The Gala Performance - 'the Mikado' at the Theatre of the British Civilian Pow Camp, Ruhleben, Germany Art.IWMART6173

Painting of a gala performance of The Mikado at the the British Civilian POW Camp, Ruhleben, Germany. The image shows a concert in progress within a large room. The conductor is the only standing figure, raising his arms in front of the orchestra, visible in the right foreground. A large seated audience looks on; coloured oriental lanterns hang between narrow pillars, high up towards the ceiling. This was one of hundreds of musical performances that took place at the Ruhleben internment camp near Berlin, Germany, during the First World War. This Mikado was only possible because musicians at the camp were able to reconstruct the score from memory." (see MacMillan, Sir Ernest (1997). MacMillan on music: essays on music, Carl Morey (ed.) pp. 25–27, Dundurn Press ISBN 1-55002-2857)