I read the announcement a while back for Seattle Opera’s current season, and remember thinking ,“good thing I like Mozart,” since it included The Magic Flute, an opera I’ve known forever. Well, one of the great glories of theatre is seeing an old friend all dressed up in new clothes.
And that’s what happened with this production of Flute: it rethought the entire opera as if it were part of a 1927 silent movie that somehow magically gained colour as it went on. The recitatives or spoken text (both are found in the original score, mostly with spoken text in this and the other singspiels, lighter and more popular works intended for light entertainment) have here—rather boldly—been replaced with what are known as “intertitles”, the black cards inserted into the action segments with what was then deemed as absolutely necessary dialogue (my favourite of these intertitles for one silent movie was simply “GASP!”).
The mention of the year 1927 in the previous paragraph was not chosen at random: it’s the year of the première of The Jazz Singer, the first successful sound picture; today’s 1927 was one of the inspirations for this production of Flute (Suzanne Andrade and Paul Barritt with Barry Kosky) which blends live action and animation.
The actors were asked to interact with the video in ways that I am sure were quite challenging for them, and the programme notes that there are over 800 separate cues in conjunction with the video. This fusion between these two ways of working give the designers, director and cast a wider range of possibilities while working on a simple, stationary set. Rather than simply shooting arrows, for instance, the three ladies can send out hearts and blow them up, and some of the images are a hint towards other media such as comic books (a “Kaboom” that is exactly what might have appeared in, say, a Batman comic book or TV series is one example). And costumes can be simplified as well. The Queen of the Night here, very ably sung by Sharleen Joynt, is a giant spider using her enormous legs to herd around other characters.
I was lucky to see the Seattle Opera mainstage première of Victor Ryan Robertson as Tamino, a sweet-voiced young and handsome tenor. It’s always exciting to see new singers, though I was a bit disappointed to miss Duke Kim’s work. The three boys, here transposed to three genies, were wonderful and able to sing the complex work of their trios.
I loved all the other singers: Rodion Pogossov is great as Papageno; he offers an endearing mix of pathos, bravado, and humour. Pogossov’s Papageno is just not able to work through the Masonic trials that comprise the second half of Flute, but we know why and still love him.
Camille Ortiz is a fine Pamina. She made me realise just how much Pamina is key to this opera and to Tamino’s success. The baddie here, Monostatos, is sung by Rodell Rosel and manages to bring more true emotion to what is too often just a stock role: the older man who wants to marry the young soprano. I didn’t want him to win, but I also felt bad he didn’t. Sarastro (In Sung Sim) makes his Seattle debut and has a magnificent presence and a voice rich as velvet.
And the Three Ladies (Ariana Wehr, Ibidunni Ojikutu and Laurel Semerdjian) are excellent as well, with Ms. Semerdjian making her mainstage debut. Sometimes, the ladies can get bogged in humour by their director, but here, Erik Friedman (revival director) finds a nice balance for all to work in, allowing for an ensemble feel to the work as a whole. Esther Bialas’s stage design and costumes are superb as well, giving the cast a contemporary look without breaking the illusion of a silent movie.
Paul Barritt’s work is thoughtful and well executed throughout with deep attention paid to detail that gives the opera a real sense of place. The drawings and animations bring the production together and glue everything in place and are intriguing in their own right as art as well as moving the action along. I found the flute itself much more other worldly than usual, especially when it morphed into a shield to protect Tamino from the dragon's fire. It truly was magical.
All of these elements make this a not to be missed production. It runs through March 9, and if you can get tickets, do. This production has been round the world already and will be one of those shows that will be discussed for years to come. Go see it.