Operatic Society Presents ‘Mikado’

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30830, 16 August 1965, Page 19

Operatic Society Presents ‘Mikado’

The cherry-blossom decorations in the Civic Theatre on Saturday created for the opening night of the “Mikado” an air of excitement which the performance was able to build upon to the credit of all concerned.

The Christchurch Operatic Society has obviously recruited a considerable number of new voices for the large choruses, and even leading parts are taken by relatively inexperienced performers. That the show sparkled so often with well-controlled confidence is surely a great credit to the work of the musical director, Keith Newson, and the producer, Les G. Clark.

There was nothing adventurous about the staging. Even with the small space left when 60 or more are onstage, some attempt could have been made to suggest a setting downstage—an overhanging bough, for example, suitable for young men to hang themselves on when they are not making love underneath it. And why must the lighting be so crude? Surely many of the songs cried out for the focussing of attention and the sympathetic atmosphere that controlled lighting can give. Two soothing, yet arresting backcloths redeemed the unenterprising settings. The part of the Lord High Executioner is a star part but it does not necessarily get a star performance. Christopher Gibson, nimble in facial expression and body movement, and just as nimble with his voice, was the true clownridiculous but innocent, capable of summoning tears and laughter from his audience. Pooh-Ba (David Lund) had some very funny moments and sustained his immobility very well, but verged on the monotonous. Audrea Beddie may not be

a completely satisfying singer, but her spoken part (Katisha) was superbly done, with all the aristocratic disdain of Lady Bracknell and just a hint of Charley's Aunt.

Yum-Yum (Barbara Loader) has a sweet, true voice and looks well as a heroine. For this part, however, she could sometimes have been a little more artless—if retiring modesty in a woman, even in Japan, can be said to be artless.

Nanki-Poo was sung by Gilbert Wiberg. He has a strong tenor voice, and will be an asset to the society when he has learnt to relax more, and to show this in movement, gesture and expression. He was not helped either by his costume or by his makeup. With something of the air of a reluctant dragon, Grahaeme Johnson made an excellent Mikado of Japan. The chorus work had real impact. They were never a static background and often built the climax to the scene with their fans clicking, folding, sweeping and' fluttering. Their words, like those of many of the soloists, were not, however, always as clear as they could have been. The small orchestra achieved a surprising mellowness and was at its best when accompanying. Perhaps changes of tone were not as dramatic as one would have liked, but any larger group would have drowned the comparatively small voices of the soloists. There are few musicals that have the melody and engaging wit of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Mikado”: certainly noone who sees the current production this week will be able to complain that the melodies are not faithfully sung or that the wit is not saucily served. —P.RS