Saturday night I went out for a night on the town with my grandparents and my dad.
How Delightful! We ate at Fresco and went to see the Madison Savoyards perform Mikado.
And now for the reviews:
Fresco was simply wonderful. I've seen several poor reviews for it, but I thought it was quite nice. I didn't find the view that astounding, but we were seated inside due to a (wonderfully expensive) wedding taking place on the terrace. I ordered the Bibb Wedge Salad and the Seared Duck Breast(Medium). My dining companions ordered the Spring Beet Salad, the Caesar Style Salad, Pork Tenderloin(Medium), and Beef Tenderloin(Medium, and Medium Well). Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meals. Bibb Wedge Salad - They forgot to put it together! In the middle of the plate where the wedges of lettuce with a few paper thin strips of carrots draped over them. In the upper right hand corner there where chunky bacon bits, in the lower right hand corner was finely chopped cucumbers, and crumbled boiled egg pieces resided in the lower left hand. The buttermilk dressing was a bit over-powering at first, but had a nice flavor. Suprised at first, I did enjoy the unique and unusual presentation of this dish. The other two salads ordered came a bit more conventionally presented and got good reviews (they finished them!) from my dining companions. My father, unaccustomed to salad (really, he has an aversion to consuming anything green) chose instead a roll from the two small bowls they had given us before the salad. The rolls were hot, fresh, buttered, and salted. They were similar to a very light pretzel roll. The flavor was similar but the bread was dense at all. The tops were crispy like a good street pretzel with large but not overwhelming salt crystals.
Seared Duck Breast - Not the best duck I've ever had, but still very enjoyable. The bok choy was very well cooked and flavorful. The mushrooms and potatoes went along very nicely as well. The duck was tender, and not too greasy. I felt the portion size was just right for the duck. My grandma was unable to finish her meat or rice with the pork tenderloin, and both beef tenderloins were finished with a few potatoes left.
For desert my dad and I split a honey-poached pear brulee and my grandparents chose the buttermilk beignets. The pear was simply wonderful - the best I've had. Sinfully sweet, just the right amount of the pear was left meaty with a crisp skin and top. The lemon whip cream complimented the taste and texture of the pear wonderfully. The beignets were also quite delightful. The pastry managed to be heavy and airy at the same time and the warm chocolate sauce was ribboned through the inside and also drizzled on top allowed the flavor of the dough and the filling to work with and not against each other. The vanilla creme anglaise was the perfect finish to the beignets, and to the meal.
Mikado performed by the Madison Savoyards was the first Gilbert & Sullivan I've seen live. How absolutely fantastic! It is one of their most successful pieces, and their most successful opera. It is a London social commentary set in Japan. To give you an idea of how wonderfully ridiculous the entire show is, the character names include Ko-ko, Nanki-Poo, Poo-bah, Yum-Yum, Pitti-Sing, and Katisha.
The plot (I think!) is generally this: A woman of the Mikado's court falls for the Mikado's son. The son runs away and joins a band disguised as a second trombone. While playing in the band he falls for a beautiful young girl who is betrothed to her guardian, a cheap tailor. The tailor is sentenced to death for flirting, and the young man returns to claim the girl when he hears of this. Unfortunately, instead of being put to death the tailor was promoted to Lord High Executioner. The problem is, he can't kill anything! Chaos, love triangles, and dramatic irony ensue.
The set and costumes (in productions I have always been stage crew-not cast-so forgive me) were wonderful. The stage was a bit crowded but the UW Music Hall used to be a church, so the stage was designed for mass not theatre. They did a good job with the space they had, but perhaps would have been more successful on a more traditional stage. The orchestra was fantastic, this score was carefully adapted from the original notes, and I felt that they did well on even the more challenging parts. The acting was good, and the singing was better. The characters seemed to have a lot of chemistry on stage, making even the most ridiculous parts seem believable.
As always, Gilbert & Sullivan delivered on impossible song lines and memorably witty dialog. A few favorites:
Your anger pray bury, For all will be merry, I think you had better succumb (cumb, cumb) and join or expressions of glee.
That's absurd. If you attempt to raise an alarm, I instantly perform the Happy Despatch with this dagger.
To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black blockand of course:
Modified Rapture!
It is most definitely worth going to see. They have even added another show. Tickets are available here for the 24-27th. Thurs-Sat. show starts at 7:30 and the Sunday matinee is at three. For Balcony seating, Child Seats are $5, Student Seats are $15, Senior Seats are $28 in the middle and $20 on the sides, and Regular Seats are $30 in the middle and $20 on the sides. Orchestra seats are all $40.
If you would like to see other reviews the Wisconsin State Journal and the Capital Times both reviewed opening night.
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