Review: THE MAGIC FLUTE IN BRESLAU at Wroclaw Opera

Classic opera written in the 18th century is mixed with contemporary text about early 20th-century German Wroclaw. The characteristics of Breslau at that time were dirty, shady, and violent. Honestly, I was worried that what we saw on the opera stage would be like caviar with ketchup. A real risk and the path to innovation is never easy but Mock fans would be in (gloomy) heaven. The creator of his legend, Marek Krajewski did something unusual for an author of crime novels: he wrote dialogues for an opera performance. The songs are in German but all the conversations are in Polish (with English subtitles).

The plot is very complicated with many characters and twists and turns. This performance shows that opera as a genre is neither old nor rigid, it is undoubtedly a new direction and an original vision of what the future of opera can look like. Michal Znaniecki, the director with almost surgical precision cuts out the darkness and the crimes and emphasizes the fluctuating character of the characters, they are so complex that we can never tell if they are really good or very bad.

The show is far from magical, it is cruel and revolting, there is a brutal vision of action, death, ruthlessness, and direct visions of the dark world. Even though Mock (Jacek Jaskula) is only a narrator, the general darkness sinks into his. The stories of Pamina (Dorota Laskowiecka-Urban), Tamino (Aleksander Zuchowicz), the Queen of the Night (Maria Rozynek-Banaszak), Saraster (Grzegorz Szostak), Papen (Lukasz Rosiak) and others are blended with one big repulsive story. It can feel like the tentacles of this story are wrapping around the audience, and the nails of harshness seem to be digging into the skin. Very convincing.

The choreography is brilliant, especially at the start of the second act. Bozena Klimczak really felt the dark atmosphere of Breslau. The chorus is incredible as usual, with their contrasting whitish glow bringing a lovely balance to the show as an entity. Magdalena Dabrowska, the costume designer, blended into the charm with great ease and complexity. The set design (by Luigi Scoglio) is also very impressive, not only rotating but also going up and down.

This show is very innovative and bold (there is also a lot of literal boldness on the stage), for sure something every Mock fan should see but also a proposition for those scared or bored of the classical image of opera. Here, there are prostitutes, drugs, murderers, evils, and demons, but when you think about it those motives are well known in the classical opera as well, the difference is that here, it’s very real.

Photo: Wroclaw Opera