Opera North: The Magic Flute – Lowry

Opera North’s English Version of Mozart’s two-act opera hints at the fantasy but lacks the magic necessary for the classic fairy tale rescue of a princess by a handsome prince.

Tamino (Egor Zhuravskii), a young prince, is being pursued by a terrible dragon and in his attempt to escape he passes out and is unknowingly saved by three mysterious Ladies (Charlie Drummond; Katie Sharpe; Hazel Croft). As they depart to alert the Queen of the Night (Naomi Quant) to his presence, Tamino regains consciousness only to meet another strange figure, that of Papageno (Emyr Wyn Jones), the bird catcher, who also works for the Queen, and deceitfully claims to have defeated the monster. He is punished when the three Ladies return by having his tongue sealed with a magic spell. Tamino is presented with a portrait of Pamina (Claire Lees), the Queen of the Night’s daughter, who has been abducted. Tamino instantly falls in love and agrees to rescue her and is presented with a magic flute whilst his unwilling companion Papageno is given a music box, as they are assured their safekeeping will be overlooked by three Spirits.

Pamina is trying to escape from Sarastro (Msimelelo Mbali), aided by two priests (Tom Smith; Paul Gibson), and whose guards (Satriya Krisna; Richard Mosley-Evans) have secured her in his temple although the man tasked with guarding her, Monostatos (Colin Judson), is becoming increasingly infatuated with her. The rescue mission doesn’t go completely to plan and Tamino and Papageno are captured and forced to face three trials. Will they survive? Can Tamino and Pamina hope to find true love? And will Papagena (Pasquale Orchard) prove to be the perfect love match for the ever-bizarre Papageno? All we know is that joy and harmony come from listening to wisdom (Isla Jones; Isabelle Baglio; Hector Wainman) – but will they listen?

Director James Brining’s revival of his own production chooses to see the play through a child’s eyes with the suggestion that all that follows is a dream – or a nightmare – and establishing this in parallel with the long overture but with Colin Richmond’s set operating on a grand scale á la Met Opera, it’s all a bit too clever and confusing although Oliver Rundell steps up well to conduct a composed orchestral performance in spite of the overlong on-stage silences.

This epic approach with moving walls and shape-shifting sets all too often left BOH staff visible, and for an opera that resonates around the number three – trials; ladies; children; doors to the palace – it may have made sense to only have three walls: we all know what the fourth wall is after all.

Richmond’s costumes were visually appealing but perhaps unduly influenced by The Handmaid’s Tale although to be fair the toxic masculinity of the original does get challenged and sort of overcome. Chris Davey’s lighting and Douglas O’Donnell’s video projections work relatively well for the fire and water trials but the blocking needs looking at.

A major challenge with this opera is that it is part sung and part spoken and unfortunately not all singers can meet that demand, and it was certainly mixed results here. The opera is full of opposites and Mozart wrote with specific performers in mind to represent the extremities of pitch, and whilst Dennis’ middle register was strong, she was unable to reach the high F’s. Conversely, whilst Mbali’s low register was warm, his spoken parts were stilted. Similarly, Judson’s overall projection didn’t match up to his character’s lecherous nature.

Musical themes pervade all characters and whilst Wyn Jones’ folksy arias proved popular, his character didn’t seem simple enough to me but in his defence that may have been as a consequence of the staging. Zhuravskii delivers an earnest prince but lacked the romance in his arias.

In contrast, Lees sung so beautifully it was easy to understand Tamino’s instant infatuation, as it was similarly with Orchard’s delightful Papagena: both have stepped up from the Chorus and their performances hint at bright futures. A special mention for Andri Björn Robertsson who impressed as The Speaker, as did Drummond, Sharpe, and Croft whenever they appeared, light sabres to hand.

The Magic Flute is one of Opera North’s current touring productions as part of a season focused on magic, mystery, and magnificent music. Further details can be found at https://www.operanorth.co.uk/  

The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays with a wide creative offering, further details https://thelowry.com/whats-on/  

Reviewer: Mark Davoren

Reviewed: 15th November 2024

North West End UK Rating: