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Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. sunday_express_logo ____________________ (BUTTON) * Find us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Check us on Google+ * Subscribe to our rss feed Daily Horoscope Our Apps Top 10 Our Paper Paper Archive Weather 4° London * HOME * News * Showbiz & TV * Sport * Comment * Finance * Travel * Entertainment * Life & Style * Films * Gaming * Theatre * Music * Books * Puzzles * Home * Entertainment * Theatre * Opera reviews: The Mikado and Pelleas And Melisande Opera reviews: The Mikado and Pelleas And Melisande 4 / 5 stars The Mikado GILBERT and Sullivan’s The Mikado is a real Christmas treat By Clare Colvin PUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: 00:01, Sun, Dec 7, 2014 The Mikado, Pelleas And Melisande, theatre review, Clare Colvin RYLANDERGilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado is a real Christmas treat The rumble of trains overhead is a reminder of the proximity of Charing Cross station to the little theatre under the railway arches. Home to music hall when it opened in 1864, it proves an ideal setting for The Mikado, the most popular of Gilbert and Sullivan’s 14 operettas. Thom Sutherland’s colourful staging is set in the 1920s, featuring flappers in cloche hats and men in bowlers and spats. We are nominally in Japan, in the shop of Titipu Fashions owned by the tailor Ko-Ko, recently promoted to Lord HighExecutioner. It is really Gilbert’s topsy-turvy land from where he could satirise the British establishment, particularly the law. Too often Gilbert’s brilliant lyrics are poorly enunciated when The Mikado is performed, but with no sur titles to induce slackness the cast of 15 deliver the words crisply. The choreography by Joey McKneely is slickly performed and the score, adapted to two pianos, means that although the orchestral depth is lacking it is compensated for by the feeling of immediacy between audience and singers. Hugh Osborne captures the paper dragon quality of Ko-Ko, drunk with power but pathetically unable to find someone to execute in his little list of people “who would not be missed”, in order to meet the Mikado’s quota. Soprano Rebecca Caine as Katisha, fearsome “daughter-in-law elect” of the Mikado (Mark Heenehan), resonantly quells any argument with a prolonged top note. As Nanki-Poo, Ko-Ko’s intended victim for execution, Matthew Crowe has a light, lyrical voice, and Leigh Coggins is a sparky, attractive Yum-Yum. A Christmas treat, running until January 3. theatre, review PH THE MIKADO: Gilbert and Sullivan’s topsy-turvy land of satire The outpouring of musical talent in early 20th century Paris is celebrated during the next six months by the Philharmonia Orchestra’s series of concerts under the title City of Light: Paris 1900-1950. If the first in the series, the semi-staged Pelleas Et Melisande, is an indication, these are dates to fix firmly in the diary. Debussy’s 1902 opera, based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s play, is both symbolist allegory and raw domestic drama. Golaud, grandson of King Arkel of Allemande finds the mysterious lost soul Melisande by a pool in the forest when he is out hunting. He claims her as his bride but when she falls in love with his younger half-brother Pelleas, Golaud’s jealousy erupts into murderous rage. The opera is a static piece, mostly in sung dialogue, and needs little in the way of staging. Director David Edwards places the orchestra on stage and the singers interact from various points, always at arm’s length from each other. The occasional use of blindfolds reflects the emphasis in the libretto on both physical and emotional blindness. The Philharmonia under Esa-Pekka Salonen gives an inspired performance of the evocative score that conjures up images of water, light and shadows. Sandrine Piau captures the fragile air of Melisande, and the high baritone Stephane Degout shines as Pelleas. In contrast is Laurent Naouri’s darkly brooding Golaud, whose underlying violence is at its most disturbing when he forces his young son Yniold, (Chloe Briot) to spy on the lovers. Next in the series, on February 12, is Ravel’s L’Enfant Et Les Sortileges, plus Mitsuko Uchida playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G. I can hardly wait. VERDICT: 5/5 Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado at Charing Cross Theatre, London WC2 (Tickets: 0844 4930650; £10-£22.50; charingcrosstheatre.co.uk) Debussy’s Pelleas And Melisande; Philharmonia Orchestra/Esa-Pekka SalonenCity of Light: Paris 1900-1950 Royal Festival Hall, London SE1 (run ended); philharmonia.co.uk Related articles * Opera reviews:L'elisir D'amore and Suor Angelica and Giannia Schicchi * L'Elisir d'Amore at the Royal Opera House review * Review: 'I have rarely felt so bored by an opera' The Gospel According To The Other Mary * Don Quixote at the Royal Opera House: Review Grey Gardens at the Southwark Playhouse: Theatre Review Grey Gardens at the Southwark Playhouse: Theatre Review Performance of the year already: Grey Gardens - Theatre review Dance reviews: Until The Lions and Elizabeth Dance reviews: Until The Lions and Elizabeth Dance reviews: Until The Lions and Elizabeth Theatre review: Goodnight Mister Tom at the Duke Of York Theatre Theatre review: Goodnight Mister Tom at the Duke Of York Theatre Theatre review: Goodnight Mister Tom at the Duke Of York Theatre Theatre review: Grey Gardens at the Southwark Playhouse Theatre review: Grey Gardens at the Southwark Playhouse Theatre review: Grey Gardens at the Southwark Playhouse Opera Review Tosca Royal Opera House Opera Review Tosca Royal Opera House Opera Review: Tosca at the Royal Opera House Theatre review: Guys And Dolls at the Savoy Theatre review: Guys And Dolls at the Savoy Theatre review: Guys And Dolls at the Savoy Classical review: Viennese Christmas at the London Concertante Cadogan Hall Classical review: Viennese Christmas at the London Concertante Cadogan Hall Classical review: Viennese Christmas at the London Concertante Cadogan Hall Schubert The Complete Songs opera review Schubert The Complete Songs opera review Schubert: The Complete Songs- Opera review Theatre review Les Liaisons Dangereuses Donmar Warehouse cheap tickets seats Theatre review Les Liaisons Dangereuses Donmar Warehouse cheap tickets seats Theatre review: Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse theatre review Guys and Dolls Savoy Theatre London cheap tickets showings theatre review Guys and Dolls Savoy Theatre London cheap tickets showings Theatre review: Guys and Dolls at the Savoy Theatre dramatic triumphant year opera cuts loomed 2015 dramatic triumphant year opera cuts loomed 2015 A dramatic and triumphant year for opera as cuts loomed in 2015 theatre 2015 reviews farinelli oppenheimer play theatre 2015 reviews farinelli oppenheimer play Stars of the theatre in 2015: New plays that dazzled with top reviews west end aladdin groundhog day harry potter pixie lott diana ross musical west end aladdin groundhog day harry potter pixie lott diana ross musical 2016 Theatre review: The year of the blockbuster Les Liaisons Dangereuses review Showboat Les Liaisons Dangereuses review Showboat Theatre review: An 'intricate round of sex, seduction, revenge and betrayal' Nutcracker On Ice Moscow review Nutcracker On Ice Moscow review Frozen nights behind the joy of Nutcracker On Ice Top skater to quit The Nutcracker on Ice at the Royal Albert Hall Top skater to quit The Nutcracker on Ice at the Royal Albert Hall Top skater to quit The Nutcracker on Ice at the Royal Albert Hall Theatre review A Christmas Carol Wonder.land Theatre review A Christmas Carol Wonder.land Theatre reviews: A Christmas Carol and Wonder.land Opera review Autumn Trilogy Puccini La Boheme Ravenna Festival Opera review Autumn Trilogy Puccini La Boheme Ravenna Festival Opera review: Puccini’s La Boheme at the Ravenna Festival Theatre Christmas shows The Snowman Cinderella The Little Match Girl The Lorax Theatre Christmas shows The Snowman Cinderella The Little Match Girl The Lorax From The Snowman to Cinderella: Our pick of Christmas shows Theatre review A Christmas Carol Noel Coward Theatre Theatre review A Christmas Carol Noel Coward Theatre Theatre review: A Christmas Carol at the Noël Coward Theatre Theatre review Oliver Around The World In Eighty Days and Hapgood Theatre review Oliver Around The World In Eighty Days and Hapgood Theatre reviews: Oliver! Around The World In Eighty Days and Hapgood Opera reviews Mascagni Cavalleria Rusticana Leoncavallo Pagliacci Royal opera House Opera reviews Mascagni Cavalleria Rusticana Leoncavallo Pagliacci Royal opera House Opera reviews: Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Royal Opera House [1] [seg?add=1781214&t=2] SEARCH ____________________ (BUTTON) CONNECT WITH US * Find us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Check us on Google+ * Subscribe to our rss feed * Check our YouTube channel TODAY'S PAPER todays-paper Sunday, 17th January 2016 See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. 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