Reviews

Our 2019 performance of The Mikado set in a modern American fashion show was a critical success:

“The production team assembled for The Durham Savoyards’ staging of The Mikado united an array of talented individuals whose shared vision yielded a show that earned its laughs… James Vollers’s set designs established the physical parameters of the production’s concept with clever details and clear sight lines… Matt Artigues devised lighting designs that artfully illuminated not just the sets and the singers occupying them but also the opera’s narrative … Formidable when her maneuvering was thwarted but touchingly vulnerable when lamenting her amorous misadventures, [Alana] Sealy’s Katisha was a potent feminine force… [Michael] Rowe’s robust singing reflected the Mikado’s social stature, completing a peevishly charismatic portrait of the character… Greg Toft made Titipu’s Lord High Executioner Ko-Ko a complex, maddening, and curiously magnetic figure whose foibles were all the more amusing for being recognizably universal… Durham Savoyards’ production of The Mikado affirmed that comedy is most effective when the artists bringing it to life take it seriously. This was a Mikado that was unafraid of frivolity, but its greatest virtue was its exploration of the inherent comedy in extraordinary things happening to thoroughly ordinary people.”  PERFORMANCE REVIEW, © by Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts 3/30/19 [full review]

“…vibrancy and joy exploding from the stage toward this critic; immediately curing him of his cautious optimism and infusing him with pure merriment… Pam Guidry-Vollers’ hair and makeup designs are distinctly Paris chic and UK glam, while Karen Guidry’s innovative fashions embolden Japanese flavors to an absurd level with sushi-topped hats and pink obi bustiers… adorably goofy and golden-voiced tenor Brady Delvecchio… gentle and sincere soprano Farren Hilliard… Jim Burnette realizes the ridiculous politician with greater commitment to character than any other Pooh-Bah we’ve seen… harmonious cast and Cooper’s nimble and indefatigable live orchestra… If this Savoyards production is any indication, Derrick Ivey might just be the one to finally fix The Mikado.”  Chatham Life & Style Review [full review]