“Wir machen Theater!” or “We’re making theater!” in English.
The Nashville Opera’s recent production of Mozart’s timeless classic “The Magic Flute” (Die Zauberflöte) is a testimony to this long-held German sentiment of what it is to ‘make theater.’ What does that mean and why is it important in this review?
Making theater means putting a show together with the simplest of means to create ‘magic’ onstage. The magic is moving the audience into the mental space of suspended disbelief where they see things at face value but are willing to buy into the premise to “play along” with the gag, for lack of a better way of putting it. It’s “make-believe” in its highest form.
The production in Nashville used simple resources in its production of “The Magic Flute”. No fancy, wow-evoking special effects. The use of theatrical drops to illustrate a setting, clearly defined costumes that immediately tell you who is who, and some flashing lights and recorded thunder to imply danger. Within this simple framework, they produced a show that is entertaining, poignant, and above all, enjoyable.
I must mention that the dialogues were in English and were amplified, while the singing was all in German and not amplified. The orchestra was also unamplified. I found the German diction to be surprisingly good and I could actually understand it. This includes the chorus who sang as if twice the number! So, kudos for that! Not all singers carried in that cavernous hall unamplified. Having said all of that I will say that in today’s world of blown-up amplification, hearing real acoustical music is a welcomed relief from all the noise.
For the uninitiated, I offer the following description of The Magic Flute in terms of what it takes to produce such a thing. First, the Magic Flute has a huge cast for an opera. I always say that if you want to create a full ensemble of opera singers then you would simply cast The Magic Flute and you would cover every voice type that exists, except a counter tenor…but you could probably work one in somehow…it comes to 15 singers. Plus you have the chorus, the orchestra, and the extras. It is a lot of people. Throw in all of the folks backstage and you have a city of people working together to make such an evening possible. It is no small task. Add to these numbers the fact that these singers cannot be just any Joe off of the street but have to possess not only ample voices but also incredible skill to pull off such a piece of music. The Magic Flute is a tour de force of music, and it seems like a complete puff ball fairytale.
Now, with that in mind to consider the Nashville Opera’s resources there are going to be limits on just how well they might be able to pull it off. Where to start???
Let’s start with the soloists. In The Magic Flute the show is Papageno’s to make. Papageno serves as the comic relief, the regular guy, the “audience member” onstage who has been allowed to comment on the goings ons so the audience feels included in the performance. Papageno is the only character to break the 4th wall of the stage and directly communicate with the audience. Everyone else is “in the story”. It requires a decent voice, not necessarily beautiful, but the ability to sing the whole darn thing and to “Act” it is a must for any successful production. Without an effective Papageno…well…it’s going to be a looong night. Jesus Vincente Murillo is a wonderful Papegeno and is on pointe the whole night. Some of his scenes were a tad upstaged by the surtitles, but it wasn’t too distracting. He sang well and was an engaging performer.
The point of the story is about Tamino’s journey from being a young Prince to an enlightened man. Tenor Joshua Sanders is more of a leggero tenor than the lyric tenor that is usually prescribed for the role. He presented Tamino well as the Prince and never tried to occupy the same theatrical place of Papageno, which is exactly what it should be. He sang the role with ease and his voice is pleasing to the ear. To become accepted among the fellowship of brotherhood he must undergo several trials. Holding your tounge, proving your commitment to a woman, showing humility, and enduring the flames and floods of life are all a part of becoming a true “Mensch”. He is given a “Magic Flute” to aide him in his journey…not a sword, not a gun, and not a bow and arrow.
Pamina, sung by Jasmine Habersham, embodied the role with all the qualities you look for. She has a certain street-smart wisdom that gives her an advanced maturity over Papageno and Tamino. Her full lyric voice handles the deceptively difficult vocal lines with a beautiful full sound and soft edges. She plays the role with openness and honesty.
As is usually the case, The Queen of the Night makes the biggest splash. The thing is…you either can or you can’t sing “The Queen of the Night”, there is no ‘try’. Rainelle Krause is a “Queen of the Night”. I’ve seen a lot of Queens in my day and she is one of the best I’ve ever heard in the role. Dramatically she doesn’t spare anything in the dialogues to save her voice. She has excellent coloratura, a balanced middle range, and a full high voice. The Fs are all there and in line with the rest of the voice. At the end of the “Hölle Rache” (Hellish revenge) aria of the second act her voice bloomed in the theater, which is what voices should do and so the slancio, that sound that only opera singers can produce, was experienced by those in attendance which was welcomed with thunderous applaus. No wonder she has been hired back for next year’s Lucia.
Sarastro, sung by Matthew Anchel, possesses the rarest breed of singer, a true basso-profundo. He has all of the notes. His massive presence fits the all-knowing sage very well and combines the strength of a true leader with the understanding of a wise teacher.
The Three Ladies were well cast with Sabreena Cherrington, Sara Crigger, and Maria De Conzo. They all were very present vocally, harmonically, as well as dramatically varied. The Three Boys were also very engaging and well-sung. Emily Apuzzo Hopkins, Mary Katherine Stewart, and Ivy Calvert were the wise innocents who came in to help when most needed and were very light of foot. In the second act, their main job was to stop Pamina and Papageno from committing suicide.
The Speaker was well-represented by Andrew Payne. The Speaker isn’t so much of a singing role as it is a parlando role but it carries a weight with it that he characterized well with his voice. Dee Donasco, Papagena, I found to have a very present voice and great demeanor onstage. The “Reveal” is always a highlight with the duet “Pa Pa Pa….” rewarding Papageno for all his troubles with a beautiful girl…” just like me.”
Brian Russell played an engaging First Priest. Monastatos, Jordan Costa, was creatively solved in this production as an orange pot-bellied being with a long braided Fu Man Chu beard.
The orchestra was nicely played by the Nashville Opera Orchestra conducted by Dean Williamson. The singers were well accompanied by Williamson’s conducting and the whole performance flowed effortlessly forward. I would have liked to hear more characterization in the playing, but realize that they probably have very limited rehearsal time to bring out such intricacies.
John Hoomes, the Director, made some choices with this production. That is what artists do. I must say that in the beginning, I was skeptical of the approach and the simplicity of the staging. However, it became clear that he went with the theater maxim “We’re making theater” and everything became acceptable. That takes courage and belief in your actors to carry the show and not a lot of smoke and mirrors to dazzle the eye. The artistic license taken in the surtitles sometimes bordered on interfering with the real text, however, the fun-hearted spirit of the piece allows for it.
Clearly, singing opera in the original language is artistically preferred. However, I have to say that doing operas such as The Magic Flute would merit doing it in English. I did a lot of operas in the local language, German, and didn’t like doing it, but upon reflection support the practice because having the audience understand it also helps!
In general, my feeling is that The Magic Flute is an intimate opera. Producing it in the vast hall that Jackson Auditorium is seems out of place. The orchestral sound wasn’t as present as I would have liked, some voices didn’t quite make it to the pit, and the distance from the stage prevented seeing their facial expressions. I appreciated the audience’s involvement in the performance and the production was heartily applauded.
A wonderful evening in Nashville. I just wished they were having more performances of it. The world could use some sanity.
