The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan (2024)

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.

• Introduction

• 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 Music
  • IMSLP has the full score 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.

• 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]

• Glossaries
  • The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive Glossary.
  • Benford's Gilbert and Sullivan Lexicon at GSOpera.com
  • from the book Titwillow by Guy and Claude Walmisley.

• First Night Cast

• Early D'Oyly Carte Programmes.

• Early Reviews

• 1895 Revival at the Savoy Theatre as seen by "The Sketch".

• Discography: Marc Shepherd's Mikado Discography

• Recordings:
  • Favourite Airs from The Mikado performed 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]
    

• 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.

• To Opera Index
• To Gilbert and Sullivan Archive Home Page

Page modified 24 April 2015