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The Review - MUSIC - Classical & Jazz with TONY KIELY
Published: 11 October 2007

Enchanting staging of Mozart’s Magic

REVIEW - THE MAGIC FLUTE
ENO

NICHOLAS Hytner’s staging of Mozart’s magic flute is revived by Ian Rutherford for the last time at ENO and fields a strong cast.
The plot is as preposterous as ever – the fairy tale journey of two lovers seeking the path to enlightenment and supposedly finding it through Masonic trials – but it doesn’t matter when staged as beautifully as it is here, the comedy finely balanced with the high ideals.
With half term coming up it makes a wonderful introduction to opera for children with Bob Crowley’s admirable sets – huge gliding pillars and walls of hieroglyphs which part to reveal forests, and delightful stage business with cuddly bears and white doves.
Andrew Kennedy and Sarah-Jane Davies as the young lovers Tamino and Pamina sing with grace and charm. Brindley Sherratt’s warm bass gives suitable nobility and authority to Sarastro.
The American soprano Heather Buck, in her ENO debut as Queen of the Night, tosses off the famous coloratura passages with élan. Although – as with most singers of this role – the voice is too light, she uses it with authority.
Their followers, Three Boys and Three Ladies – three being a significant Masonic number – are all well played and sung, the scheming of the ladies contrasted well with the innocence of the boys.
Roderick Williams, is an engaging bird catcher, his Papageno well sung, and he acts with skilful comic timing, although the “country” accent he adopts for the dialogue is too often indistinct and fades out altogether when he sings.
Susanna Andersson as his Papagena handles the change from crone to sweetheart with aplomb and sings charmingly while ENO veteran Stuart Kale plays Monostatos as pantomime villain to the hilt. Matthew Rose, Michael Bracegirdle and Christopher Ross as Speaker and Armed Men all contributed strongly
Martin André conducted a somewhat lacklustre reading not always holding the pit together with the stage.
HELEN LAWRENCE

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