The Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company Celebrates 'The Mikado's' 121st Anniversary at the PAC

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA – Following a sold-out tour in the United Kingdom, The Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company comes to the United States with a sparkling and lavish re-creation of the original 1885 Savoy production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Mikado,” as directed by W.S.Gilbert himself.

The Australian Sunday Herald claims “this is as good as Gilbert & Sullivan gets.”

Cal Poly Arts is proud to be part of the 121st anniversary of the beloved comic operetta, bringing “The Mikado” to the Christopher Cohan Center at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, 2006.

Possessed of delightfully infectious music and wonderful comic characters, “The Mikado” is Gilbert & Sullivan’s hilarious fantasy of love, marriage, and heroics set in the magnificent Japanese court of Titipu.

With a full chorus and an 18-member live orchestra, Britain’s oldest opera company’s stunning production faithfully re-creates Gilbert’s original production, first staged at the Savoy Theatre in London on March 14, 1885.

Gilbert’s authenticated prompt book has been the source for the direction, staging, and choreography of the Carl Rosa production. Many drawings, photographs, designs, and research material have been unearthed for this ongoing project that has taken four years to complete.

The original costumes designed by Wilhelm - seen in the 1953 film, “The Gilbert and Sullivan Story” - are owned by the Carl Rosa Company. These designs were loaned to the costume designer for the multi-award winning film, “Topsy-Turvy,” which then received the Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Carl Rosa Opera first premiered their detailed reproduction of “The Mikado” in 1998. The Company has since toured the production throughout the UK - including performances at the Barbican in London - and internationally across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

The Carl Rosa Opera Company itself was established in 1873 and closed in 1960. In 1997, director Peter Mulloy and musical director Wyn Davies re-launched the Carl Rosa Company as a touring "light opera" company.

Over the past eight years, the company has built a strong reputation for its authentic, “traditional style” productions, dedicated to keeping the heritage of Gilbert & Sullivan alive.

The new production of “The Mikado” follows previous tours of “HMS Pinafore,” ”Pirates of Penzance,” “Iolanthe,” “Yeomen of the Guard,”
“The Gondoliers,” “The Merry Widow,” and “Die Fledermaus.”

A pre-show lecture by Cal Poly Music Dept. faculty member Alyson McLamore will be held at 7 p.m. in the Philips Recital Hall.

Tickets for the performance range from $42 - $54, with student discounts available, and may be purchased at the Performing Arts Ticket Office, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order by phone, call 805/756-2787; to order by fax: 805/756-6088. Order on-line at www.pacslo.org.

Sponsored by Roy Gersten in memory of June Gersten, the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center, and by KCBX 90.1 FM.

For audio and video samples of Cal Poly Arts events, visit www.calpolyarts.org.

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