Brent Carver stars as the swashbuckling Pirate King in the famous Stratford Festival's rollicking production of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic that pits British bobbles against unlikely pirates on the Cornish coast. Sullivan regarded this operetta - a hit ever since its first production in New York in 1879 - as the best comedy he composed. He even said of his collaborator, "The libretto is ingenious, clever, wonderfully fun in parts and sometimes brilliant in dialogue - beautifully written for music, as is all Gilbert does." Indeed, audiences will find the music every bit a match for the lyrics, with the genius of the score lying in its parody of grand opera. Filmed in 1985 at the world-famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
This 1984 production from the Stratford Festival breathes new life into Gilbert and Sullivan's fanciful 1882 operetta that, in its day, was regarded as a scorching satire of England's pre-eminent politicos. The performance features illustrious contralto Maureen Forrester as the Queen of the Fairies, who tangle with the House of Lords to unite the title character's half-fairy, half-mortal son and his true love.
In a mythical Japan, Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor, has been appointed Lord High Executioner and must find someone to execute before the arrival of the ruling Mikado. He lights upon Nanki-Poo, a strolling minstrel who loves the beautiful Yum-Yum. But Yum-Yum is also loved by Ko-Ko, and Nanki-Poo, seeing no hope for his love, considers suicide. Ko-Ko offers to solve both their problems by executing Nanki-Poo, and an agreement is reached whereby Ko-Ko will allow Nanki-Poo to marry Yum-Yum for one month, at the end of which Nanki-Poo will be executed, in time for the arrival of the Mikado. But what Ko-Ko doesn't know is that Nanki-Poo is the son of the Mikado and has run away to avoid a betrothal to an old harridan named Katisha. The arrival of the Mikado brings all the threads of the tale together. This is the Stratford Festival of Canada, directed by Brian Macdonald. This is a filmed version of a stage performance, and the sets are beautifully spare and economical.
