THE MIKADO, or The Town of Titipu," opened at the Savoy Theatre on the 14th March, 1885 and proved to be one of the most famous of all the Gilbert and Sullivan Operas, running for 672 nights.

The plot of "The Mikado", is said to have come to Gilbert through a Japanese sword, which hung on the walls of his study, suddenly falling down.

The plot concerns Ko-Ko, formerly a cheap tailor, who was under sentence of death for flirting, was reprieved at the last moment and raised to the exalted rank of Lord High Executioner. He has a ward; Yum-Yum, a pretty school girl who he intends to marry. However, Nanki-Poo, in reality the Mikado's son, masquerading as a second trombone in the Titipu band, has fallen in love with Yum-Yum and she with him. Nanki-Poo, discloses his identity to Yum-Yum and explains that he fled in disguise from his father's Court in order to avoid the misfortune of having to marry Katisha, an elderly lady who claimed him in marriage. To avoid the wrath of the Mikado for failing in his job as executioner KoKo agrees to allow Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum to marry in return for chopping off the bridegroom’s head after a month. The lovers agree only to discover the beheaded person’s wife has to be buried alive with him. This doesn’t appeal to Yum-Yum but as KoKo can’t bring himself to decapitate anyone, he sends her off to marry Nanki-Poo and with Pooh-Bah and Pitti-Sing concoct a tale to tell the Mikado. All goes well until Katisha, who arrived with the Mikado, spots Nanki-Poo’s name on the death certificate. So now how out of this mess? The Mikado requires the death of those responsible for killing the heir apparent, Nanki-Poo won’t reappear until Katisha is safely wed so poor KoKo has yet again to compromise but then with such a right shoulder blade to admire might he yet have fallen on his feet?

At the time the opera was produced there was a small colony of Japanese men and women living in an imitation village at Knightsbridge. Hence Ko-Ko's somewhat unexpected reply to the Mikado when asked the whereabouts of Nanki-Poo. When the company is on tour Ko-Ko usually substitutes a local name in place of Knightsbridge; but this particular case has the Author's permission, for in no other instance would Gilbert allow any gagging.

With his usual eye for detail Gilbert took some of these Japanese people to the Theatre in order to show the actors how to manipulate their fans and how to shuffle along in that curious oriental fashion which to a European appears to be half run and half walk.

With regard to Sullivan's work on "The Mikado" it is strange to note that he almost always put off the composing of each new opera until the very last moment. The Mikado was to be produced on the night of 14 March, and yet Sullivan had reached only the Finale of Act I on the evening of 3 March, for on that date he wrote in his diary:

"Worked all night at Finale 1st Act. Finished at 5 a.m. 63 pages of score at one sitting!"

Evidently he was highly satisfied with the opera's reception for to quote once again from his diary for 14 March he writes:

"New opera 'The Mikado, or the Town of Titipu' produced at the Savoy Theatre with every sign of success. A most brilliant house. Tremendous reception. All went very well except Grossmith, whose nervousness nearly upset the piece. A treble encore for 'Three Little Maids' and for 'The flowers that bloom in the spring'. Seven encores taken—might have taken twelve".

The Opera was so successful in England that Carte produced it in New York with very good results; also in Philadelphia and all over the States. It was produced too in Australia, Berlin and Holland and three companies toured England.

The Mikado - cast