The Mikado

My Dad's boss said he previously sang opera professionally. Wanting to appear more mature than a 7th grader, I went to the record store and purchased the Gilbert & Sullivan Highlights album. When I mentioned this to the boss he somewhat dismissively said those were operettas and not true opera. Although a bit daunted, I still listened to the record because I thought the lyrics were funny. I saw The Mikado in 1967 and enjoyed it. So much so that over the next half century I went to a dozen live performances of different G&S operettas and enjoyed them all. I do hum "When I was lad", "Modern Major General, "John Wellington Wells" and other tunes while walking down the street. Quite an impact from a little movie.