Ever since late-19th-century audiences roared at the antics and wiles of Nanki-Poo to win the lovely Yum-Yum through conniving, “The Mikado” has been one of the the most loved Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
Virginia Opera stages this comic masterpiece with a talented and energetic cast portraying nonsensical characters garbed in exotic Japanese costumes. The plot is propelled by outlandish monkey business in a make-believe world where beheadings occur for an infraction as mild as flirtation.
Tenor Matthew Plenk is Nanki-Poo, who fled the court of his father a year earlier to become a wandering minstrel. In this disguise, he meets his true love, Yum-Yum, only to discover she is about to marry Ko-Ko, the Lord High Commissioner, who fortuitously received a last-minute reprieve from his own scheduled beheading. Just as Nanki-Poo reveals his true identity to Yum-Yum, Ko-Ko learns that the Mikado demands a beheading to uphold the village’s rank. To forward his own ends, he devises a clever plan for Nanki-Poo to marry Yum-Yum; after a month, Ko-Ko will behead the hapless Nanki-Poo and marry his widow. Dire as the plot promises to become, it quickly bursts into absurd comedy, hummable melodies and outrageous merriment.
| Onstage |
| ‘The Mikado’ |
| Where: George Mason University Center for the Arts |
| When 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: $44 to $86; 888-945-2468; cfa.gmu.edu |
“I especially like Nanki-Poo for how smart he is and how charming he has to be to outsmart both Ko-Ko and his father,” Plenk said. “The role requires plenty of acrobatics and dancing that I was able to learn even though I’m not a dancer. Thanks to our stage director, Dorothy Danner, who has lots of Broadway experience, I mastered the choreography. The silly dialogue and crisp action add to the fun.”
Earlier in his career, Plenk was chosen to become a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program for rising singers.
“It was extremely beneficial to me because it’s set up to take young singers at different levels of training and polish them with many tools, including acting techniques and support from master singers who are brought in to coach us,” he said. “I solidified the way I sing by working with Kiri Te Kanawa. Thomas Hampson and of course James Levine.”
Next season, Plenk will perform with the Cleveland Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, make his Kansas City Opera debut and cover a Met performance of “The Tempest.” Another highlight will be working with the composer conductor Thomas Ades. But for now, his heart is with Nanki-Poo.
“I want the ‘Mikado’ audience to come for a good time and to leave with a good feeling,” he said. “This is a big cast performing over-the-top Japanese antics.”
