LISBON,
PORTUGAL - Having seen The Magic Flute
staged in
June 2000 at the Sao Carlos National Theater, the Portuguese opera
lovers could question the opportunity and artistic pertinence of
another performance of the Mozart opera in March 2002.
These doubts, though legitimate, must surely be dispelled,
once one has experienced the new 2002 production.
Despite opting for a so-called modern approach
that is, in this case, a creative one, there could not have been
more different productions than the ones presented at Sao Carlos in
2000 and 2002. The 2000
was a house production full of interesting touches such as: the
appearance of the Queen of the Night and her three ladies as bats or
the surprising use of magical tricks provided by Luis de Matos who
was considered Magician of the Year in 1999 by the Hollywood Academy
of Magical Arts. However,
even with numerous inventive details, the 2000 staging lacked unity
and coherence.
There were no such shortcomings in the 2002
co-production between the Aix-en-Provence Festival and the Lyon’s
National Opera. The
whole opera was conceived as a dream, an imaginary voyage in which
Tamino overcomes ignorance and adolescence to reach full physical
(sexual) and intellectual maturity.
It all begins with Tamino dreaming of a serpent in bed and
fearing the unknown freedom which maturity necessarily brings.
The three ladies kill the serpent (here, an obvious sexual
symbol) in the same bed and, from under it, appears a stunned
Papageno.
By leaving the bed, each character enters into
the virtual reality of Tamino’s dream. Is there a better means to
convey appearances, virtual images, dreams than TV and new
technologies? Probably
not, though, unfortunately, technology is often superficially
handled, its only purpose being to dazzle the audience.
That was indeed not the case with Stéphane Braunschweig’s
2002 staging which used adequately and with restraint the new
technological mediums available.
Six moving columns composed of six vertically juxtaposed TV
screens were more than enough to portray all the details of
Tamino’s imagination. These
columns would either create different geometric patterns or form a
gigantic screen when united.
Due to the gigantic screen, for instance, the
audience was able to anticipate the opera’s plot.
While Tamino was playing his flute, one would see Papageno
and Pamina looking for him. Later,
Monostatos and his fellow slaves could be seen in pursuit of
Papageno and Pamina who rejoiced on center stage.
Functioning separately, the TV columns either represented
Sarastro’s three temples entrances or wonderfully portrayed
Tamino’s and Pamina’s initiation trials. Passing from screen to screen, Tamino could be seen
fluctuating over the water and Pamina fearlessly would face the
flames. The opera ends
with Tamino and Pamina peacefully sleeping in bed while Sarastro and
his subjects praise their courage and maturity from the boxes above.
Vocally, as well as scenically, the 2002
production was far superior when compared to the 2000 one.
Alfred Reiter’s Sarastro not only did have the required
profound and sonorous low notes, but also brought adequate majesty
and serenity to his part. Contrary to 2000’s bat Queen who
was virtually inaudible, Irina Ionesco offered the Lisbon audience a
most competent portrayal. She
did get into some trouble with the triplets and legato in “Der
Hölle Rache”, and her high notes did have a not very suitable
nightingale sound. However,
she tried to darken her voice in the middle register and thus
increased its volume and, with impetuous diction, she was successful
in catching the Queen’s evil character.
Hélène le Corre’s Pamina sang without any major faults,
but her monochromatic tone and a little harshness in the high
register prevented her from creating a truly moving princess.
The Papageno Stéphane Degout was simply
brilliant, exceptional, fabulous (add any eulogistic adjective of
your choice) on stage. It
is a pity, though, that he did not act with his voice as well as he
acted with his body. Lastly,
Fernando Portari created a most elegant Tamino with subtle dynamic
contrasts, sweet meze voci and piani.
Like the Queen of the Night, he too stumbled a little with
the legato at the end of “Dies Bildnis”, but he was
especially disappointing in conveying Tamino’s more impetuous side
both as a lover and as a courageous prince.
Whenever Portari launched himself on a high note above mezzo
forte, the voice seemed trapped and strangled and would lose its
natural tenderness. Nonetheless,
his was a very assured performance and we most adequately do
not expect or wish Corelli-like laser beams in Tamino.
To sum up, the Sao Carlos was graced with a most satisfactory
performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute which included
superb staging and competent vocal performances from mainly young
singers whose minor faults never compromised the overall quality of
the production.
The Magic Flute was presented at the Sao Carlos
National Theater March 20th, 22nd, 25th, 27th and 28th. Maestro Zoltán
Peskó conducted the Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra (Orquestra
Sinfonica Portuguesa) and the Sao Carlos Chorus.
Nuno Miguel Marques is
a Classical Voice correspondent from Lisbon, Portugal.
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