An incredibly talented cast let down by technical mishaps and confused staging
Mozart’s The Magic Flute is the story of Prince Tamino, who falls in love with Pamina, daughter of The Queen of the Night. Upon discovering she has been taken by the evil high priest Sarastro, he vows to rescue her. With the bird-catcher Papageno in tow, Tamino undergoes a number of trials aided by a magical flute and guided by three spirits. Opera Greenwich presents their interpretation of this singspiel opera, with a live orchestra, sung in German and subtitled in English.
Usually, this opera begins in medias res, with Tamino saved from a serpent. Opera Greenwich decided to give context during the overture, supposedly to elucidate the plot. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect: without singing, narration, or subtitles to clarify what was happening, we are shown The Queen of the Night falling in love, embracing a girl we suppose is Pamina, who is then taken away by a man later revealed as Sarastro. This mystifying beginning set the tone for the rest of the production, much of which I spent trying to puzzle out exactly what occurred during the overture!
The best thing about this production is the cast. The Three Ladies (Antonida Kocharova, Megan Artemova Thomas, Lizzie Hawes) were wonderful, comedic, and conniving. Ben Watkins takes on the comedy of the loveable Papageno with ease. His powerful baritone arias were sublime, and at times he entered the audience whilst singing, creating an immersive effect. Grigore Riciu is slightly staid as Tamino but outstanding in voice. Kennedy Blair Miller’s singing as Pamina was sweet and powerful, her acting emotive. Both sang wonderfully, but it was hard to buy into their romance due to a lack of chemistry. Ash Howard is spectacular as Monostatos, the slave unrequitedly in love with Pamina. He stands out with excellent stage presence and a powerful mezzo voice. Sarastro (David Banbury) has a powerful bass voice; while his spoken dialogues felt a little wooden, his character completely came alive in song. Meliza Metzger is formidable as the intimidating Queen of the Night, conveying anger and grief with great emotion. The Spirits and ensemble all sang marvellously, and the orchestra was also a joy to listen to.
Unfortunately, this cast was let down by some production choices. Some costumes were well thought-out: the Three Ladies’ black, feathery dresses were stunning, and the Spirits’ shiny skin-coloured bodysuits with silvery white material produced a ghostly, otherworldly effect. Papageno’s colourful feathered chest reflected the comedy of his character. Regrettably, Pamina is dressed in khaki trousers and a blue t-shirt. Since she is praised as extremely beautiful, it would make sense to dress her as such. Tamino’s outfit – t-shirt and trousers – was equally forgettable. It felt like thought went into the other costumes but not the leads’.
Set design was inconsistent in quality. The small stage used three large sheets for projections. With few props, the space felt empty. This was juxtaposed with an overwhelm of projected images that distracted from performances – particularly during the Queen of the Night’s famous aria, where Metzger’s singing was overshadowed by projections of her face screaming. The sheets worked best during shadow puppetry, like when a tree was created out of bodies and hands.
The final blow was technical difficulties. Subtitles failed in Act Two and later lagged or were incorrect. This made the plot hard to follow – a real shame, though not the cast’s fault.
Overall, this production boasts some amazing talents and despite its production flaws, I would recommend it if you’d like to listen to some incredible operatic powerhouses for a very fair price.