Bournemouth GaSP 
Merley House, Wimborne 
Anne Waggott 
23 November 2024
What an idyllic stately English setting for the quintessential English maestros of comic libretto and music to be performed… based on the archetypal Japanese monarch! The grand location of Merley House was one of the locations that Bournemouth GaSP chose to present a concert staging of one of Gilbert & Sullivan’s arguably most recognisable operettas, The Mikado. There was even a red carpet to welcome the audience in from the effects of Storm Bert outside!
Having performed a similar concert version of The Mikado in Beaulieu some years ago, believe me this is not as simple to achieve successfully as you might think. Overall, Bournemouth GaSP succeeded in keeping their audience engaged and entertained with quality singing and performances from the Company.
How to represent a full orchestra in a single room? By playing the overture as a piano duet, of course – and it was a delightful rendition of the overture, before the musicians divided into an accompanying pianist (Corrine Rigler) and flautist (Claire Smith). Full credit to both ladies for keeping up throughout the production the pace and energy of Sullivan’s beautiful music.
There is a risk that concert stagings can become stilted and sluggish. Not an issue here! This production was essentially delivered at a great pace all the way through, despite the libretto delivery occasionally lacking dynamics and soul – but the glorious sound of ensemble and principal singing was never in doubt. The diction was exquisite, with every lyric of Gilbert’s wonderfully satirical libretto clearly audible.
There were some stunning voices among the principal line up; the crystal-clear tenor notes from Antony Marquis (The Mikado’s son, Nanki-Poo), the warmth in the baritone vocals from Rod Sones (noble lord Pish-Tush) and the joie de vivre of Alice Hannibal (Yum-Yum’s youngest sister, Pitti-Sing), complimented by the balminess of Fiona Aucott’s soprano notes as middle sister, Peep-Bo. Despite being the eponymous character, the Mikado is only actively involved for a very short time, but Patrick D’Ardenne made the role his own with charm and yet wickedly relishing how he could ensure “the punishment fits the crime”.
However, for all-encompassing performances, David Robinson (The Lord High Executioner, Ko-Ko), Mark Ward (Everyone Else! Pooh-Bar), Eleanor Riley (Ko-Ko’s ward, Yum-Yum) and Amanda King (Director/Production Co-ordinator and embodiment of Katisha, the scorned and misunderstood villainess of the piece) were all top notch. Each had wonderful musical voices, with distinctive memorable characterisations, and were superb in their own way, both individually and collectively.
The challenge of performing in such an intimate, non-theatrical environment is that with only the grand chandeliers providing bright lighting, the audience is as visible to the Company as the performers are to the audience, which leads me to a couple of quibbles. Perhaps unnerved by the close proximity of the audience or out of their comfort zone with performance elements in a concert, not everybody seemed comfortable with where they were looking: was it at each other, out to the audience, watching the conductor intently (the excellent MD, Bruce Vyner), or more naturally as if they were performing in character on a stage? I found this variety distracting, as well as some wearing denim jeans, which clashed with the otherwise well thought out costumes and more formal black-tie attire worn by the majority of the ensemble, and the inconsistency in whether scores were inside a folder or not. These may seem churlish observations, but it’s the fine attention to details that can raise the overall aesthetic appeal. However, these are minor criticisms in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable afternoon on a wet and windy November day.
The Mikado is my second favourite G&S (pipped only by The Pirates Of Penzance) and I enjoyed this experience immensely. I wasn’t alone in tapping my foot along with the up-tempo songs, and I suspect probably not the only one in the audience who had to bite their tongue to stop themselves joining in as a singalong. Thankfully, reviewers didn’t make it onto Ko-Ko’s list (and what a list it was!) – but Bournemouth GaSP have absolutely made it onto mine: the list of Companies to see perform in their full glory in a larger scale production in the very near future!
