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Mozart Magic still going strong
The Magic Flute
English Touring Opera
Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton
****
THIS was the
first night of an English Touring Opera double offering ,with
Paul Bunyan
to come the following
night.
The Magic Flute
is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart set to a German
libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder but sung here in English as a singspiel,
including both singing and spoken dialogue, using Jeremy Sams’ English
version of the libretto.
The work premiered in 1791 in Vienna. Its
survival and prospering over the last 223 years is testament to its
enduring qualities.
The story combines a fairy tale adventure as
light and engaging as a Disney tale, with a darker underbelly, that, in
this production, is understated. Material and moral values clash and we
are treated to a battle of the sexes 18th century style still
recognisable today, but the racism, and Freemasonry power plays are less
evident in Director Liam Steele’s production, increasing its
accessiblity for a modern audience, but stripping it of some original
intent. Monostatos (Stuart Haycock) was dark faced, but his ethnicity
was ambiguous.
Steele’s choreography skills are the hallmark of
this production in which on stage movement ebbs and flows delightfully.
An imaginative single set, on three tiers, courtesy of Chloe Lamford,
impresses from the curtain up, as does the lavish costume which is
classic rather than period specific. Doors and a video screen , animated
by Matt Spencer, ensure that the limitations of the single set are more
than compensated for, achieved in no small part by Guy Hoare’s white
light lighting with lampshades!
Vocally the opera demands comic, and virtuoso,
skills for the likes of Papageno, played by Wyn Pencarreg who
steals the show, and the Queen of the Night, played by Laure Meloy.
Meloy’s “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” (“The
vengeance of Hell boils in my heart”) reached an astonishingly high F6
with ease. Her first entrance is stunning with her voluminous
silver-blue cloak filling the stage and gently fluttering during her
aria.
On stage chemistry is a difficult alchemy, but
Nicholas Sharratt (Tamino) and Anna Patalong ( Pamina) achieved that,
Sharratt’s mellifluous tenor is warm, Patalong boils with sex appeal,
and her Ach, ich fuhl’s was sublime. Evil sorcerer Sarastro
(Andrew Slater) also delivers with his bass which includes a conspicuous
F in a few locations.
A modest, but strong orchestra was ably led by
Michael Rosewell, although his accented tempi were occasonally excessive
and the strings seemed underpowered on occasion.
A tremendous production, Paul Bunyan
plays on Tuesday 18th, then continues on tour nationwide till May,
17-03-14.
Gary
Longden
http://englishtouringopera.org.uk/productions/the-magic-flute14
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