Having had no operatic performances at all in January, English National Opera is filling February with two hardy perennials, Jonathan Miller’s productions of The Mikado and Rigoletto. Odd, considering how successful they both are, as are so many of his productions, all of which must be thought of as old, that he is not asked to do any new ones. One wonders how many of today’s directorial Wunderkinder will still have any of their productions running after more than 20 years — and how many will be thought of primarily with the director’s name attached.
This particular pair, though Miller subjected them to superficially similar treatment, and with similarly brilliant results, actually serve different purposes. The Mikado, tied as it was in all respects to a particular tradition, needed not only freeing from that tradition but also commenting upon it with irony.
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