Mozart - The Magic Flute / Ostman, Biel, Dahlberg, Drottningholm Court Theatre

Rating:
Summary: Fine Performance of Delightful Opera!
Review: Another reviewer penned it so well, that this production is not "pretentious," and I believe that is why many enjoy it so much. It is not slick "techno" glittery Americanized hype production, but simple sets and passionate performers who seem to delight in performing it so much.

Was taken very much by the orchestration, so well done in this case the Drottninghom Court Theatre Orchestra and Chorus directed by Arnold Ostman on period instruments. Bravo!

Each of the opera writter by Schikaneder was very well done, but my favorite is the delightful Pagageno! What charisma this guy Samuelson exudes in this part! He is the best! Also, the queen's three and the three boys who lead the trials are excellent as well!

The story is delightful, but spiritually is troublesome, due to Isis et al. Too much of Mozart's and Schikaneder's Freemasonry in this for me. The serpent, sin and evil, are themes but not dealt with in true spiritual reality. If this is proposed as the fairy tale which permeates it, then so be it.

All in all, just a delightful opera so well produced and performed. Wonderful entertainment!

Rating:
Summary: Fine Performance of Delightful Opera!
Review: Another reviewer penned it so well, that this production is not "pretentious," and I believe that is why many enjoy it so much. It is not slick "techno" glittery Americanized hype production, but simple sets and passionate performers who seem to delight in performing it so much.

Was taken very much by the orchestration, so well done in this case the Drottninghom Court Theatre Orchestra and Chorus directed by Arnold Ostman on period instruments. Bravo!

Each of the opera writter by Schikaneder was very well done, but my favorite is the delightful Pagageno! What charisma this guy Samuelson exudes in this part! He is the best! Also, the queen's three and the three boys who lead the trials are excellent as well!

The story is delightful, but spiritually is troublesome, due to Isis et al. Too much of Mozart's and Schikaneder's Freemasonry in this for me. The serpent, sin and evil, are themes but not dealt with in true spiritual reality. If this is proposed as the fairy tale which permeates it, then so be it.

All in all, just a delightful opera so well produced and performed. Wonderful entertainment!

Rating:
Summary: Fine Performance of Delightful Opera!
Review: Another reviewer penned it so well, that this production is not "pretentious," and I believe that is why many enjoy it so much. It is not slick "techno" glittery Americanized hype production, but simple sets and passionate performers who seem to delight in performing it so much.

Was taken very much by the orchestration, so well done in this case the Drottninghom Court Theatre Orchestra and Chorus directed by Arnold Ostman on period instruments. Bravo!

Each of the opera writter by Schikaneder was very well done, but my favorite is the delightful Pagageno! What charisma this guy Samuelson exudes in this part! He is the best! Also, the queen's three and the three boys who lead the trials are excellent as well!

The story is delightful, but spiritually is troublesome, due to Isis et al. Too much of Mozart's and Schikaneder's Freemasonry in this for me. The serpent, sin and evil, are themes but not dealt with in true spiritual reality. If this is proposed as the fairy tale which permeates it, then so be it.

All in all, just a delightful opera so well produced and performed. Wonderful entertainment!

Rating:
Summary: Simply First Rate !
Review: Mozart was indeed a genius. He could hold our attention for two hours or more in one go like he did in this opera, leaving us almost breathless. Like Paul Simon's lyric which goes, "With my poetry to protect me...," here Mozart like hmself had his hero a magic flute to protect him, and likewise his attendent the birdcatcher...

The singing as a whole is not very powerful, save one or two solos by the Queen of the Night. Neither the prince nor the daughter of the Queen (nor the birdcatcher-- but he was entertaining enough ) is too impressing. But as a duet, the voices of them two mix very nicely and the balance is perfect, so are the trios, quartets or even sextets.

For the orchestra, there is no way that Levine will let you down, but one may nonetheless miss the refined strings of the Vienna Philharmonic when we come to Mozart. Some may even find the sudden lowering of the volume of the singing off-putting, otherwise it is as good as one could expect. The opera is full of fun, it's witty and above all very humourous. It's a very good start to begin with the classical operas especially for the children.

Last but not the least, credits should also be given to the settings and costumes: they are never extravagant, but they are very imaginative, evocative and most effective. As a result, the over all artistic effects are excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Simply First Rate !
Review: Mozart was indeed a genius. He could hold our attention for two hours or more in one go like he did in this opera, leaving us almost breathless. Like Paul Simon's lyric which goes, "With my poetry to protect me...," here Mozart like hmself had his hero a magic flute to protect him, and likewise his attendent the birdcatcher...

The singing as a whole is not very powerful, save one or two solos by the Queen of the Night. Neither the prince nor the daughter of the Queen (nor the birdcatcher-- but he was entertaining enough ) is too impressing. But as a duet, the voices of them two mix very nicely and the balance is perfect, so are the trios, quartets or even sextets.

For the orchestra, there is no way that Levine will let you down, but one may nonetheless miss the refined strings of the Vienna Philharmonic when we come to Mozart. Some may even find the sudden lowering of the volume of the singing off-putting, otherwise it is as good as one could expect. The opera is full of fun, it's witty and above all very humourous. It's a very good start to begin with the classical operas especially for the children.

Last but not the least, credits should also be given to the settings and costumes: they are never extravagant, but they are very imaginative, evocative and most effective. As a result, the over all artistic effects are excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Charming!!
Review: This is an absolutely wonderful production of the magic flute - creative, unpretenetious, theatrical, with a true sense of fun. The production is given in a small 18th century theater with an orchestra of period instrumentalists led by Arnold Ostmann.

This is not a slick powerhouse virtuoso performance, a la the Met. If you are interested primarily in the performance aspect - ie. technical ability, accuracy, intonation, etc., this might not be the peformance for you. I do not mean to suggest that the technical abilities of the performers are not up to the task - quite the contrary - but this is a production where the whole adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

The orchestra is very good, with an attractively transparent and silvery sound. The three principals filling the roles of Tamino, Pamina and Papageno are all excellent. They each possess attractive voices, and just as importantly, there are each very good actors. This is not the kind of production where the singers stand like a log in the middle of the stage to deliver their arias. They are constantly active, always acting the part. Papageno, in particular, is a delight - one of the best I've ever seen.

The queen of the night takes her arias VERY fast, faster then I've ever heard. She manages most of the high notes, but intonation is spotty in a few places. Vocally, it is passable, and the musical interpretation is rather idiosyncratic, but in terms of her appearance and acting she is wonderful - she gives off a subtly creepy vibe that is entirely appropriate to the role.

The three ladies are well done, as are the three boys (sung by young women). Sarastro, Monostatos and Papagena are also very good indeed, especially Sarastro. Papageno's final duet with Papagena is absolutely delightful, and a highlight of the performance.

Sound quality is okay though rather soft-grained - I found it useful to turn up the volume a bit higher than usual, after which everything came into focus, and the sound was actually quite good. Stereo only, however. Picture quality is not so good, unfortunately. Rather grainy, with less-than-ideal contrast between light and dark, and some serious streaking. However, I found that the musical and theatrical virtues of this production so far outweigh the problems with the picture quality, that it did not detract from my enjoyment in any way.

Of the productions of Zauberflote available on DVD, I much preferred this DVD to the minimalist production available on Arthaus, led by Wolfgang Gonnenwien. While not a bad performance, it is totally outcharmed by this delightful production. I have not seen the entire Met DVD, but I have seen a few clips from it on a DG sampler, and found the slick, hard-driven sound of the orchestra not to my liking. Those looking for a gentler alternative would do well to check out this release.

5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Charming!!
Review: This production does everything right. Why is Arnold Ostman's conducting so underrated in the U.S.?- He is masterful, and this production is with period instruments! the cast could not be better. Anyone ELSE out there let down by Battle's MET performance? Here's your relief. This production does ALOT with very little- forget about special effects, This lets you simply enjoy the story, humor, and great cast! The Queen of the night is refreshingly flirty with Pamino and more connected to the storyline than in most productions. Stefan Dahlberg is superb. A must for your library!

Rating:
Summary: it is just right!
Review: This production does everything right. Why is Arnold Ostman's conducting so underrated in the U.S.?- He is masterful, and this production is with period instruments! the cast could not be better. Anyone ELSE out there let down by Battle's MET performance? Here's your relief. This production does ALOT with very little- forget about special effects, This lets you simply enjoy the story, humor, and great cast! The Queen of the night is refreshingly flirty with Pamino and more connected to the storyline than in most productions. Stefan Dahlberg is superb. A must for your library!