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Address: 835 Cambie Street, Vancouver BC Canada V6B 2P4
Tel: 1 604 683-0222
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| "The Not Quite Magical Magic Flute by the Vancouver Opera" |
by aletta (from vancouver)
January 2007 - Just at the last moment I was offered to attend the Vancouver Opera's production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute". I always hesitate to assume it will be spectacular and tend to prepare for total disappointment. It is, after all, my most favourite opera and I've seen it many, many times from childhood in the Netherlands, to the last performance I saw in Toronto in the mid 1980s. That last one was a devastating disappointment. Poorly designed, dull, mediocre performances, and horrors, the libretto changed from Mozart's own choice of German and concession to a version in Italian, to the translation in English.
Language is an extension of sound. Some languages are more musical and other's less. English, to my mind is far less musical than German. It might have been more suited to translation into the other official language in this country "French." Since that performance I've not seen it performed, staying with the several versions I have of it in CDs.
Let it be said that I do favour the bold mounting of new productions, always exploring how old can be new again. Personally I've always wanted to see Cirque du Soleil tackle this opera with a massive chorus and orchestra, and lithe feathered dancers and acrobats and illusions and sparkle to take me away from this physical plain to another place where magic and morality are paraded about to the most heavenly of musical scores.
Could one be less prepared? On entering the lobby of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre it dawned on me suddenly that this would not in any way shape or form be an expected performance. Apparently it was done incorporating the artistic visions of the aboriginal peoples of the province. Fine, definitely this would be different. I like different, as long as certain aspects of the original work are respected. I am still reeling from the German to English translation.
If there was any opera suited to using an aboriginal context this is it. It is all magic and values we universally hold high. The only thing was Mozart loved his German language, I doubt he's have approved of the translation to English, unlike Italian not a very musical language. Then too this production added in Musqueam terms/phrases here and there. Personally if they were going to do a translation, they might as well have gone the entire way with it in Musqueam. The original libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder required no changes to bring to an aboriginal context other than an inspired staging. I am no fan of having the subtitles dangled above the stage either, it is a distraction. A well performed and directed opera has no need of subtitles, the outline in the program should be sufficient.
The voices were all superb, although Mr. Short sounded as if he were battling a cold, and his demeanour more the bearing of a starship captain than a god. Papageno was indeed a jester but seemed to lack a believable relationship with Tamino, not helped by static scene changes and a lack of Business between the two characters.
The production itself was jarring. The costuming was incoherent ranging from the hero Tamino in black pants and turtleneck with a tan leather jacket, and Pamina in black leather pants and jacket with a spaghetti-strapped blue sating top, banal. Inexplicably after the Queen of the Night's ladies were introduced looking out of place with their bald blue heads (reminding me of some show with men painted blue) and aboriginal inspired costume, we were presented with a near baroque costumed Queen, undisputed the highlight as she angrily strutted about the stage, also bald headed in silver. It took away from Ms. Hyung brilliant performance flawlessly executing one of opera's most acrobatic arias. I was spending less time enjoying the pageant than questioning the reasoning behind this incongruous garb.
Spirits in unitards flitted about just occasionally (not nearly enough). Choreography was a little lacklustre and failed to use Mozart's score in favour of silent dance and light drumbeats. There were wobbles by one dancer while crossing the stage alone and with little else (music, pageant, illusion) to take one's attention it was yet one more annoyance. Drumbeat, by the way, electronically produced, which were either poorly reproduced or the theatre needs to look at their speakers. I cannot be convinced that a fairy tale, whether aboriginal or Austrian shouldn't evoke images of spirits flitting about, in the shadows, above, below. Great feathered birds for Papageno to chase, oh how I kept hoping for some birds and not just the ones carried about by dancers on sticks. I've seen far more feathers at any pow-wow than in this production which just screams for birds and feathers, and if drums, real drums, perhaps beside the one lone timpanist.
It was interesting to see projected city images on the curtains during the overture, but the projections here and there during the performance were an annoyance, but might have been better used to mask scene changes rather than the lengthy lowering and raising of curtains and puling and pushing of massive scenery between scenes. Surely it could have been done more ingeniously with lighting to pull ones attention away and continue the performance as the scenes changed. It would have taken a good many minutes less than the near two hours of sitting in the Queen Elizabeth's uncomfortable seats.
The orchestra was too few in number, sounding thin. The chorus, like the orchestra was too thin for the size and scope of this production. It screamed for more voices, more tympani more woodwinds. As a teenager I was allowed to play with the local symphony as part of a performance study program, which happily also swelled the number of musicians for larger production. Surely in Vancouver we have youthful talents who could use the experience to perform alongside, as apprentices perhaps with both symphony and chorus?
Could we not have enticed more dancers or extras to swell the inhabitants of the strange land's fairies spirits and other magical creatures? Is it too much to ask for more birds for Papageno to chase? Could our her and heroine have something more imaginative to wear than the banal everyday street wear? Aboriginal lore has every bit as much magic and imagination as the Austrian but this performance had very little magic and instead left us with a dullish morality play with artful but incongruent costuming, and sets with projections punctuated by a computer error screen during a scene change.
The concept is worth working on for future seasons, but please give the audience more magic and fewer dead spots and bald blue women. In future could the audience refrain from getting up before the house lights are turned on, this is such rude behaviour. The budget should also include bouquets for the performers, it is only decent.
aletta mes
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