Customer Reviews

Mozart: Die Zauberflöte

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mozart was already ill when The Magic Flute was produced in October 1791. His final opera is really a singspiel or song play, with spoken rather than sung dialog. The libretto, such as it is, was written by Emanuel Schikaneder, Mozart's friend and fellow Freemason. He is variously described as an actor, a theatrical entrepreneur and a vaudvillian. Quite a resume! His libretto would have disappeared from history if not for the fact that its score was written by music's most universal genius. The plot involves some Masonic symbolism, some low key magic, a few special effects and lots of low comedy. But mostly it is a paean to conjugal love. I confess that I've never quite understood this strange and confusing libretto, but the music is a paradigm of serene, unearthly beauty. A mere six weeks before his death, Mozart was once again reinventing his art: creating a fusion of Bachian counterpoint with childlike simplicity, the result hinting at the sacred music he might have produced had he lived to be Kapellmeister at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

This latest European re-imagining of a classic opera, directed by Martin Kusej and featuring the Chor und Orchester der Oper Zurich conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, is a splendid performance that was taped from a live television broadcast. Director Kusej, in the 45 minute bonus behind the scenes film on disc one, complains of "fuddy-duddy performances of opera, such as directed by Zeffirelli." Ouch! His intention to avoid such old-style productions is successful. The set represents a combination of a labyrinth and a modern building lobby. It rotates on the stage while cleverly designed moveable walls constantly produce new shapes so that no architectural space duplicates any other. Props are primarily light industrial and are inventively used. Costumes are modern formal and casualware. It is all deftly done with such a creative flare that it seems to highlight Mozart's glorious music in a magical way. This astute production feels completely organic.

The performances are superb, with splendid singing from the entire cast. The acting is equally exemplary: Ruben Drole as Papageno has an especially apt name for he is often both engagingly funny and touching in a breakout performance. When we first meet him he is trapped in a large bird cage, his sports jacket covered in bird droppings. Matti Salminen offers solemnity and grace as Sarastro. Elena Mosuc is a fine Queen of the Night. Julia Kleiter as a somewhat bewildered Pamina wears a wedding dress for the entire opera, which gets wearisome after a while but she's a trooper, never allowing her performance to suffer. Christoph Strehl is a rather bland but stoic Tamino, the weakest performance in what is a sterling young cast.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt, famous for his trailblazing period performances on authentic instruments, leads an orchestra utilizing modern ones. Nevertheless, he manages to remove everything that is musically unnecessary and prosaic, leaving only pristine clarity behind. His many years of experience have so refined his technique that he can make even modern instruments sound authentic in this music. It is a performance in which both singers and instrumentalists often approach perfection while providing moments of such subtle beauty that Mozart would have have nodded in silent approbation. Harnoncourt is the ultimate star of this Magic Flute and he receives the loudest and longest ovation from an appreciative audience. The film was recorded in high-definition and looks it. Sound in both PCM stereo and DTS 5.0 is beautifully lifelike. The strings have a soft, silky sheen while the winds sound especially lovely, with their crystalline intonation, so perfect for Mozart. The two discs run for 226 minutes, including the 45 minute bonus film.

Here, at last, is an example of updating an opera using imagination and skill. That's rare, given the latest trend of shocking an audience into submission. I enjoyed this brilliantly conceived and executed performance, and will revisit it often. Strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

The singing is splendid. Rubin Drole as Papagano is a new and wonderful discovery in the opera universe. The entire set is a dull gray "labryinth". OK, that symbolism is understandable, but would reviewers giving this recording 5 stars please explain why the Queen of the Night enters through a refrigerator?

As one who owns 15 different interpretations of this opera I find this one musically the best. Iagree with everything everyone else has said including the fact that Harnoncourt is the supreme star of the performance ... his interpretation of the music is ... in my opinion ... prerfection.

BUT there is one exception I have to make in my review ... THE THREE BOYS ... they were the VERY BEST EVER!!!! No one has eulogised over their stunning performances.

Each of their three very different voices blends to give a sublime harmony culminating in the sublime quartet contrasting with the female soprano of Parmina.

Buy this and you will never listen to any other interpretation. It would be wonderful to have a CD version of this

David Calvert-Orange

as with many viewers I really enjoy modern reworkings of 'classical' operas, but at times Martin Kusej seems to have been deliberately perverse or downright careless, especially in act one

first the blessings: a Pamina well worth respecting (Julia Kleiter); probably the best Papageno on disc to date (Ruben Drole); an excellent Sarastro (Matti Salominen) even though badly supported by the staging of his first scene; a very fine Queen of the Night (Elena Mosuc) but ditto as to the staging; when the three boys finally make their appearance, more of this in a moment, some beautiful singing; and a fine chorus: much of the spoken text left in and acted rather than shunted aside as quickly as possible; and a second act that underscores the depth of the rituals Tamino (a somewhat underwhelming Christoph Strehl) must endure, and the important presence Sarastro and Pamina add to the proceedings

but the first act!!!!!! the indignity forced on Pamina and Tamino having to freeze in front of the curtain throughout the overture (over six minutes!) and their knock-kneed snatching away; the ridiculous opening of the chorus all being attacked by what for all the world looked like long licorice strings which are then left onstage rather than Pamino alone being attacked by a mighty serpent: the three ladies staggering throughout as the human equivalent of the three blind mice: the one moment justifying the wierd figures haunting the building's catacombs doesn't justify their use elsewhere; the dreadful costumes for the women - I wouldn't blame Elena Mosuc if she sued the designer; directorial flouting of text references (if you're not going to follow them don't leave the references in) - Papageno refers to the Queen of the Night wearing a black veil, but she wasn't and the first appearances of the trio referred to as the Three Boys becoming a full and unexplained children's chorus of both sexes; and a set which while it served the second act well put a huge damper on the first; and a very 'tubby' sound recording for much of the first act

so, four and a half stars for singing and spoken text: a (generous) one and a half stars for the staging - I'll keep the discs for Drole, Salominen, Mosuc and Kleiter, but this will never be my first choice

I reside in Asia. I may be a bit 'backward' with regard to the avant garde opera productions.
I purchased this DVD with high hopes, since it is conducted by Harnoncourt, who in my view is the top living Mozartian.
Musically this performance is very good. The singers all perform wonderfully, including Elena Mosuc's Queen of Night, and Christoph Strehl (again, since Abbado's CD) as Tamino.
However, visually it is much more problematic for me, since most of the imagery stuff do not fit in my own mindset of this work: a Tamino who is much more like a Wall Street executive than a young prince; a Papageno who is so fat and feeds on Coke; the peeled chicken upsets me greatly visually; the Queen of Night residing in a refrigerator may be configurative, but the imagery does not work well on stage. It belongs to a class of imagery that befits the books only: in short, they are literal and not dramatic.
It would indeed be very nice if DG would turn out a CD release for this wonderful performance, since even the various small ensembles (the three ladies, the three boys, the two priests, the two armoured men...) all performed gloriously musically.

Excellent version. Is the first time i buy a "modern version" of an opera. I was afraid, as we are used to traditional versions, but this one exceeded my expectatives. Great singers, great chorus and orchestra.

Is a quite ludic version, very simple but colorful. The singers are also excellent actors. Even Pamina is quite beautiful!!!!

Higly reccommended.

The was the first time I had seen this opera, and our whole family loved it. It's been seriously modernized with very austere backgrounds set on a rotate stage to mimic a maze, which was a bit confusing at first, but we got the hang of it. The performances were fantastic, especially Papageno and The Three Fates who work for the Queen of the Night.

I agree with Abel "Amy" that Harnoncourt is good here, at least generally. However, the Swiss orchestra's playing can be a bit harsh and rushed at times. I like the performance of the overture best. The rest is variable. Sometimes, Harnoncourt is guilty of stretching the beat just for effect. In addition, the singing is generally fair to middling at best. Even veteran Matti Salminen is lackluster and seems bored. Probably because the producers have him managing a fencing club rather than officiating as the head of a powerful and poetic temple cult.

The producers are to blame for what is wrong with this production, and whatever their rationalizations for the bare-bones set, it's all about saving money in the notoriously expensive art of opera. That set seems to be the basement of a lunatic asylum with madmen running around carrying axes. Nothing in this production makes any sense, and it's not because the libretto is ambiguous (to say the least!). It's because no one has bothered to think through their stated intention to bring fresh ideas to the staging of this popular work. Nothing fits, and nothing is fitting or logical. The beginning aria for Pamino states that there is a serpent chasing him, not that a group of people are writhing on the floor while struggling with snakes. It clearly says that the prince is alone, not in the middle of a crowd of bored party goers who then apathetically sidle off. This is important, because a bit later, after several magical things happen, the prince wonders if he's dreaming, which is usually very eerie. See Bergmann's great film version of this opera, which is the best-ever production of this opera, for a wonderful example of how effective this scene can be if done properly. In the current version, however, nothing is particularly effective because, as I said, almost nothing fits or makes any sense.
In addition, if anyone can convincingly explain why the Three Ladies are blind, I'll thank him. It makes about as much sense to me as a Papageno in drag. (I'm surprised they missed that idea.) I do like the idea of the Ladies kissing Papageno to freeze his mouth. That makes dramatic and psychological sense. Little else here does, though.
I wonder which opera the producers were thinking about when they put this show together, but it certainly doesn't look like the same one I was thinking about. They seem to have been out to lunch, along with the bored-looking actors who all tried to excel each other in non-performances, as if they took nothing seriously. I can't blame them. I don't take this production seriously, either. It doesn't engage me. As I said, see the Bergmann. Or the Levine. Or almost anyone else.