BWW Reviews: Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE Gets A Modern Makeover For Children

Friday 2 January 2015, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House

Opera Australia brings back Julie Taymor's modern interpretation of THE MAGIC FLUTE, for the 2015 Summer Season. Translated to English by J D McClatchy, this version, originally created for the Metropolitan Opera of New York in 2005 gives the 18th Century story of the education of mankind a modern pantomime treatment.

Taymor has drawn on the Japanese Kabuki theatre and combined it with her trademark kite like puppetry (Disney's THE LION KING) to create a new imagining whilst including reference to the Masonic symbolism connected to Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder's(libretto) original. The more serious characters utilise the white makeup with dramatic features and kimono style robes of Kabuki whilst the comic characters are styled as caricatures utilising a modern circus style costuming of cagelike body armour, bustles and dramatic capes. Papageno's birds are represented as puppets flying over the first rows of the audience and fluttering across the stage by black clad puppeteers and the serpent that tries to kill Tamino is a stage wide origami style multi operation puppet that unfortunately doesn't get as much stage time as the magnitude of the creation deserves. The bears that dance to Tamino's playing the Magic Flute are delightful in their whimsy and apparent simplicity.

The styling of the comic characters, in addition to their performance does however make them stand out more than the more serious roles. Papageno (Samuel Dundas), in green jumpsuit and cage like body armour and bird beaked cap steals the show from prince Tamino (John Longmuir) as Papageno is has more humorous lines and physical humour which engages the audience. Likewise, the lecherous, fat, bat like, Monostatos (Kanen Breen) embodies the pantomime villain more obviously than the Queen of the Night (Emma Matthews), who through the translation and the depiction, does not make it clear that she's not the loving mother who she claims to be at the start.

The translucent pyrex set by George Tsypin echo the symbolism on the backdrops and costumes with a series of different shaped portals that move to represent different locations from Sarastro's temple, Monostatos' prison, Pamina's bed of roses and various other places on Tamino and Papageno's journey. It provides a very modern minimalist look that, with prompts from Gary Marder's lighting, requires the audience to draw on their imagination. The imagery invoked is incongruent with the Kabuki styling of the characters at times, particularly Sarastro's temple which draws on Egyptian and classical temples with columns, and pyramid plinths. It also would have been useful if the lighting were used to emphasise when the magical instruments were used as the other action on stage drew attention from Tamino's Magic Flute and Papageno's Bells. Focused lighting in addition to the internal lighting of the instruments would make the importance of these items more clear.

Dundas presents Papageno as an uncomplicated "every man" with spoken lines delivered in Australian accent and clear vocals, further making the character accessible to the audience. Matthew's Queen of the Night's Arias have the requisite flexibility to convey that the Queen is powerful but the lack of clarity and emotion in the lyrics and acting which diminishes the importance of her attempted manipulation of Tamino and Pamina into believing that she is good. The Three Ladies have some lines but in some points, lack clarity at the end of phrases and the Three Spirits could do with amplification as their message is lost between the notes and trying to be loud enough to fill the auditorium.

The music, whilst having the scope for a lot more light and shade doesn't seem to carry the emotion as much as it could. Mozart's musical themes for the characters were not very pronounced even though the interpretation takes on a pantomime style. The spectacle of the costumes and set seem to overpower the music and less focus is given to both the instrumental and vocals displaying the emotion changes and contrasts, thereby decreasing the message that Tamino and Papageno are on a journey, learning about life through reason, wisdom, trials, enlighten and the power of music.

This interpretation of THE MAGIC FLUTE is a nice introduction to opera for young audiences that respond to the whimsy of puppetry, colour and physical comedy or for audiences more used to musical theatre that want to experience a different genre as incorporates musical theatre pastiche, dance and circus elements and unlike many other operas, has been translated to an understandable English.

THE MAGIC FLUTE

Opera Australia

Joan Sutherland Theatre

Sydney Opera House

January 2 - 30, 2015

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