Delaware Valley Opera is bringing Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved comic operetta The Mikado back to the stage this weekend, continuing the company’s 40th season with a production that blends familiar music, sharp satire and a cast featuring both returning performers and local newcomers.
Following performances last weekend, The Mikado returns Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., offering audiences another chance to experience one of the most enduring works in the operatic repertoire.
For Suzanne Dvorken, President of Delaware Valley Opera Board of Directors, the operetta’s lasting appeal begins with its music.
“There’s something everybody can leave the theater humming if they don’t already know it,” she said.
Among the best-known numbers are Gilbert and Sullivan’s rapid-fire patter songs, including “I’ve Got a Little List,” which Dvorken said remains a crowd favorite. This production includes newly written topical verses by cast member Nick Worman, continuing a long-standing performance tradition of updating the song with contemporary references.
Satire that still resonates
Premiering in 1885, The Mikado satirized Victorian British society through a fictional setting and exaggerated bureaucracy. Dvorken said those themes continue to connect with audiences today.
Traditionally, Gilbert and Sullivan “poked fun at the British class system,” she said, adding that Delaware Valley Opera’s production includes “a tiny little bit of political back and forthing. How could you not?”
Some of the opera’s humor, however, comes from references that modern audiences may not immediately recognize.
Dvorken pointed to a lyric about “parliamentary trains,” which referred to an 1844 British law requiring rail companies to provide inexpensive transportation for working-class passengers.
“The buffer was actually the hook that hooked all the trains together,” she explained. “So you’re riding on something terrible outside.”
An opera designed for first-time audiences
While opera can sometimes seem intimidating, Dvorken said The Mikado is an ideal introduction to the art form because it emphasizes storytelling alongside memorable music.
“It’s fun, it’s lighthearted,” she said. “Nobody dies.”
Unlike traditional opera, The Mikado is an operetta, combining spoken dialogue with musical numbers.
“We’ve made sure—and there’s dialogue and singing, which is one of the things that makes this an operetta over a pure opera,” Dvorken said. “We sing it in English and you can actually get the jokes because our singers are so good with their diction.”
That accessibility has long been central to Delaware Valley Opera’s mission of introducing audiences to opera in an approachable setting.
Local performers take the spotlight
The production also reflects the company’s commitment to showcasing regional talent.
Dvorken said this year’s cast includes several new principal performers alongside familiar faces, while most of the ensemble is made up of local singers.
“The gentlemen and women of Japan are all locals with the exception of two people,” she said. “We’ve got local singers back again in the theater, and I’m so happy about that.”
The production is accompanied by piano rather than a full orchestra, with Martin Yashica serving as both conductor and pianist.
Dvorken said the company’s wood-paneled theater enhances the experience through its natural acoustics.
“Everything is acoustic,” she said. “Nobody wears a microphone, and we make lots of noise.”
Image: Cast members of “The Mikado” at Delaware Valley Opera. (Delaware Valley Opera)