Utopia Opera Will Present Fantasy-Inspired Take On GIlbert & Sullivan’s THE MIKADO

From October 3–5, Utopia Opera will present Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado in a fantasy-inspired co-production with London’s Forbear! Theatre. Directed by Forbear! Theatre’s Rachel Gianesse Middle and music directed by Utopia Opera founder William Remmers, the production will feature a 24-piece orchestra in a four-performance run at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, located at 695 Park Avenue.

Performances will take place October 3 at 7:00 p.m., October 4 at 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., and October 5 at 2:30 p.m. Utopia’s presentation marks the final stop for Forbear’s new production, which is currently touring internationally.

Forbear! Theatre, a professional company specializing in Gilbert & Sullivan, has earned consistent acclaim since its founding in 2015. Middle’s productions have been praised by both newcomers and aficionados, with filmmaker Mike Leigh, director of the Gilbert & Sullivan biopic Topsy-Turvy, calling Forbear’s work “one of the two best G&S shows [he had] ever seen” and noting the company’s “unique, youthful freshness combined with sophisticated wit and impressive theatrical and musical professionalism.”

Middle has reimagined The Mikado in the mystical world of Pagæn, a fantastical realm populated by elves, satyrs, and anthropomorphic beasts. “If there’s one thing I’m more obsessed with than G&S, it is the fantasy genre,” she said. “In the worlds of stories such as The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, anyone would fully believe that these characters could be arrested and executed at the drop of a hat. Such worlds also have the bonus of being ‘other-worldly’ and ‘exotic’ while remaining entirely fictional. My version of The Mikado keeps true to Gilbert’s original intention by being set in an other-worldly, aesthetically beautiful, and mysterious fictional culture: the perfect canvas onto which to paint the familiar flaws of modern government and society, which are much the same in Gilbert’s time as they are today.”

Acknowledging that Gilbert’s original 1885 setting of Japan was itself a fantasy, Middle has kept the libretto intact while adapting the names of locations and characters using words drawn from Old Norse, Old English, and Gaelic. Each name retains the poetry and rhyme of the original while offering character clues. For example, the leading tenor, the emperor’s son in disguise, is renamed Æthel-Rún, meaning “Secret Prince,” while the scheming comic protagonist is renamed Klók-Cow, or “Clever Coward.”

Remmers, who will appear as Klók-Cow, noted, “I enjoy performing no other repertoire more than Gilbert & Sullivan, and I enjoy performing Gilbert & Sullivan no more than when I do it alongside Rachel Gianesse Middle. Rachel and I have developed a unique and all-encompassing rubric on how to approach the material, always enabling the text’s innate sincerity and approaching the music with crystalline accuracy and beauty. Our energetic, fast-paced touring productions have been the principal artistic joy of my life. It seems unfair that a New York audience should be robbed of the chance to see this Mikado, particularly when tasteful and ethical, musically pristine and choreographically joyous productions of this beautiful piece are in short supply. To fill out our production with a larger chorus and a full orchestra will bring it to a whole new level that I cannot wait to experience first-hand.”

Forbear’s 10-person touring version has been widely praised across the UK this summer. London Theatre 1 awarded the show five stars, stating, “They live for their art. And it shows in their show. You could put this production on at the London Coliseum.” Other critics called it “a real triumph from the creative team who have passionately and carefully reimagined this iconic piece of theatrical history” (The Deskbound Dramatic) and “brilliantly subversive” (Everything Theatre).

Utopia Opera’s presentation will combine Forbear’s principal cast with Utopia’s chorus and orchestra. Costumes, handmade by Middle, are described as dazzlingly colorful and evocative of the fantastical setting. This is the second collaboration between the two companies, following their 2023 partnership on HMS Pinafore.

Ticket Information