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Opera has the potential to intimidate those unfamiliar with the genre, conjuring images of stark, formal performances and long, dramatic arias in unintelligible languages.

But the Juneau Lyric Opera's latest production, Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado," should strike those who see it as far from intimidating. For one thing, it's in English. For another, it's a lighthearted musical comedy, with a plot that revolves around a love affair.

A review in Harper's magazine in 1886 described the then-new work this way: "It promotes the laugh for which everybody is better, the gaiety which leaves no kind of sting, the merriment which softens and relieves the strain of daily life."

In the hundred-plus years since those words were written, the production has become one of - if not the - most performed operas of all time.

Director Hal Ryder, imported from Seattle to oversee the local production, said that though he was very familiar with "The Mikado," having directed it for the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society in 2001, he was surprised at how much fun he had working on it again.

"I'd done the Mikado before, but I'd forgotten how silly it is," he said. "How it makes me laugh, and how to find the humor in a new cast, where their funny bone is, to get that going, was lot of fun."

Though the show itself isn't serious, the work involved in staging it has been an intense, though enjoyable, two-year process, said producer John Clough.

Clough, vice president of the JLO board, said he enlisted Ryder's expertise after deciding he wanted to step things up a few notches with a high-caliber director who could help to broaden the skill-base of the local performers. He chose Ryder for his combination of theater experience, which spans nearly 40 years and 200 shows, and teaching experience, which includes positions all around the world, from Yemen and Pakistan to Sitka. (He worked as the Sitka Fine Arts Camp's artistic director in 1987).

"We really wanted to reach out and do something that involved younger people, something that involved new people, and we wanted to do something that would really teach the people that have been singing with us for years more skills," Clough said.

Once Ryder was on board, Clough steered the production into a collaborative project between JLO and Thunder Mountain High School, working closely with TMHS principal Patty Bippus and music director Richard Moore.

Students are involved in most elements of the show, Clough said, from the stage crew and stage manager to the chorus to painting the backdrop. It is a fitting way, he said, to kick off the first theatrical production Thunder Mountain has ever hosted.

Outside of regular rehearsals, Ryder, a teacher at Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts, has also been working in Thunder Mountain classrooms, especially Dawn Kolden's drama classes, sharing his knowledge and helping to build the foundation for the fledgling theater department there.

"It's just been a truly marvelous experience for all of us to work with him," Clough said. "He lives theater; that's what he does."

Ryder said that working with JLO to stage "The Mikado" was not without challenges, but that adaptation is a crucial part of making a show work.

Getting the singers to embrace acting was one hurtle - the opera involves long stretches of spoken-word dialogue, in language that is difficult to master for those unfamiliar with it, Ryder said.

"You have to say the words out loud over and over because your mouth isn't used to the syntax in some of these 50-cent words," he said.

Tiffany Hanson, who plays Yum Yum and is a professional singer, said that Ryder helped her understand the differences between simply reciting her lines and truly inhabiting her character, a skill that she said she's excited to take with her as she moves forward in her career.

"He's a fabulous resource," she said.

Another challenge for Ryder was dealing with the huge diversity of talent involved, and working to make the uneven group into a cohesive cast. Ryder said that though the range of experience and personalities he encountered was wide, the willingness to work within his strict standards was universal, with no balking or off-stage dramatics.

"There's been none of that," he said. "It's been great."

Jay Query, who plays Yum Yum's love interest, Nanki Poo, has been singing with JLO since 2004. Query said that one of the things Ryder asked of the actors was that they maintain an energy level much higher than what they were used to.

"We learned pretty quickly that somewhere on a scale of one to 10, (the energy level) should be 15 to 20," he said.

In addition to importing a director, Clough and JLO executive director Francis Field brought in an entire set from the Seattle Gilbert and Sulllivan Society's 2008 production of "The Mikado," in a cooperative effort involving Alaska Marine Lines and Reliable Transfer. The set filled almost an entire AML shipping container and included a 1,000-pound pivoting bridge and more than $25,000 worth of silk kimonos. Bringing in the set (and the director) was made possible through grants from the Rasmuson Foundation and from the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council.

The set will probably end up staying in at Thunder Mountain for use in the theater there, Clough said - though the kimonos and a few elements will be returned after the show.

Ryder himself will soon be returning to Seattle, having left an indelible mark on those he worked with in Juneau and on the Thunder Mountain theater department.

He said he will leave with an appreciation for what the arts scene in Juneau has to offer its residents.

"I'm kind of in awe of the richness of this community in the arts," he said. "And honored to be working with the people here who are so dedicated and love what they're doing."

He said that with Theater in the Rough, Perseverance Theatre, the Juneau Symphony and two opera companies, Juneau residents are a lucky bunch.

"There are a lot of communities that don't have a third of what you have in the arts," he said.

• Contact Arts & Culture editor Amy Fletcher at amy.fletcher@juneauempire.com or 523-2283.