It is not difficult to understand why “The Magic Flute” is the most frequently played of all operas. The play is full of adventurous moments and features some of operatic literature’s most iconic characters. The arias to the Queen of the Night and Papageno are also in the public domain. Nevertheless, it is difficult to get away from the fact that “The Magic Flute” is close to a disaster from a theatrical point of view. “The Magic Flute” An opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder (1751–1812). Called “Die Zauberflöte” in German. Premiered in Vienna on 30 September 1791. Combines recitative (song-like speech) with spoken dialogue between the song sequences. It is also originally in German, and was intended for a more popular audience than the Italian operas. The opera is among the most performed in the world. Source: Wikipedia Saved by the director The plot borders on the absurd and incomprehensible, the message of exalted male wisdom struggles with credibility, to say the least, and the jokes cannot always be said to have stood the test of time. If you look at artistically ambitious productions from the last decade, you get the impression that “The Magic Flute” is an opera that must be saved from its own embarrassments through extensive directing. British Simon McBurney’s strategy is to let a virtuosic idiom draw attention away from the weaknesses of the opera’s content. Something he succeeds in, at least a good distance on the way. Clear from the start McBurney’s ambition is clear even before the performance begins. When the audience enters the hall, the conductor is already seated in front of the orchestra, in an orchestra pit that is only partially submerged. The overture starts brusquely already while the light in the hall is on. When the light is gradually lowered in the hall, the performance’s stage space emerges more clearly. It consists mainly of a black open stage containing only a wide platform attached to scaffolding with wires in each corner. DARK: The scenography mainly consists of a wide platform. Photo: Magnus Skrede / BNO The platform functions in a number of ways throughout the performance: as a defined stage floor at different heights, as a steep sloping plane, as a roof or back wall, or as a separation between scenic height levels. Enchanting stagecraft But McBurney has more to offer. On each outer edge of the stage, he places designers who, via microphones and video cameras, create much of the show’s visual and aural expression in real time. For example, the huge snake that chases Prince Tamino in the opening scene is drawn with chalk. This is the first of many examples of how McBurney turns practical embarrassments into striking stage effects. The enchantment of the performance therefore lies to a large extent in the stage craft itself. LEVEL DIFFERENCE: McBurney takes parts of the show to new heights. Photo: Magnus Berg Dark men and sorceresses What story McBurney wants to tell, however, is more unclear. The scenography gives the performance a dark feel. It is not obvious that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, although the end apparently brings peace and reconciliation between all parties. The queen of the night sings partly sitting in a wheelchair. Her power is obviously not what it once was. Whether she is a tried and tested woman with a legitimate agenda or an evil sorceress with exhaustion syndrome is hard to say. WEAKENED: The Queen of the Night (Rainelle Krause) sings most of her vocal parts sitting in a wheelchair. Photo: Magnus Berg Sarastro and his male-dominated community do not appear as apostles of light either. The associations go in the direction of a kind of Illuminati-like organization that steers the world towards the apocalypse, with Sarastro as both a charismatic and authoritarian leader. The heart skips a beat The fact that Prince Tamino trusts these people blindly does not speak in his favour. He should have run for his life already when he saw what kind of brutal band of robbers Sarastro has on his payroll (Monostatos and the rest of the slaves). To get to the point: For natural reasons, McBurney wants to shake up the opera’s simple distinction between good and evil forces. Then, at the same time, the beating heart of the opera slips away: the touching love story between Tamino and Pamina, two admirable young people who grow internally through external trials. Both come across as excessively stupid and naive in this direction. NAIVE LOVE: Prince Tamino (Linard Vrielink) and Pamina (Mari Eriksmoen). Photo: Magnus Berg / BNO If I had bought a used car from any of these people, the choice would have fallen on the opera’s immortal anti-hero: the bird catcher Papageno. He looks like an honest guy as he trudges around with paint stains on his clothes and a curtain rod over his shoulder. Perhaps this is McBurney’s point. In an “enlightened” world that is really ruled by money and power, Papageno, the jovial guy who redecorates your kitchen, is really the only one you can trust. Star cast of singers On the soloist side, this performance is a delight from end to end. Linard Vrielink sings Tamino’s arias effortlessly and with youthful fervor. Soprano Mari Eriksmoen shows once again that she is one of the really good Paminas of our time. American Rainelle Krause has the necessary mix of power and acrobatics needed for the Queen of the Night’s arias to really take off. Dane Stephen Miling’s sonorous bass voice makes Sarastro a frighteningly current charismatic leader. Most impressive, however, is the Dutch Thomas Oliemans, who manages to create a Papageno for our time, even with a lot of original text (in German!). BRILLIANT: Baritone Thomas Oliemans impresses in the role of Papageno. Here together with Papagena (Renate Ekerhovd). Photo: Magnus Berg Oliemans is simply a brilliant singer-actor with impeccable comic timing. But it actually has to be that way for a production of “The Magic Flute” to hit the mark. Conductor Eivind Gullberg Jensen leads the choir and orchestra with a steady hand, although I experienced some of his tempos as excessively hectic, especially in the first act. A modern success McBurney’s production of “The Magic Flute” premiered at the English National Opera as early as 2013, and has subsequently been played in several rounds both in London and Aix-de-Provence. In the spring, it will be staged at The Met. It is therefore not surprising that opera director Eivind Gullberg Jensen wants to present the production in Grieghallen. For McBurney, that piece of art actually manages to give “The Magic Flute” a modern idiom without sacrificing too much of its simple charm and joys. At the same time, he shows that little is more enchanting than opera when everything clicks. news reviewer Photo: BNO Title: “The Magic Flute” Location: Grieghallen, Bergen Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto: Emanuel Schikaneder Conductor: Eivind Gullberg Jensen Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Choir: Edvard Grieg Choir, singers from the Bergen Philharmonic Choir, Collegium Musicum and the Grieg Academy Director: Simon McBurney Director in Bergen: Rachael Hewer Scenographer: Michael Levine Costume Designer: Nicky Gillibrand Lighting Designer: Jean Kalman Video Designer: Finn Ross Sound Designer: Gareth Fry Josie Daxter: Movement Instructor Håkon Matti Skrede: Choir Master Cast: Linard Vrielink (Tamino), Mari Eriksmoen ( Pamina), Stephen Milling (Sarastro), Rainelle Krause (Queen of the Night), Ann-Helen Moen (1st lady), Rosanne van Sandwijk (2nd lady), Astrid Nordstad (3rd lady), Thomas Oliemans (Papageno), Renate Ekerhovd (Papagena), Mark Omvlee (Monostatos), Håvard Stensvold (The Speaker), Ludvig Lindström (1st priest/2nd soldier), Eirik Grøtvedt (2nd priest/1st soldier), Olav Frøyen Sandvik (1st boy), Benjamin Win ter (2. boy), Markus Sollesnes (3rd boy). Date: 5–11 November 2022
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“The Magic Flute” at the Bergen National Opera – Reviews and recommendations
