IU's production of centuries-old opera, 'The Mikado,' opens this weekend

IU Opera Theater is presenting Arthur Gilbert and W.S. Sullivan's Japanese-themed "The Mikado," or "The Town of Titipu," billed as one of the popular musical masterpieces ever written, at 8 p.m. beginning this weekend, July 28 and July 29, and ending next weekend, August 4 and 5, at the Musical Arts Center. "The Mikado," which opened internationally March 14, 1885 at the Savoy Theatre in London and nationally August 19, 1885 at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City, tells the "timeless" tale of two young lovers who strive for romance despite a windfall of family and cultural obstacles. \nOne of the lovers, a wandering minstrel named Nanki-Poo, falls in love with another woman, Yum-Yum, even though both he and she are prearranged to marry others. After bargaining with Yum-Yum's fiancé Ko-Ko, a former tailor and Lord High Executioner of the city Titipu, Nanki-Poo, who is the son of the Japanese Emperor named Mikado and heir to the throne, agrees to marry Yum-Yum for one month if Ko-Ko can execute him after that time. Before the marriage, Nanki-Poo and Ko-Ko learn of a law that requires the wife of an executed man to be buried alive. In the end Nanki-Poo and Ko-Ko's former marriage partners' unite in blissful love, and as for the lead characters -- well, you will have to wait and see the show. \nAudience interpretations of "Mikado" throughout the last century often highlight possible racist, sexist and anti-feminist connotations, but numerous text substitutions since the original production have modified much of the biased Victorian language to accommodate more modern sensibilities. The opera had more than 650 performances at the Savoy Theatre and more than 150 European and American theater companies produced the show by the end of 1885. \nThe character Nanki-Poo is played by IU graduate student in "Voice" and tenor Joshua Whitener, who is also a young artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera. He spent the last two summers at the German for Singers program at Middlebury College. Yum-Yum is played by IU graduate student and first-time IU Opera Theater actor Megan Radder, who studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Italy. \nThe Orlando Opera Company is providing the lavish sets and costumes for the IU Opera Theater "Mikado" production, and guest conductor Raymond Harvey joins stage director Vincent Liotta and set designer Peter Dean Beck to showcase the production for community members. \nTickets for the IU Opera Theater's July 28 or 29 and August 4 or 5 production of "Mikado" can be obtained 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday by visiting the Musical Arts Center box office, located on Jordan Avenue between Third and Seventh streets or by calling Ticketmaster at 812-333-9955.