Costumes

The costumes of The Mikado are a Topsy Turvy fusion of traditional elements of Japanese design blended with the outrageous contemporary fashions found in areas such as the Harajuku district of Tokyo. The Harajuku district is world renowned as a capital for youth culture and street fashion with complex sub-sects such as the brightly adorned Ganguro girls, the leather clad “rockabilly” dancers in Yoyogi Park, and the Victorian doll-like Japanese Lolita’s. These trends influence many of today’s pop icons including Gwen Stefani and Lady Gaga, and are reflected in popular Japanese anime (animation) and numerous brands coveted by young consumers globally such as Hello Kitty. In addition the dress of Japanese corporate culture will also be explored providing an apt Model for Mikado’s new modern empire. Our Katisha wears dragon-emblazoned Prada, The Mikado navigates navigates Tokyo traffic on a Seguay resplendent in vibrant biker robes. The juxtaposition of corporate Japan against youth culture provides the perfect visuals to retell the traditional story of the young Nanki-Poo in love with the teenage Yum-Yum much to the dismay of his powerful father the Mikado.

Deanna Finnman, Designer

 “We hope to create vibrant, new looking Mikado, one which takes the old kimono look of productions gone by and turns it inside out. This Japan is the one of today...a Japan where fashion warps the old traditions and blossoms forth with a colorful, playful world of naughtiness played against the Japanese corporate world. An obi tied in a different way.”

Rob Herriot, Director.

	PETER DALA, Conductor Edmonton Opera’s Chorus Master, Peter worked with the Basel Ballet and Zurich Ballet in Switzerland, the Hungarian State Opera and the National Ballet of Hungary, with performances in Monte Carlo, Israel, New York, Spain and China. Highlights include Don Giovanni and the ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Singapore and the Hong Kong Festival of Arts. Peter has also conducted for Alberta Ballet since 2001, and has been their Music Director since 2005.
	ROBERT HERRIOT, Director Canadian stage director Rob Herriot began his on the stage before turning his attention to stage direction. In 2000 he began working as an assistant director for Vancouver Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City and San Diego Opera. Since then has directed productions of Lucia di Lammermoor , La Boheme, Carmen (Manitoba Opera), La Traviata (Opera Hamilton), Carmen (Arizona Opera), Don Pasquale (Opera Hamilton, Connecticut Opera, and Utah Opera) Pirates of Penzance, La Fille Du Regiment, HMS Pinafore (Edmonton Opera-winner of a Sterling Award for Outstanding Musical of the Season),Tosca , nominated for the Sterling Award’s Best Musical Production 2011 and Barber of Seville (Calgary Opera) which was nominated for a Betty Mitchell award for  Best Musical of 2008/2009 season. Rob is also the Director-in-Residence for Opera on the Avalon in St. John’s NL where he has directed productions Albert Herring  and The Marriage of Figaro. Last season he returned to performing, playing the role of Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. Upcoming engagements include productions of La Boheme, Gianni Schicci and Suor Angelica.
	JOHN AVEY, The Mikado John Avey is a versatile baritone whose repertoire encompasses a wide variety of major operatic roles as well as the principal symphonic and oratorio works. Mr. Avey debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Enrico in Donizetti’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. Highlights from seasons past include Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff with Edmonton Opera, Salieri in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri with the Calgary Philharmonic, Scarpia in Tosca and the title role in Rigoletto for Pacific Opera Victoria, and der Kaiser in Ullmann’s DER KAISER VON ATLANTIS in Edmonton.
	ANDRIANA CHUCHMAN, Yum-Yum This season, Canadian soprano Andriana Chuchman make her Canadian Opera Company debut as Olympia in Tales of Hoffmann and returns to the Toronto Symphony for performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, the Michigan Opera Theater for staged performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana and Menotti’s The Medium as well as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the Edmonton Opera as Yum-Yum. In her native Canada, Ms. Chuchman made her Edmonton Opera debut as Marie in La Fille du Regiment, and has also appeared as Adina, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. She has also appeared as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Manitoba Opera. Concert performances have included engagements with the Toronto Symphony, Prince George Symphony, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Ms. Chuchman received her Bachelor's Degree in Voice Performance from the School of Music at the University of Manitoba. She was a prizewinner at the Finals of the 2009 Neue Stimmen Competition in Germany, and received a Sullivan Foundation Encouragement Award in 2007.
	SCOTT SCULLY, Nanki-Poo An in-demand presence on American and international stages, Scott Scully joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in the 2009-2010 season singing the roles of Remendado in Carmen, Pong in Turandot, and the Young Prisoner in The House of the Dead, as well as participating in Ariadne auf Naxos. He also appeared with the Eugene Symphony in Mozart’s Coronation Mass, made his debut with the BBC Orchestra in London, where he reprised the role of Louis in Angels in America, and sang his first Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly with the Bar Harbor Music Festival. This year at the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Scully will be seen in Carmen, the new production of La traviata and Capriccio. He also covers the role of Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, the Simpleton in Boris Godunov, Tchekalinsky in Pique Dame and Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos. Future seasons will see Mr. Scully’s return to Edmonton Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.
	CURTIS OLDS, Ko-Ko Curt enjoys a busy career in both musical theatre and opera, performing and directing in the U.S. and abroad. He has been seen in productions ranging from Don Pasquale and The Magic Flute, to Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Donna McKechnie and the Actor’s Fund production of Three Penny Opera with Bea Arthur. Curt appeared in the original German production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS and also on Broadway in Riverdance. Other favorite operatic roles include Falke in Die Fledermaus, Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore and Njegus in The Merry Widow, all with Central City Opera, Malatesta in Don Pasquale with Opera Omaha and Pirates of Penzance with Arizona Opera, Lake George Opera and Edmonton Opera. Musical theatre favorites include A Little Night Music at North Shore Music Theatre, Frank Butler in the New Orleans production of Annie Get Your Gun, Luther Billis in South Pacific at Hawaii Opera Theatre and Petrucchio/Fred in Kiss Me, Kate.
	SONYA GOSSE, Katisha Mezzo soprano Sonya Gosse returns to Edmonton Opera in the role of Katisha. Previous roles with the company include Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance and The Marquise of Berkenfield in The Daughter of the Regiment. Ms. Gosse’s many roles with the Canadian Opera Company include Madame Akhrossimova in War and Peace, the Second Maid in Elektra, Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring, Rita in The Handmaid’s Tale, Giovanna in Rigoletto, Grandmother Buryjovka in Jenufa, the Governess in The Queen of Spades, Maddalena in II viaggio a Reims, and the Hostess of the Inn in Boris Godunov. In the fall of 2011, Ms. Gosse made her debut as Music Director and Conductor of Crescent School’s production of Rent.
	THOMAS GOERZ, Pooh-Bah Dramatic integrity and vocal clarity are the enduring artistic hallmarks of bass-baritone Thomas Goerz. His impressive variety of roles ranges from Leporello in DON GIOVANNI with Opera Ontario, to Owen Hart in DEAD MAN WALKING with Calgary Opera. In the past year Mr. Goerz covered three roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Sulpice in LA FILLE DU REGIMENT, Don Alfonso in COSI FAN TUTTE, and Lord Krishna in SATYAGRAHA by Phillip Glass.  He sang three key roles in Vancouver Opera’s LILLIAN ALLING (world premiere), and he returns to Vancouver Opera this spring as Don Basilio in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA. Edmonton audiences recently heard Thomas as Angelotti in TOSCA, and this year they hear him as Pooh Bah in THE MIKADO, and Rocco in FIDELIO. Mr. Goerz has been heard as Sulpice in LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT and Don Alfonso in COSÌ FAN TUTTE with Vancouver Opera, Nikitich in BORIS GODUNOV with the Canadian Opera Company, Raimondo in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR with Pacific Opera Victoria, and Tod in DER KAISER VON ATLANTIS with both the Canadian Opera Company, and Edmonton Opera.
	ERIN LAWSON, Pitti-Sing Possessing “...a beautiful lyric mezzo-soprano" voice (Opera Canada), and praised for her “dramatic flair and expressive vocal range" (Kitchener-Waterloo Record), Erin is earning notice for performances on opera and concert stages across Canada. A recent alumnus of both the Calgary Opera Emerging Artist Program, and Pacific Opera Victoria’s Resident Artist Program, Erin has used her engaging stage presence to captivate audiences in repertoire ranging from Handel and Rossini to newly created works. Selected operatic highlights include debuts with Saskatoon Opera, Calgary Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, and Opera Hamilton. She has toured the east coast of Canada as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, with Jeunesses Musicales Canada, and the west coast singing the title role in Rossini's Cenerentola with Vancouver Opera in Schools. She was top prize winner at the 2005 Canadian Music Competition, and has received grants from the Vancouver Women's Musical Society, the BC Arts Council and the Canadian Council for the Arts. Upcoming highlights include Alto Soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Orchestra Toronto , a concert of arias with the Huronia Symphony, and a return to Calgary Opera in the 2011-12 season.
	ANDREW MACDONALD-SMITH, Pish-Tush Recent credits include The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore (Edmonton Opera); The Hoof and Mouth Advantage,  The Scent of Compulsion, Witness to a Conga,  At the Zenith of the Empire and The Salon of the Talking Turk (Teatro La Quindicina); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Little Shop of Horrors, Footloose and The Wizard of Oz (Mayfield Dinner Theatre);  The Liars (Shadow Theatre); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Theatre Calgary); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Vertigo Theatre); The Pillowman (The Citadel Theatre); Drew also appeared in the original musicals The Infinite Shiver and Everybody Goes to Mitzi’s, which he co-wrote for Teatro la Quindicina. In 2006, Drew made his Broadway debut at the Golden Theatre in the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q.
	DIONNE Sellinger, Peep-Bo Dionne Sellinger was a member of Calgary Opera’s Inaugural Emerging Artist Development Program and has since returned to perform Maman in Ravels’ L’Enfant et Sortileges. She performed Rosina in Barber of Seville with Burnaby Lyric Opera, and toured The Barber of Barkerville as Rosie, a role reprised with Edmonton Opera. Sellinger has performed Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor with Vancouver Opera. She performed in Opera on the Avalon’s production of Albert Herring as Nancy and next season will be back in Edmonton as Peep-Bo in The Mikado.

Media Articles

Edmonton Community Calandar
OMNI Alberta, February , 2012

A Night at the Opera
Adam Snider, February 8, 2012

The Mikado: Review
Edmonton Journal, February 6, 2012

An Operatic Roar
Edmonton Journal, February 4, 2012

Community Events: The Mikado
Omni TV, February 4, 2012

The Mikado - A Sneak Peek
Avenue Edmonton, February 3, 2012

Edmonton Opera pushes the limits of The Mikado
Gig City, February 2, 2012

Edmonton Weekend Guide: The Mikado
City and Dale, February 2, 2012

The Mikado
The Gateway, February 1, 2012

The Mikado
Vue Weekly, February 1, 2012

The Mikado
CKUA ArtBeat Podcast, January 29, 2012

Friday Morning Dance Party with the Edmonton Opera!
102.3 NOW! Radio, January 27, 2012

The Mikado
Where Edmonton, January/February, 2012

"Don't miss the Edmonton Opera's vibrant, modern-day interpretation of this beloved Gilbert & Sullivan tale. Set in the Japanese town of Titipu, this is the story of young Nanki-Poo who is in love with the teenage Yum-Yum - much to the dismay of his father, the Mikado, Emperor of Japan.

"In this brightly updated version, gone are the traditional kimonos of the past; intead, the costumes are inspired by the contemporary, and often outrageous, fashions of the Harajuku district in Tokyo - the capital of Japanese youth culture. Fueling the fire of young love is Japan's opposing corporate culture, albeit presented more flamboyantly - for instance, Katisha dons dragon-emblazoned Prada, which may be worth going to see for that alone."

Edmonton Opera production of The Mikado sheds tradition in favour of Japanese anime
Edmonton Journal, January 21, 2012

The Edmonton Journal previews Deanna Finnman's costume designs for Edmonton Opera's production of The Mikado.

The guy with the ‘long, red fingernails’ and other tales from The Mikado
Edmonton Journal, January 19, 2012

The Edmonton Journal previews Edmonton Opera's production of The Mikado.

Costume Photos

The Mikado Brunch Photos

Mikado Opening Night Reception Photos

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Tuesday & Thursday Ticket Prices