs, and costumes.
The cast of an opera isn’t assembled until approximately three weeks before the opening night.
The singers, who are often chosen by audition, come from around the country and sometimes the
world and may not have met each other before the first rehearsal. The conductor leads them
through the music with piano accompaniment, showing them his or her interpretation of tempo
and phrasing. The stage director shows them where and when and how to move around the stage
and how to interpret the drama. This collaboration of conductor and stage director with the
singers brings the opera’s plot and music to life.
The opera is staged in a rehearsal room first, using tape on the floor to let the singers know
where sets and stairs will be. It moves to the theater’s stage just a few nights before opening. It is
then that the orchestra is brought into the process, along with the technical aspects of theater
such as lights, costumes, sets, and make-up. Technically and logistically, the opera usually
comes together in just five days.
Once in the theater, a stage manager runs rehearsals. Although invisible to the audience, the
stage manager is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the stage crew who work backstage
(including props people, lighting people, stage hands, costumers, electricians, carpenters, and
more), the singers (helping them time entrances, costume changes, and breaks), and conductor
(letting him or her know when everything is ready to begin). Video and audio monitors make it
possible to see the conductor and hear the orchestra throughout the backstage areas of the theater,
and the stage manager can communicate with the singers in their dressing rooms using a PA
system. Everyone must be in the right place, at the right time, in the right costume, holding the
right prop through many changes and throughout a long drama that cannot stop once it’s begun.
Given that most operas are around three-hours long, in a foreign language, performed entirely
from memory, and involve the coordination of many people and art forms, it is a truly incredible
feat that they can be performed with only a few weeks of rehearsal and a few days of work in the
theater. It takes a team of extremely skilled, very hard working people for opera to be successful.
Many believe the beautiful, flexible, large voice require for opera is something a person is born
with, while others believe that the voice is a skill which results from training. The truth lies
somewhere in between. Voices that can fulfill the demands required by an opera have several
things in common. First, a strong physical technique is needed to allow the singer to sustain long
phrases through the control of their breathing. Second, the voice must maintain a resonance in
both the head and the chest cavities, amplifying its sound. Although each singer’s voice is
unique, voices can be categorized into general voice types. These voice types are only
generalities and overlap each other. The notes that are high for a baritone to sing are low for a
tenor. The notes that are low for a baritone to sing are high for a bass. As a result, you may see a
high-range mezzo-soprano singing a soprano’s role or a low-range baritone singing a bass’ role.
Operatic Voice Types
Soprano: The highest female voice, similar to a flute in range and tone color. Usually plays the
heroine in the opera since the high voice can powerfully project above the orchestra’s sound.
Mezzo-Soprano: The middle-range female voice, similar to an oboe in range and tone color.
Called an alto in choral arrangements, this voice can play a wide variety of characters including
the part of a young man (trouser role).
Contralto: The lowest and least common female voice, similar to an English horn in range and
tone color. Not frequent in opera.
Tenor: The highest male voice, similar to a trumpet in range, tone color and acoustical “ring.”
Usually plays the hero or the romantic lead in the opera.
Baritone: The middle-range male voice, similar to a French horn in tone color. Often plays the
leader of mischief in comic opera or the villain in tragic opera.
Bass: The lowest male voice, similar to a trombone or bassoon in tone color. Usually portrays
old, wise men, or foolish, comic men.
The following terms can be used to describe special characteristics in a vocal range:
Coloratura: A light, bright voice that has the ability to sing many notes quickly, usually with an
extended upper range.
Lyric: A light to medium weight voice, often singing beautiful sweeping melodies.
Dramatic: Dark, heavy and powerful voice, capable of sustained and forceful singing.
Discussion Questions
Gilbert and Sullivan were musical celebrities in Britain and the United States and productions of
The Mikado sold out continually for months in both countries.
1) What performers would cause people to go immediately to the web, or stand in line at the
theater, to purchase tickets today?
2) For whom would you stand in line?
3) Have you ever been to a live musical performance that was sold out? Who was the artist or
what was being performed?
Electric lights were a major innovation at the Savoy Theatre, replacing gas lamps that had been
the norm before.
1) What safety considerations made electric lights superior? (Far fewer fire hazards)
2) What health/comfort considerations made electric lights superior? (No fumes, Much less extra
heat)
The Mikado uses an imaginary Japanese setting to satirize elements of Victorian British society.
Some of these elements are arguably still present today.
1) Identify three social elements satirized in The Mikado and discuss whether they are still
present in modern society.
2) Do you feel that humor is an effective way to bring these issues to an audience’s attention?
“Facebooking The Mikado”
Activity Overview
Students will explore and develop different characters in The Mikado by creating a Facebook
profile. Discuss the characters as a class, talking about their importance and roles. Group
students into small groups and assign one of the following characters: Nanki-Poo, Ko-Ko, Yum-
Yum, Katisha, or the Mikado.
Encourage students to develop a profile for their assigned character including: interests,
education, work, philosophy, arts, sports, likes, and other activities.
Write three status updates that your character would write based on the storyline and events in
The Mikado.
Allow students to share their character insights amongst small groups followed by a classroom
discussion.
Questions for Discussion
What types of friends does your character have?
What types of goals does your character have? Do they face any obstacles in achieving these
goals?
Were you able to relate to your character? Can you understand why your character made the
decisions that they did?
Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado premiered in 1885, do you think the characters are still
relevant today?
General Discussion Questions
1) What kind of person is Ko-ko? Nanki-Poo? Yum-Yum? Katisha? The Mikado?
2) What problem or dilemma does Yum-Yum face? How does she solve it? Does she have help?
3) Do any of the characters in The Mikado change? How do they change and what caused the
change?
4) What made you laugh when you were watching The Mikado?
5) Is there any part of the plot or characters you wish had been treated differently?
Refer to the information in this study guide. Words can be up, down, forward, or diagonal.
Word Hints: Characters from The Mikado (4), the Creative Team (5), Operatic Voice Types (4)
KOKO
YUMYUM
NANKIPOO
KATISHA
SINGERS
CONDUCTOR
STAGE DIRECTOR
DESIGNERS
STAGE MANAGER
SOPRANO
MEZZO SOPRANO
TENOR
BARITONE
Y G O S J H V Y R L D J A U Z O V L C B
W O H V D B B V J B D E Y U M Y U M O Y
X N I H X I V W G T B P S X Y Q S L X R
R S H J K Q Y C B U U G K I S Y T L E C
W M J F M M I B F C Q D I N G Z A N D E
E S H M E S S C B D G S I E M N G H O X
N A C A Z M Y R C W M U P F X O E Z B I
E C O B Z T J S P Q K X T K T V D R Y Z
Z S N I O W G G C N A X E N Y F I P S Y
F I D L S K X G H H T A N I A W R Z L F
U N U X O M Q B A R I T O N E G E Q F P
I G C Q P M S H R P S L R T N C C B E B
E E T B R X B W W Y H L U N T G T U R X
W R O U A S E Q Z U A U A U G B O O D B
W S R P N C O N R T R Y T I P D R S V L
F Z T K O K O P T C E I Q F L D H E N Q
N T A J D Q M K R L G A S V K Z E O M D
Q S T A G E M A N A G E R G N Z Z R E X
D I F K O N O S V B N X C U R R X M G K
H O L R S P B Y D K S O N A N K I P O O
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Down
1. An opera is structured like this
3. A cousin of opera with comic themes and less demanding vocal roles
4. An instrumental introduction to an opera
5. The Italian term for the “little book” containing an opera's words
6. The composer of The Mikado
11. Latin word for “work” from which the word “opera” is derived
Across
2. London theater where many Gilbert and Sullivan operas were performed
4. A theatrical production incorporating vocal and instrumental music, acting, costumes, scenery,
and lighting
7. Real name of the town of Titipu
8. Dialogue that is sung rather than spoken
9. The librettist of The Mikado
10. An Italian term used when addressing a conductor
Answer Key
Down
1. PLAY
3. OPERETTA
4. OVERTURE
5. LIBRETTO
6. SULLIVAN
11. OPUS
Across
2. SAVOY
4. OPERA
7. CHICHIBU
8. RECITATIVE
9. GILBERT
10. MAESTRO
Music
Historical, Social and Cultural Contexts
-K-4: Identify and respond to music of historical and cultural origins.
Activity: Attend performance of Opera on Wheels touring opera, The Mikado, sung in
English and adapted to a modern-day setting, from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado.
The music is an operetta, with characters based on satirical British archtypes.
-5-8: Identify composers and classify them according to historical periods.
Activity: Read about and describe what made Gilbert and Sullivan’s operas so popular in
their lifetimes and up to today. Gilbert and Sullivan were among the most popular and
successful composers of opera of their time (late 19th
century).
Analyzing and Responding
-K-4: Discuss and evaluate group music performance.
Activity: Write a paragraph and draw pictures depicting favorite parts of the opera
performance.
-5-8: Apply appropriate criteria to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of a music performance.
Activity: Write a review of the performance as if for a newspaper or for a
recommendation to a friend. Mention specific reasons for liking the performance (e.g.,
artists sung with feeling and words were understandable; artists acted their parts well in
terms of gestures, movement and relationship to other characters; artists sung well
together in duets and other ensemble pieces; scenery, props and costumes created an
effective setting for the opera).
Valuing Music and Aesthetic Reflection
K-8: Demonstrate audience behavior appropriate for the context and style of music performed.
Activity: Review audience behavior for an opera performance (applaud and yell bravo or
brava after a part that is particularly moving) and demonstrate the behavior during the
performance.
5-8: Justify one’s personal preference in music, using music vocabulary.
Activity: Review the opera’s music and subject matter and identify how it reinforces the
emotional content of the story. Discuss students’ favorite music. How is it different from
that of The Mikado? Compare the music of The Mikado to music in movies, musicals or
other operas that students have seen.
Connections, Relationships and Applications
K-4: Identify and describe roles of musicians in various music settings.
Activity: Describe what the roles of musicians are in an opera: vocal artists who also
must act the part of characters in the opera’s story and accompanists who range from the
pianist in Opera on Wheels to a member of a full orchestra with conductor.
5-8: Demonstrate that subject matter of other disciplines is interrelated with that of music.
Identify and describe the different art forms that opera includes: (1) stories drawn from
literature and myth or created from current or historic events; and (2) visual arts as
represented in the sets, costumes and lighting of an opera production.
Identify various careers in music and select those of special interest. Opera, because it
integrates a number of art forms, has many career opportunities:, vocal artist; orchestra
member; orchestra conductor; stage director and stage manager; rehearsal pianist; set
designer and builder; costume designer; wig and make-up specialist; and those who
manage the company that produces opera (e.g., executive director; artistic director;
development or fundraising director, accountant, etc.).
English/Language Arts
Operas are often considered to be mainly about music. However, since operas are stories that are
told in music, there is a natural connection between this art form and the subject area of
English/Language Arts. The opera experience, with its combination of musical, dramatic and
visual elements, can help students learn more about story structure, character development,
emotions such as love and jealousy, and universal themes such as “power corrupts”, “love may
require sacrifice” or “It’s what on the inside that counts.”
Kindergarten
Reading Applications: Literary Text:
-Identify characters and settings in a story.
-Retell or re-enact a story that has been heard.
Writing Applications:
-Dictate or write simple stories, using letters, words or pictures.
First Grade
Reading Applications: Literary Text:
-Identify characters, settings and events in a story.
-Retell beginning, middle and ending of a story, including its important events.
Writing Applications:
-Write responses to stories that include simple judgments about the text.
-Produce informal writings (e.g., messages, journals, notes) for various purposes.
Grade Two
Reading Applications: Literary Text:
-Describe characters and setting.
-Retell the plot of a story.
-Identify the theme of a text.
Writing Applications:
-Write responses to a story by comparing the story to other texts, or to people and events in
students’ own lives.
Grade Three
Reading Applications: Literary Text:
-Describe methods author uses to influence readers’ (audience members’) feelings and attitudes.
Refer to both the music and libretto (story or plot) of the opera.
-Identify stated and implied themes.
Writing Applications:
-Write responses to novels, stories and poems (or operas) that demonstrate an understanding of
what happened in the opera and support judgments with specific references to events or musical
passages in the opera.
-Produce informal writings in journals, for example.
Grade Four
Reading Applications: Literary Text:
-Describe the thoughts, words and interactions of characters.
-Identify the main incidents of a plot sequence, identifying the major conflict and its resolutions.
-Determine the theme and whether it is implied or stated directly.
Writing Applications:
-Write responses to novels, stories and poems (or operas) that include a simple interpretation of a
literary (or opera) work and support judgments with specific references to the text (or the opera
production) and to prior knowledge.
-Produce informal writings in journals, for example.
Grade Five
Reading Applications: Literary Text:
-Explain how a character’s thoughts, words and actions reveal his or her motivations.
-Identify the main incidents of the plot sequence and explain how they influence future action.
Writing Applications:
-Write responses to novels, stories and poems (or operas), organize an interpretation around
several clear ideas, and justify the interpretation through the use of examples from the opera
production.
-Write formal and informal letters that follow letter format, include important information and
demonstrate a sense of closure. For example, write a friend about the experience of seeing an
opera, why it was so great, and how it was different from other entertainment experiences.
-Produce informal writings in journals, for example.
Grade Six
Reading Applications: Literary Text:
-Identify the main and minor events of the plot, and explain how each incident gives rise to the
next (is this really possible from an actual performance?).
-Distinguish how an author (opera composer or librettist) establishes mood and meaning through
word choice, figurative language and syntax or music.
Writing Applications:
-Write response to novels, stories, poems and plays (or operas) that provide an interpretation,
critique or reflection and support judgments with specific references to the opera production.
-Write persuasive essays that establish a clear position and include organized and relevant
information to support ideas.
-Produce informal writings in journals, for example.
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