THE MIKADO Starring Eric Idle - No PIRATES OF PENZANCE - 2 Stars
When PIRATES OF PENZANCE came out on Broadway, the singers were Broadway and Pop states not Opera singers. This is not the case with the MIKADO starring Eric Idle
Except for Eric Idle all the of the cast comes from an operatic background. People who sing opera are taught to sing differently. It is less important that the words are recognizable than the sound and notes are right, all of which means that half the words are lost and some whole songs don't make sense. It doesn't even have a subtitle track for the hearing impaired so you can figure ut out. Add to this that it is common in opera for the performers looks not to fit their roles; for example to have the young gorgeous blond Seiglinde performed by a Jeesye Norman black opera singer during her latter over weight years. This may work for staging, but in film with close ups it fails miserably. In THE MIKADO our teenage beauty is at least 50 as is her swain, and KoKo, the man she is engaged to who is supposed to be mich older than her appears her contemporary. The music is good, I mean it is Gilbert and Sullivan, and the set and costumes are fun and novel; but there is probably a better version of THE MIKADO, To be found. Give this one a pass. 2 stars
Except for Eric Idle all the of the cast comes from an operatic background. People who sing opera are taught to sing differently. It is less important that the words are recognizable than the sound and notes are right, all of which means that half the words are lost and some whole songs don't make sense. It doesn't even have a subtitle track for the hearing impaired so you can figure ut out. Add to this that it is common in opera for the performers looks not to fit their roles; for example to have the young gorgeous blond Seiglinde performed by a Jeesye Norman black opera singer during her latter over weight years. This may work for staging, but in film with close ups it fails miserably. In THE MIKADO our teenage beauty is at least 50 as is her swain, and KoKo, the man she is engaged to who is supposed to be mich older than her appears her contemporary. The music is good, I mean it is Gilbert and Sullivan, and the set and costumes are fun and novel; but there is probably a better version of THE MIKADO, To be found. Give this one a pass. 2 stars