SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewThe Magic Flute
|
The truth, even if it were a crime!
— Pamina’s reply to Papageno’s question as to what they should tell Sarastro
|
Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night and Elena Xanthoudakis as Pamina (Photo: Alastair Muir) |
Mozart’s music of course cannot be bettered with the awesome Queen of the Night (Kathryn Lewek) aria, some wonderful bass singing from Robert Lloyd as Sarastro and a magnificent orchestra under conductor Nicholas Collon. Unlike other operas, we wait until Act Two for the very best of the tunes.
I was drawn to the Australian version of the bird catcher Papageno (Duncan Rock) and his jokey finding and nesting with Papagena (Rhian Lois) although we are reminded by many of the cast of the era when acting wasn’t important in opera. The storyline doesn’t make very much sense with the temple scenes showing the ritualistic worship of two Egyptian deities Isis and Osiris and that mumbo jumbo about Freemasonry and Hytner didn’t seem to want to clarify it.
Bob Crowley’s 1988 designs are quite magnificent; remember this is the era when the barricade is erected in Les Mis and the chandelier falling in Phantom and a helicopter is picking up the Americans from Vietnam in Miss Saigon. The temple, with beautiful marble classical columns, is adorned with hieroglyphs and for a memento mori, whole rows of hieroglyphs are swept away to reveal behind the wall the catacombs of casually stowed skeletons.
In the opening scene the wall is spectacularly fractured with the crack of a lightning strike for the entrance of the Three Ladies, attendants of the Queen of the Night (Elizabeth Llewellyn, Catherine Young and Pamela Helen Stephen). We loved the real white doves that flew in on Papageno’s command. Swathes of red silk fall from the full height of the stage to cover Pamina (Elena Xanthoudakis)’s bed in Sarastro’s palace. There are “real” bears in the woods to be charmed by the magic flute. The templars wear black and white pleated robes with white hieroglyphs printed on black and the Papagenos have delightful bird masks and feathered costumes and perch high up in a nest with their chicks. The lighting is dramatic for the night creatures and red lit temple walls for a ritual religious scene.
Much is made in the programme of the German Enlightenment influence over Mozart with the trial and purification of a pair of lovers in Christoph Wieland’s 1780 Oberon. Tamino (Shawn Mathey) whose performance grew in confidence as the evening progressed and Pamina walk on the burning coals. Nicholas Hytner’s production is essentially light hearted, finding humour at every turn but the price paid is to lessen the dark and shade of The Magic Flute. The intent of the Queen and the villain Monostatos (Adrian Thomspson) with his villain’s coiffure of a balding comb over become glossed over in the mirth.
|
Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe,
E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country. |
| The Magic Flute
Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Text by Emanuel Schikaneder English translation by Jeremy Sams Originally directed by Nicholas Hytner Revival directed by Ian Rutherford and James Bonas Conductor: Nicholas Collon Starring: Shawn Mathey, Elizabeth Llewellyn, Catherine Young, Pamela Helen Stephen, Duncan Rock, Kathryn Lewek, Adrian Thompson, Elena Xanthoudakis, Robert Lloyd With: Edward Birchinall, Alex Karlsswon, Thomas Featherstonhaugh, Roland Wood, Nathan Vale Barnaby Rea, Rhian Lois. Design: Bob Crowley Lighting: Nick Chelton and Bob Mountjoy Chorus Master: Martin Fitzpatrick Running time: Two hours 50 minutes Box Office: 020 7845 9300 Website: www.eno.org Booking to 18th October 2012 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 14th September 2012 performance at the Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES (Rail/Tube: Charing Cross) |
|
REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email . . . also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. |
