the mikado

The Mikado is an operetta which was written by Gilbert and Sullivan and first performed in 1885.
The operetta is highly comedic, satirical depiction of life in the Japanese town of Titipu. While the plot appears to be poking fun at Japanese tradition, it is actually a cleverly disguised parody of British politics. The plot follows Nanki-Poo, the son of Japan's lordlike Mikado, in his attempts to woo the fair Yum-Yum away from her fiance Ko-Ko, whilst avoiding the affections of his own betrothed, the elderly Katisha.

The male roles in the Mikado are:
-The Mikado (bass)
-Nanki-Poo, his son (tenor)
-Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner (baritone)
-Pooh-Bah, the Lord High Everything Else (baritone)
-Pish-Tush, a nobleman (baritone or bass)

The female roles in the Mikado are:
-Yum-Yum, Ko-Ko's betrothed (soprano)
-Peep-Bo, a ward of Ko-Ko (soprano)
-Pitti-Sing, her sister (mezzo-soprano)
-Katisha, a noblewoman (contralto)

However, sometimes people with different ranges can play various roles in the operetta. Pitti-Sing can be successfully sung by an alto, while any female singer could play Katisha as long as she has a low range. If the actor playing Pish-Tush cannot hit a bottom F, another character, Go-To, may be played by a bass to sing Pish-Tush's lower parts.

The most famous song from the Mikado is "Three Little Maids from School."

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yum-yum

A female character in the Gilbert and Sullivan masterpiece The Mikado. The role of Yum-Yum should be sung by a soprano.

Yum-Yum is the beautiful young ward of Ko-Ko, the Lord High Executioner, and she is preparing to be his bride when she reunites with Nanki-Poo, a childhood friend and the son of the Mikado, and falls in love with him instead. During the opera, Yum-Yum is distressed by not being able to marry her beloved, until finally Ko-Ko releases her from the engagement because he has fallen in love with Katisha.

Yum-Yum sings quite a bit during the midsection of the Mikado, but her biggest solo is "The Sun, Whose Rays."

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pitti-sing

Pitti-Sing is a character in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, The Mikado. She is the sister of Yum-Yum and Peep-Bo, and the ward of Ko-Ko. She, Ko-Ko and Pooh-Bah are falsely blamed for the execution of Nanki-Poo, and the trio is condemned to death. However, they are able to prove their innocence at the last possible moment, and Katisha arranges for them to be pardoned.

The role of Pitti-Sing is usually sung by a mezzo-soprano, but an alto could also play the role. She doesn't have any proper solos, but she sings a stanza by herself in "The Criminal Cried," and leads the chorus in "Braid the Raven Hair" and "For He's Going to Marry Yum-Yum."

Pitti-Sing may not be a major role in The Mikado, but she is still vital to the plot.

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Ko-Ko

The Lord High Executioner of Titipu in Gilbert and Sullivan's masterpiece The Mikado. Ko-Ko is usually played by a baritone. He is generally considered the male lead in this operetta, and while he sings during almost every song, his only true solos are "I've Got a Little List" and "On a Tree By a River."

At the beginning of the operetta, Ko-Ko has been condemned to death for flirting, but the Mikado releases him and makes him the Lord High Executioner. His ward Yum-Yum is to be his bride, but she is in love with Nanki-Poo, the Mikado's son, who is in turn lusted after by a noblewoman named Katisha. After the entire cast attempts multiple times to sort out their mangled love lives, Ko-Ko finds love with Katisha, and they sing their famed duet, "There is Beauty in the Bellow of the Blast."

Ko-Ko has been played by such talented actors as Martyn Green and Eric Idle.

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contralto

The lowest female singing voice. At their lowest, contraltos sometimes sound like Barry White. There are traditionally very few roles for contraltos in operas, though modern musical theatre has begun to include them. A common saying is that contraltos are only allowed to play "witches, bitches and britches," with "britches" referring to a trouser role.

Some famous contraltos are Cher, Fiona Apple, Patti LuPone and Marilyn Horne.
Some famous contralto roles in musical theatre are Katisha (The Mikado), Dalila (Samson et Dalila) and Charity (Sweet Charity).

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whistle register

The highest register of the human voice. A note properly sung in this register can, in fact, shatter glass.

The whistle register is very rarely used in music, mostly because the ability to hold a pitch in the whistle register is itself very rare. However, singers who can reach these notes do have a few special privileges. Only a whistle-register singer may play the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflote.

Two very famous whistle register singers are Mariah Carey and Sarah Brightman.

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sarah brightman

A remarkable soprano with a terrific range. Sarah is well-known for her work in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, where she famously portrayed Christine Daae. She is an extremely able singer whose range peaks in the whistle register.

Sarah Brightman's beautiful voice has made her very successful.

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