The Brent Walker Mikado (1982)

Cast The Mikado William Conrad Nanki-Poo John Stewart Ko-Ko Clive Revill Pooh-Bah Stafford Dean Pish-Tush Gordon Sandison Yum-Yum Kate Flowers Pitti-Sing Cynthia Buchan Peep-Bo Fiona Dobie Katisha Anne Collins Ambrosian Opera Chorus London Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Alexander Faris Camera Director: Rodney Greenberg Stage Director: Michael Geliot

OperaWorld MIK10V

Pioneer Artists PA-83-061

This video production, one of the earliest made in the Brent Walker series, is also one of the weakest. William Conrad, television's Cannon, is utterly out of his element as The Mikado. Clive Revill fails to capture Ko-Ko's human side. It is, overall, a dreary affair. The text is musically complete, but there are some unfortunate dialogue cuts. Elimination of the Mikado's reference to "boiling oil" leaves Ko-Ko, Pooh-Bah and Pitti-Sing fearing for their lives for no apparent reason.