The Magic Flute – Royal Opera House, London (LAST CHANCE TO SEE)

A review of Mozart’s Magic Flute, on now at the Royal Opera House. A lavish production to expand my 2021 repertoire of Mozart operas.

The Magic Flute – A Lavish ROH Production

What a year for the Salterton Arts Review and the operatic works of Mozart. We saw The Marriage of Figaro on a rainy, semi-outdoor evening at Opera Holland Park. We saw the very forgiving Titus in La Clemenza di Tito at the Royal Opera House. And now we are back at that latter venue for a review of The Magic Flute. I will be an expert before long!

I think of all the operas by Mozart that I have seen this year, this one was my favourite. This particular production is by David McVicar, and is an all-bells-and-whistles type of affair. Definitely the sort of thing they would have had to wait for the end of most Covid restrictions to revive again. There is a chorus. A sort of flying ship thing. A big old snake. They have even hired a bird handler to come with a live bird for about 30 seconds on stage, for goodness’ sake. That is the sort of thing you do to signal that your production is Lavish with a capital L.

The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte in German), is not about the plot. Mainly, it is a lot of fun. The plot, such as it is, is about Prince Tamino, who must rescue Pamina from the enchanter Sarastro. But is all as it seems? Is Pamina’s mother the Queen of the Night really that trustworthy? And Sarastro really that bad? There’s a lot for Tamino and hilarious birdcatcher sidekick Papageno to figure out. There are a couple of arias that even the least opera-savvy might recognise, and overall it’s a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

Is It Bad If I’m Here For The Puppets?

For me, still sadly being one of the less savvy opera-goers out there, there were a couple of real highlights. First of all, the sets were brilliant. The set design for the production is by John Macfarlane, with lighting design by Paule Constable. I loved it. Macfarlane makes absolute full use of the stage, with beautiful backdrops, and dramatic lighting by Constable. The finale with a huge golden sun isn’t an image that will leave me quickly. Really beautiful, and reminded me what a privilege it is to be within reach of one of the world’s great opera companies.

The other thing I loved, because I am a child at heart, was the fun. Papageno (performed by Huw Montague Rendall) absolutely stole the show in my opinion. Montague Rendall was so funny, and wrung every last comedic drop out of the part. His entrance, attempting to catch a bird (puppet), had me laughing out loud. Between this puppet, manipulated by one amusing puppeteer, and the enormous snake with its own troupe of puppeteers, the puppets also have to be another of my highlights. Not what I expected from an opera.

So as ever, it’s only in the closing paragraph of the review that I remember to tell you about the singing. I was told by the couple beside me, who have seen several revivals of this production, that there have been more impressive casts. I don’t know, they seemed pretty good to me. Aleksandra Olczyk does not have an easy part as the Queen of the Night, and I thought she sounded wonderful. Daniel Behle as Tamino didn’t quite seem like his heart was in it, but maybe that was just me. And I really enjoyed Michael Colvin as Monostatos, a kind of lecherous Nosferatu character. In summary, it was definitely the comic characters for me – perfect for an opera novice.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5

The Magic Flute on until 7 October 2021

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