Trivial Pursuit #108
Trivial Pursuit #108
#0Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 4:38pm
THE MIKADO, the most popular of GILBERT AND SULLIVAN's Grand Operetta's, opened on March 14, 1885 at the Savoy Theatre, London.
Set in Japan, it has a familiar topsy-turvy Gilbert libretto, and the score is distinctly English in style.
However, twice some Japanese sneaks into the score. One is a repetition of several words in Japanese, the other is a whole song that was adapted into the show.
Name the two songs. What is a rough translation of the words in the former? What was the latter song adapted from?
GOOD LUCK! 
Updated On: 4/16/05 at 04:38 PM
#1re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 4:46pm
A guess:
Were You Not To Ko-Ko Plighted
Mi-Ya-Sa-Ma, Mi-Ya-Sa-Ma
#2re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 4:49pm
A great guess, but only half correct.
In Were You Not To Koko Plighted the non-english words are either Latin or English schoolboy slang...
#3re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 4:51pmI take no responsibility for my spelling, but O-ni-bikuri shakuri to from the first act finale means "Surprise with a hiccup" in Japanese, I believe. And I think Miya sama is correct.
"I am special, I am special! Please, God, please, don't let me be normal!" ---Louisa, The Fantasticks
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Intolerant of intolerance.
#5re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 4:55pmThis is closed for Lael right now, unless she fails to answer.
#7re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 4:57pmI so totally knew this when I was twelve...
"I am special, I am special! Please, God, please, don't let me be normal!" ---Louisa, The Fantasticks
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Intolerant of intolerance.
#9re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:02pmNever watched it...
"I am special, I am special! Please, God, please, don't let me be normal!" ---Louisa, The Fantasticks
--- ---
Intolerant of intolerance.
#10re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:02pmApologies for how cryptic that last clue was...
#11re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:04pm
I have just been informed that Lael has to step out due to an emergency, so the question is now open.
Where was MIYA SAMA taken from?
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#13re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:07pm
A fair guess, but incorrect. 
The melody and words are Japanese.
#14re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:09pmThe M*A*S*H clue may have been a bit deceptive...
#17re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:25pm
Okay, so we've got something to do with music that rhymes with pretty, it has something to do with a military entity and it's Japanese.
C'mon guys, take a stab!
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#18re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:34pm
I'm not clear on the answer you're seeking: the origins or Miya Sama, or it's meaning? Or both?
Thanks.
#20re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:39pm
It's an army ditty. There! And it means "Oh noble Prince, what is that thing which is fluttering in front of your Highness's horse?"
Okay, the second part I looked up.
"I am special, I am special! Please, God, please, don't let me be normal!" ---Louisa, The Fantasticks
--- ---
Intolerant of intolerance.
#21re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:45pm
CONGRATULATIONS LAEL!!!
That's your SECOND win with me at the helm of the Trivial Pursuits!
In Gilbert and Sullivan's score there were two songs with Japanese influence:
-In the finale, to stop Katisha from revealing Nanki-Poo's identity, the chorus sings "O ni, bikkuri shakkuri to." Which, roughly translated, depending on how one interprets the "o ni", means "Oh, suprised hiccups," or "the suprised devil with the hiccups/has the hiccups."
-Miya Sama was a ditty sung mainly in the Japanese Army, and absorbed into the score, just before The Mikado's entrance with MY OBJECT ALL SUBLIME.
Way to answer a very hard question!!!
For your bonus points:
Gilbert and Sullivan were at sixes and sevens, as Gilbert was intent on pursuing his awful "lozenge plot" (a plot involving a lozenge that changes people's personalities, causing much "topsy-turvy"). With their relationship on the rocks, and no libretto to work on, suddenly Gilbert came up with an idea.
What inspired Gilbert?
Updated On: 4/16/05 at 05:45 PM
#22re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:47pmI remember that there was some sort of Japanese exhibit in London at that time...
"I am special, I am special! Please, God, please, don't let me be normal!" ---Louisa, The Fantasticks
--- ---
Intolerant of intolerance.
#23re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:49pm
Yes, London having a bout of "Japanese Fever" at the time, and Japanese souveniers were all the rage.
One of these souveniers inspired Gilbert.
#24re: Trivial Pursuit #108
Posted: 4/16/05 at 5:50pmA sword! It was a sword!!
"I am special, I am special! Please, God, please, don't let me be normal!" ---Louisa, The Fantasticks
--- ---
Intolerant of intolerance.
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