Zwei Zauberfloten at the Royal Opera House - all flash, no illumination - but what music

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) - Royal Opera House, 31 January 2008 and 7 February 2008

As Die Zauberflöte is one of my all-time favourites, and as the Royal Opera House has seen fit to assemble a 'B' cast so strong it should more properly be called just an 'alternative' cast, I decided I just had to see this production twice.

Admittedly it's not the most coherent or stimulating of productions. David McVicar tries just a little too hard to appeal to all corners. There's a lot of olde-style set dressing and costumery for the traditionalists, but enough anachronistic modern touches to counter any accusations of stodginess. The spoken sections are faithfully retained in full, in all their tedium, but any racist overtones are swindled out by recreating the black Monostatos as an ageing white fop. Man-held creatures offer a half-hearted nod to 18th century theatrical practices that isn't followed through or even integrated properly . And there's plenty of cleavage and thigh boots for anyone who doesn't care about any of the above. It's the eclipse of enlightenment by popular entertainment. Give me Nicholas Hytner's beautiful, thoughtful and inexplicably-retired ENO production any day. But Mozart has survived worse, and while the production may be superficial, it is at least not irritating. And it thrilled plenty of Amazon reviewers on its first, DVDd for posterity, outing.

In the first cast, Simon Keenlyside's Papageno stood head and shoulders above the rest of the cast - as much down to weaknesses in their performances as strength in his. Rolling and tumbling like a trained acrobat, singing beautifully of course, his presence animated every scene he was in.

Christopher Maltman offered a different, and in many ways more touching Papageno in cast B. While there's something almost slick about Keenlyside's clowning, and something crafty about his evasions, Maltman offered a simpler, more vulnerable character, more of a witless fool buffeted about by life's complications. I admired the skill of Keenlyside's portrayal of Papageno, but I warmed more to Maltman.

When it came to the central couple of Tamino and Pamina, there was less of a contest. Cast A's Christoph Strehl and Genia Kühmeier would seem on this showing to be fine singers, and I look forward very much to Genia Kühmeier's debut recital at the Wigmore Hall in April . But neither had a great deal of presence, nor, it seemed, enough direction/rehearsal to get them much past the shuffling and hand-wringing stage. In Strehl's case, he took a very long time to get going vocally, with only his final aria really having the projection to reach my amphitheatre eyrie.

Cast B's Pavol Breslik and Kate Royal were in a different class. Tamino is a notoriously drippy role in the wrong hands. It takes real presence and charisma to make something of it, and Breslik asserted himself at once. The dashing charm and the big bright voice were perfect. Kate Royal's Pamina simply glowed. Aside from some intonation problems in her first aria, she gave a sparky, vital performance. These two were, properly, at the centre of the performance every time they were on stage.

The first Sarastro, Stephen Milling, is a singer I admire hugely, but I found him untypically subdued and unassertive in this role. Sarastro #2, Hans-Peter König, definitely shaded it in terms of dramatic presence, but neither really disappointed in any way.

Queens of the Night Erika Miklósa (in the A cast) and Anna Kristiina Kaappola (in the B) were both fabulous. Miklósa displayed greater ease with the coloratura (it was evident Kaappola was at top stretch), but Kaappola was a more vital and vengeful stage presence. The all-round greater dramatic prowess of the second cast made me wonder if they'd maybe benefitted from more rehearsal time than than the first set - certainly they all seemed to have a clearer idea of what they were supposed to be doing.

Kishani Jayasinghe (Papagena), the one constant in all casts, made the most of her brief part and suffered her '80's discowear bravely. Her acting skills weren't quite adequate compensation for the ineffective 'old lady' disguise of her closing scene, and as a result this was rather confusing, but she sang prettily and had terrific comic timing.

Other parts were very strongly cast all round in both performances, right down to the bisto-kid three boys, beautifully sung each time.

Roland Böer conducted both times, vibrantly and confidently. Co-ordination between stage and pit was perfect, and if the orchestra played a note wrong, then I didn't notice it. Why, I may even have to go back again.

The first cast:  

Pavol Breslik as Tamino with teh mother-in-law:

 

Comments

[mjw4849]

I came out of Die Zauberflöte very disappointed in the end. Although I saw the first cast, and really enjoyed the first act, I just felt that there wasn't much sparkle to the whole thing, but especially the second half.
I got fed up of constantly moving sets, things rising from the floor (the set actually looked like it was from Tosca!), Darth Vader-esque figures at the end, a giant roll-on Camembert as a sun. I could go on, but won't! I also felt that the cast, except for Keenlyside, were distinctly average and not really what I've come to expect from the ROH. The applause at the end was distinctly muted! Oh, and Kishani Jayasinghe's leopardskin coat - what more can be said!

[OC]

Killer recap and stellar photos. You are an awesome resource for those of us who couldn't be there. Thank ya, ma'am!

[sfmike]

I just played a supernumerary slave and a priest in the Steadman designed production at the San Francisco Opera, and found the experience fascinating. Unlike you, I find the opera unbelievably boring as an audience member after the first 40 minutes live in the opera house (at home, with a good recording like the Otto Klemperer version with all the dialogue cut out, is a different story). Being INSIDE the opera, however, was a completely different experience and I found the music almost insidious in its ability to get into the hard wiring of my brain, where I'd wake up at 3 in the morning humming sections of it incessantly.

We also had an "A" and a "B" cast, and our "A" cast included Maltman and Miklosa, both of whom were great, as was the rest of the cast. However, the "B" cast had a lovely cameraderie that translated into the experience you're describing, where the ensemble is magical, while the star version in the same production didn't have it. It's an interesting demonstration of theatrical alchemy. Sometimes a group works just because the fates will it so.

[giuseppewagner]

I was rather disappointed/baffled by the production too. I thought it was going to be brilliant when the priests or whatever they were appeared in the audience holding glowing orbs during the overture - total immersion opera! But most of it seemed as though McVicar had thought very hard about everything and ended up at square one with something completely obvious. Musically it was good but a little careful; and Keenlyside was great but would have been better in a less old-fashioned, self-conscious production. The weird scene with the little girl and the astrolabe was good, at least. I'm holding out more hope for the WNO revival (dir. Dominic Cooke, Julian Crouch is involved too - still tickets available, in various far-flung venues).

Re the ENO one, which was intellectually clear and satisfying as well as enjoyable, they have been known to bring productions back out of retirement, so let's hope they change their minds.