The Japan of pure invention

Long before Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation , long before Barthes explicated his empire of signs, even before Puccini's Madame Butterfly , Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado presented its own distinctive version of Japan. Set in a fictional town called Titipu and populated by characters named Yum-Yum, Nanki-Poo, and Pooh-Bah, the opera has remained popular since its premiere in 1885. Tracing the history of The Mikado's performances from Victorian times to the present, Josephine Lee reveals the continuing viability of the play's surprisingly complex racial dynamics as they have been adapted.

Year

2010

Language

English

Publisher

University of Minnesota Press

Editions

2

Pages

280

ISBN

9780816665792

Data source: Wikidata