Last night I bought a third class ticket to a first class performance of the G&S masterpiece 'The Mikado'. I was sitting in the State Theatre Box G which is as close as you can get to the ceiling without touching it. Acoustics up there were incredible, but it is no exaggeration to say that the performers play to the gold class seats approximately mid-stalls. Sitting up so high gave me a fantastic view of the machinations of the very clever set, but I missed the intimacy of being able to see the performers' faces. I know this because after the Interval or as I heard one punter ask: "How long is Intermission?", I moved to one of the marvellous vacant seats in A Reserve. Wow!
Not to put too fine a point on it, there were moments in both acts which were quite sublime and I felt tears welling with the familiar, nostalgic stirrings that music can often induce. Why are those Gilbert and Sullivan operettas so comforting? The rest of the audience seemed as overly familiar with the work as I was, yet the performances byAnthony Warlow (Ko-Ko) (a National Trust Living Treasure), David Hobson (Nanki-Poo) Judi Connelli (Katisha)and other cast members and chorus were as fresh, vibrant and exciting as you could hope to see. The synopsis is available here and if you want to try the sing a-long version there's a Karaoke site.
It seems that Opera Australia is once again having funding and sponsorship issues but the performance I saw was probably only two thirds of a capacity audience - a terrible shame for such a great show.