The sun whose rays are all ablaze

0:13 - William Russell Flint
0:55 - Alice B. Woodward
1:51 - Several artists

For Tine: Happy Birthday dear Tine !!!
March 8, 2012
tinitussi21

The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened on March 14, 1885, in London, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, which was the second longest run for any work of musical theatre and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece up to that time. Before the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America, at least 150 companies were producing the opera. The Mikado remains the most frequently performed Savoy Opera, and it is especially popular with amateur and school productions. The work has been translated into numerous languages and is one of the most frequently played musical theatre pieces in history.
Setting the opera in Japan, an exotic locale far away from Britain, allowed Gilbert to satirise British politics and institutions more freely by disguising them as Japanese.

Synopsis:
Nanki-Poo, the son of the Mikado, leaves home and disguises himself as a musician to escape a distasteful marriage - and meets a beautiful girl, Yum-Yum, with whom he falls in love. He desperately wants to marry her, but obstacles are cast in his way by Yum-Yum's guardian, Ko-Ko, who is also in love with Yum-Yum and has every intention of marrying her, himself. Also causing problems is Katisha, Nanki-Poo's jilted bride, who arrives in Titipu in the company of Nanki-Poo's father, the Mikado

Valerie Masterson sings "The Sun, whose rays are all ablaze"
The Mikado - The D'Oyly Carte Opera company production (1966)