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West Bay Opera Performance Reviews
West Bay’s Magic Flute a sparkling, enjoyable show
Review published in the Tri-Valley Herald, October 18, 2005
By Keith Kreitman
As one would expect, most operas are too elaborate to be mounted effectively on other than major stages, so there are a limited number of those that can be programmed by local opera companies. One that is frequently staged there is Mozart’s last, and perhaps his most popular opera, The Magic Flute. So, it was with less than enthusiasm that I trudged again to see it at its West Bay Opera opening.
Boy! Was I wrong! It turned out to be the most sparkling and enjoyable of all, colorful set and costumes, handsome performers of excellent voices and acting, with even choreographed ballet added to the action on the stage. The staging by director Daniel Helfgot is very imaginative and one couldn't ask more from the orchestra under the direction of Jose Luis Moscovich. There is even mutual assistance from a sister arts company in the choreography by Western Ballet director Mark Foehringer. Based on a fable by Wieland, the story is one of those fantasy things popular at that time and is looked upon as an expression of Mozart’s involvement with Free-masonry. But, what the heck, we're really there to have that genius' music pour all over us and we come out remembering the music and letting the plot slip from memory.
Pamina (Sara Viola), daughter of the evil Queen of the Night (Marta Johansen) is kidnapped by the followers of Sarastro (an imposing Matthew Trevino), the high priest of a secretive cult. A Prince Tamino (Brian Thorsett), having been rescued from a serpent by three of her Ladies (the slim and sexy Lara Bruckmann, Julia Ulehla, and Lisa Houston), is asked by the Queen to rescue her daughter.
Given a magic flute to fend off any enemies, Tamino sets off on the rescue mission accompanied by a strange bird catcher Papageno (comic actor/singer Igor Vieira) equipped with protective silver bells. They are guided by a trio of young boys (the impishly delightful Ian Rosenfield, Zachary Freier-Harrison and Jordan King).
Tamino had already fallen in love with Pamina's image and after she is rescued from a rape attempt by Sarastro's rough and burly slave Monostatos (Christopher Fernandez), they suffer from a vow of silence imposed upon Tamino that sends the despairing Pamina off to end her miserable life, and finally a conversion by both to the cult's religion and other adventures, the two lovers at the end are united while the Queen is foiled.
Meanwhile, Papageno in despair and contemplating suicide at his own inability to find a female companion, is found by his Papagena (Patrycja Poluchowicz) and they sing and dance each other off into joyous union.
So, all’s well that ends well and while the plot is forgettable the exquisite music is not. While all of the singers are uniformly excellent, Marta Johansen's dazzling “Queen of the Night” aria that sends the soprano into the vocal stratosphere, the slinky dancing and singing of the three Ladies and the super comic timing of Igor Vieira’s Papageno linger most in memory.
Instead of the conventional aging audience, most surprising was the number of pre-teens, teenagers and young adults in the audience. Does this portend a rebirth of opera popularity?
