Instrumentation

1110 - 1110 - timp - perc(1) - (pno) - 3 vln I. 3 vln II.2 vla.2 vlc.1 db

Availability

Published by Warner/Chappell.  Administered for rental and amateur stage rights by Faber Music Ltd worldwide (excluding North America)
 
For more information on The Mikado, and to see our full catalogue of stage musicals for hire, visit fabermusicals.fabermusic.com
 
 
THE MIKADO
 
Music by Arthur Sullivan (orchestrated by Peter Murray)
Lyrics and Libretto by W.S Gilbert
 
The Story
The Town of Titipu, Japan
The Mikado has decreed that the act of flirting when ‘not conubially linked’ is punishable by death. Horrified by this prospect, the townsfolk of Titipu appoint Ko-Ko as the Lord High Executioner – he has
been imprisoned for flirting and would be obliged to execute himself before beheading anyone else.
Arriving in Titipu, Nanki-Poo is distressed to hear of this new appointment.  He has been forced to leave his father’s Court to avoid execution due to the unwarranted attentions of Katisha and has come to Titipu to claim Yum-Yum, Ko-Ko’s bride-to-be, believing that she would now be freed of her engagement to Ko-Ko in the light of his imprisonment.  Yum-Yum has no desire to marry Ko-Ko but knows that he will not
release her to anybody else, especially not to an itinerant musician.  Heartbroken, Nanki-Poo prepares to commit suicide but is prevented from doing so by Ko-Ko, who has received orders from the Mikado to
execute someone within the month, and suggests that Nanki-Poo be the required victim.  Nanki-Poo agrees on the condition that in the meantime he can marry Yum-Yum, a plan which receives a temporary set-back as the discovery that the wife of a beheaded man must be buried alive.  However, when they hear that the Mikado, accompanied by Katisha, is approaching the town, Ko-Ko, anxious to avoid the Mikado’s wrath, decides to pretend that Nanki-Poo’s execution has already taken place.  Unfortunately, the Mikado is furious to learn that it is his son who has supposedly been beheaded and Ko-Ko has no choice but to persuade Nanki-Poo to “come back to life”, a plan Nanki-Poo will only agree to if Ko-Ko proposes to the unwed Katisha.  Reluctantly he agrees with Katisha, believing Nanki-Poo to be dead, accepts the proposal.  With Katisha out of the way, Nanki-Poo appears before the Mikado.  He is delighted to see his son alive, and all is forgiven.  
 
Principal Characters (plus Chorus)
The Mikado of Japan
Nanki-Poo (his Son disguised as a wandering minstrel, in love with Yum Yum)
Ko-Ko (Lord High Executioner of Titipu)
Pooh-Bah (Lord High everything else)
Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing and Peep-Bo (Three sisters – Wards of Ko-Ko)
Katisha (an elderly Lady, in love with Nanki-Poo) 
 
Principal Musical Numbers
A ‘Wand’ring’ Minstrel (Nanki-Poo)
Behold The Lord High Executioner (Ko-Ko)
As Some Day It May Happen (Ko-Ko and Chorus)
Three Little Maids From School (Yum-Yum, Peep –Bo, Pitti-Sing and Chorus)
The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring (Nanki-Poo, Ko-Ko, Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing and Pooh-Bah)
On A Tree By A River, A Little Tom-Tit  (Ko-Ko)