Opera North’s The Magic Flute – Leeds Grand Theatre

Opera North’s Magic Flute, reviving James Brining’s 2019 production of Mozart’s final opera, comes with literally all of the bells and whistles.  (Well, magic bells and the eponymous magic flute, together with an ever-so-slightly-irritatingly out-of-tune set of pipes.)  And, being sung in English in Jeremy Sams’s excellent translation, it’s also an ideal introduction to opera for newbies, as well as a season-opening treat for those notsos.

A pre-show message from company Music Director Garry Walker proudly reminded us that Opera North delivers learning and engagement to no fewer than 3,000 school children per week, and has a full time chorus, orchestra and technical crew.  A not so subtle message for the CEO of Arts Council England, in tonight’s audience, perhaps.

The story itself is encapsulated in a dumb scene behind the opening overture, though you probably needed some understanding of the narrative to understand all of the nuances and their significance.  It’s all framed through a young girls’ dream, as she tries to sleep during a particularly raucous dinner party.  As she places the vinyl onto a record player and the orchestra opens with the distinctive punctuated fanfare-like chords, each of the opera’s characters are present, playing out the story we later see, all within this six-minute opening.

The girl herself becomes Pamina (though as a girl she is also an on-stage witness to much of the subsequent action), whose parents seem to be in the midst of an acrimonious marital breakdown.  Her mother (the Queen of the Night) furiously gatecrashes the party in an attempt to gain access to her daughter, whilst her father (Sarastro) calmy tries to say grace, interrupted by these chaotic goings-on.  A seedy uncle becomes an equally seedy Monostatos, and a drunken guest (Tamino) is seen unwisely downing shots and ‘dentist-chairing’ vodka before the meal is even served.

Still with me?  Good!  We’ve only had the overture so far!

Basically a quest for love and enlightenment, the plot itself is not particularly sophisticated, but it’s Brining’s depiction of Sarastro and his cult, seemingly the ‘good’ in this battle of good versus evil, which draws attention.  Because whilst it’s obvious to us that Monostatos is evil for trying to take advantage of Pamina, it’s Sarastro himself who attempts to control her rebelliousness by injecting sedatives.  And there are echoes of Margaret Atwood’s handmaids in the women of the collective, whilst the male acolytes’ roles as pompous curates and neatly-uniformed militia hardly inspire sympathy.

And when the Queen of the Night fails to conquer Sarastro’s world from the outside, it is the brave prisoner Pamina and disaffected cult member Papagena who manage to break the yoke of the cult from the inside, enabling the oppressed women to remove their veils in defiant independence.  This statement of female empowerment seems in deliberate contrast to the disparaging comments in the text about women’s foibles and weakness, highlighted in Alexandra Wilson’s excellent programme note, which do not sit easy with modern audiences.

A particular problem with the Magic Flute can be the fact it’s part sung and part spoken – and not all singers cope well with these demands.  But Emyr Wyn Jones, as the lovable and down-to-earth Papageno, and Egor Zhuravskii as the almost naively heroic Tamino, swept these challenges aside with some excellent singing (especially the latter in the portrait song – a real banger) and acting, and lovely comic timing.  Anna Dennis as the Queen of the Night displayed stunning virtuosity in her two set piece numbers, whilst Pamina (Claire Lees) balanced pathos and vulnerability and Papagena (Pasquale Orchard) brought great liveliness (and some snappy dance moves) to the latter stages of the show.  Sarastro himself (Msimelelo Mbali) had a lovely tone but seemed a little light for the weight of the role, whilst Colin Judson’s depiction of the despicable Monostatos deserved the pantomime boos he received at the curtain calls.  And the ensemble scenes saw the excellent Opera North Chorus produce their own wall of sound – a joy to behold.

Colin Richmond’s richly coloured set and costume design, and the creative video projections by Douglas O’Connell added much to the spectacle, whilst Christoph Koncz’s conducting of the score was crisp and spirited. 

Just one tiny plea, though.  Can lighting designers please take note of the curtain call locations for the end?  The stars of the show were pretty much in darkness as they took their applause.  Perhaps the contrast of light and dark was given one final outing.

Opera North’s The Magic Flute (Mozart), various dates September 2024 – March 2025 in Leeds (Grand Theatre), Newcastle (Theatre Royal), Salford (The Lowry), Nottingham (Theatre Royal), and Hull (New Theatre).  See https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/the-magic-flute-2024/

Reviewer: Mark Humphreys

Reviewed: 27th September 2024

North West End UK Rating: