The Mikado: Mi-Ya Sa-Ma / A More Humane Mikado

Featuring David Gould and Bev Shean from the Gilbert & Sullivan classic The Mikado.

[@sarahsanders9587]

Bev Sheean is amazing here. That fan work!!!

[@deidreshand4641]

David Gould is an awesome singer/actor & I wish I could have seen this performance just for this song.

[@SunnasChariot]

Oh, dear lord, I just realized who he reminds me of... Fire Lord Ozai's flamboyant twin! THAT'S a mental image I don't need!

[@ChioGaru]

David Gould is my favourite! And you gotta love the costume...

[@ChioGaru]

I love Simon Galaher's production of 'The Mikado', 'Pirates of Penzance' and HMS Pinafore! And I just cannot get over Dave Gould's outrageous costume (or his deep deep voice for that matter ^^)

[@Quixim]

I dig it. It's different, but its' a good different. Giving such a huge production number to The Mikado really makes him stand out as being worth it as the emperor, and I think the choice of orchestration really brings out the swing beat that was already there in the original song.

[@ser132]

It may not seem appropriate for an opera, but it does work quite well with this song,& I love David Gould's voice. Gidon Saks is also excellent. His range is fantastic.

[@JamesVlogsHomeBeyond]

It's so interesting to see this comic opera being turned into a fully fledged musical.

[@julistarling8382]

Operettas are typically already pretty fully fledged the way they already come. Just saying.

[@oboewizard]

This is terrific. Yes - Rum-Tug-Tugger in Cats or the Pharoah in Joseph - theme and variations! But it's fun.

[@charliefred13]

To the purists if you don't like it don't watch it. Have seen this production and found it very entertaining and funny. Its different and that's the thing I like. So there Well Thanka very much mamm

[@msfyn]

Enjoy it for what it is ...pure satire! love it. David Gould has an amazing voice. Thank you for sharing.

[@danielemezzo]

who's that AMAZING director?!?!?!?!?!!!? It's just FABULOUS!!

[@susannowak5544]

Oh, this is a FUN rendition!!!

[@SunnasChariot]

Oh. My. God. This looks like every single Asian stereotype rolled into one.

[@lordhighmarshal]

And the original Mikado wasn't?

[@laurelindon]

That's the whole point of the piece - stereotype-ridiculing comedy.

[@patrickrowan6001]

I wouldn't call it the point per se, it's ahead of its time, but not that ahead of its time. Its use of ethnic caricature is unfortunate and definitely unacceptable even in its own context. I like the show but it's not 1885 anymore and that aspect of it is pretty tacky and tasteless.

[@julistarling8382]

@Patrick Rowan: They *really* were ridiculing *their own* government/country/etc., not the Japanese. And I suppose that the people here are just doing the same thing. To me the older versions of The Mikado have never really seemed particularly prejudiced, but then, I was not born yet when most of the stereotypes/tropes/whatever that were used by G&S were in vogue, so I suppose then that for me it is easy to see it as an elaborate semi-Asian semi-British fantasy and nothing to do with actual prejudice. If you wanted to know, though, how did Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Sullivan *really* perceive it themselves, why then you'd have to ask them. Which of course is presumably impossible without a time machine or a ouija board. 😉

[@tywilliamnash5078]

Well.....it's totally different than what the original Gilbert and Sullivan start up production should have been, but it's still entertaining. Funny too, and theatrical. Very Clever! I liked it!

[@Malic430]

haha. the mikado's outfit is fuckin awesome

[@EmeraldSky33]

I'm in a production of The Mikado, and I find this slightly less funny than the original but still excellent. I would certainly pay to see the whole thing. :-)

[@daisybtoes]

Now, that was fun!

[@BlackJack973]

oh geez, appreciate a little variation. if every production was the same, how interesting would that be? if you want to do it word for word, go make your own production.

[@MishimaYukio17]

Absolutely fantastic! However, like with all things for all time, it cannot hold a candle to the original.

[@nigellica]

God I love his voice! We saw him live and it just sends a shiver down your spine. And the lyrics are supposed to be changed to fit with the times otherwise its not as cutting and clever as it should be.

[@OldEtonian]

It is usually always sacrilegious to make any changes to a Gilbert & Sullivan opera that D'Oyly Carte didn't personally approve, but I have to say I enjoyed this production. Who'd've thunk G&S could work with flamboyant Broadway musical numbers? It does, and I love it. Thanks.

[@chickinchainmail]

Surreal. Its like Gilbert and Sullivan on acid!

[@DanielWright-np3fq]

EssGee's version is the absolute best.

[@jamesbrice3267]

Our modern society could definitely benefit from these punishments that most certainly fit the crime.

[@patrickrowan6001]

I think Mr Gilbert disagrees with you there.

[@BlackBacon44]

W.S. Gilbert would have been incandescant with rage at this travesty.

[@julistarling8382]

Glowing? Okay, that's interesting.

[@julistarling8382]

I dunno, maybe he would've been glowing. With joy and laughter that a new generation is still getting something out of an old work.

[@julistarling8382]

I think maybe you meant incensed, but I think maybe I like incandescent better. ^___^ Oh, the splendid, talented and marvelous things autocorrect does to us sometimes. ^____^

[@nicopavvi8494]

Did I heard "Nintendo" and "Mitsubishi"?

[@VCT3333]

and Kawasaki and Koniichiwa etc😂

[@LogoMan7777]

7:37 - is that the Blockbusters Hand Jive?

[@garythegit]

any search on goodle can produce lyrics to all of G&S's classics! gorgeous production btw!

[@SnapDash]

The costume for the Mikado (Oh, Mikado!) was superb, as was Katisha's. I am not a huge fan of altering the lyrics, though (Although the Stratford Festival version of 'A Little List' was quite good). I think the trick is to strike a good balance between the original and the remade, and in my opinion, this errs a bit toward the remade side. Still lots of fun to watch, though!

[@MagicalMistoffolees]

lol when the ladies were girlish squealing about the Mikado, it reminded be of Rum Tum Tugger from CATS! :)

[@Malic430]

nice

[@focuselp]

totally different from the original, but great none-the-less...:))

[@thomasbrown7845]

Where's the full length show?

[@me-dc8pj]

It's on youtube. Search "Jon English Mikado 1996"

[@julistarling8382]

I definitely just heard "Mitsubishi" in there somewhere. Okay, that's a little bit odd, but yes, they are supposed to update somewhat. Not usually that song though. 😉

[@julistarling8382]

"Miya Sama" is the one I'm referring to here. And I did not think it originally said "Mitsubishi". But apparently it does now. @___@

[@belrae93]

This production of the Mikado (as well as Simon Gallager's Pirates of Penzance and HSM Pinafore) are truly amazing!! So it's not the original, slightly boring, G&S everyone knows, so what! It's clever and just wonderful. It's probably aimed at getting the younger generations excited about G&S because we don't usually respond very well to operas (I am 16, btw). I love this version, it's spectacular :)

[@1DeathWishForever]

fun fun funney lol. my high school is doing this musical and i wish the director was as up for change as this group of obvious professionals

[@user-ub2ww1gn3r]

I think G&S operettas are some kind of modern musical; means that they can be adapted. So if G&S were in 1990s and working with Essgee for a while, I think it would came out like this hilarious performance, Bravo! (Or maybe more....)

[@ladysquier]

hahaHAHAHA! that is so hilarious!

[@Ignauhak]

They meant it, first and foremost, as a parody. Over a century later, we just took it to the next level of irreverence that Gilbert & Sullivan would've most certainly taken it to, had they today's technology...

[@ericpeterson336]

Where/when was this performed?

[@me-dc8pj]

Some time around 1996 believe but I could be off by a few years. Definitely Australia in the 1990s

[@lcchocolate59]

His voice scares me a bit-very baritone. and yes, this version is a bit slow-needs more of an upbeat tempo. But to each their own. I peronally enjoy the eric dinkin version of mikado more-was that in '84?

[@mnjdmeg6]

my school is doing this musical just checking my part ahahhaha

[@eamonnoneill]

i agree i think the music in this musical is unusual and not ochestral. in the version im in the orchestra are going to be at the sides of the stage in costume!

[@Angiebaby1590]

wow that is so weird i like the real lyrics

[@matthewpatasnik2361]

Would the actual lyrics apply in this day & age?

[@shrubby-ov4yw]

Thats the beauty of any of Gilbert and Sullivan's productions. You can take a jab levelled at a 19th century socialite's fondness for drink and switch it out for a comparison of Kim Kardashian's arse to a oversized garbage truck, AND IT STILL FITS THE TONE OF THE SHOW. Any show you have seen is never the same show twice. I remember seeing a 1986 recording of the Pirates of Penzance, and was fortunate to see Simon Gallagher's final tour with Jon English when it come back out to Australia in the early 2000's. The Major General's dig at Australia being a republic was replaced with a 15min Gerry Connolly ramble as Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and Simon Gallagher's signature weary "Not a word" after "With Cat-like Tread" was replaced with "Maybe they should call it the Pensioners of Penzance"

[@Jourell1]

More likely a reference a Elvis

[@belrae93]

*HMS (almost looks like high school musical, oh good lord)

[@user-sc3ny4zh7u]

japan

[@NeilHaskins]

That chorus is a crime which requires a fitting punishment.

[@TheRivalConcept]

Hyundai is Korean though

[@Malic430]

does it look like this one? ive seen a bunch of different costumes for the mikado. if its this one then i am jealous lol

[@manfredatee]

I liked it until about 3:30, then, WHAT ON EARTH?

[@julistarling8382]

I really prefer the ones where they update but not quite this much. Personal preference though. I think it gets boring, annoying and frustrating if they change the music. Only the words were really meant to be changed (in my own opinion anyway). Just my personal preference.

[@julistarling8382]

Edit: I'd like it better if they'd at least used a better/nicer/pleasanter tune. Once it gets to "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime" I'm really just not enjoying the music any more. I liked most of it well enough until it got there. Ick. But I wouldn't object to it more than just a very little if only it sounded better. If it just could have sounded more like a rock opera and less like a rock concert. Just for instance.

[@TheRivalConcept]

Hyundai is Korean tho lol

[@laurelindon]

Even better :D The whole idea of the Japanes-ish lyrics is that they are meaningless gibberish with a strong stereotype comedy. It is part of the reason why it became so popular. :)

[@Kawdek]

@@laurelindon The original words are verbatim from an actual Japanese song though. They are meaningful and deliberately preserved.

[@lomax343]

If this production had been staged in 1890, yes he would. But if he'd been born a hundred years later, then this is the sort of production he would've staged.

[@ChioGaru]

I just adore David Gould's voice...and also, keep away G&S Puritans, your comments are really irritating to read, you don't like this, we GET IT! But some of us do, so don't spoil it for us...I've tried listening to the strictly original songs...but I like this upbeat version way better

[@lcchocolate59]

This Mikado isn't as good as Gidon Saks version. Also, jazzing up the tune doesn't sound appropriate for an opera.

[@Shalliw]

I just don't understand how this is entertaining to people. I love G&S but this is just so over done. There is no subtlety at all, no wit. I'm ok with changing lyrics to suit a time but the way they went about it here isn't well done. And the fact that it is all synthesized music really bothers me the most.

[@Staev]

The performers are excellent, but I'm REALLY not a fan of the orchestrations. Oh well, though...no such thing as a perfect performance, I guess. ;)

[@justice139]

disgusting -- turning a classic operetta into a slapstick joke.