Written towards the end of Mozart’s short life, The Magic Flute sees the great composer working in a very different register from his other famous works. Composed for a suburban theatre rather than an opera house, The Magic Flute draws upon various musical and theatrical traditions to deliver a fantastical tale in which the forces of good ultimately vanquish those of evil. For that reason, it’s unsurprising that The Magic Flute is widely regarded as a good way of introducing younger audiences to the world of opera.
First staged five years ago, James Brining’s imaginative production frames the far-fetched plot of The Magic Flute as the surreal dream of a young girl who is being fought over by her estranged parents. In this strange fantasy, the mother becomes the Queen of the Night (Anna Dennis) and the father is reimagined as Sarastro (Msimelelo Mbali), the leader of a religious sect. Unfortunately, while I concede that there is some ingenuity in this framing device, ultimately it doesn’t bring coherence to Schikaneder’s libretto, which remains frustrating in its problematic plotting.
Even though I think it’s important to consider the cultural context in which a work of art was created—and The Magic Flute was, after all, first performed in 1791—I continue to be annoyed by the opera’s treatment of gender. The flippant misogyny of Sarastro and his followers in the second half is often hard to swallow, and it eludes me why he is supposed to be preferable to the Queen of the Night.
However, my issues with Schikaneder’s libretto are compensated for by other aspects of Brining’s production. Colin Richmond’s arresting set design combines well with Douglas O’Connell’s video projections to create a strange, otherworldly landscape.
The Magic Flute benefits from several strong performances, most notably from Emyr Wyn Jones as the kind-hearted bird-catcher Papageno, who brings much-needed humour to the production and handles the spoken section of the opera with the most finesse. Also impressive is Anna Dennis as the Queen of the Night, who meets the vocal demands of "Der Hölle Rache" with aplomb.
Egor Zhuravskii sings passionately as Tamino, the opera’s dashing prince, and he is matched by an equally fine Pamina in the form of Claire Lees.
Making his Opera North debut, the conductor Christoph Koncz elicits a typically confident and nuanced performance from the Opera North Orchestra, responding nimbly to the range of musical styles in The Magic Flute’s score.