Opera review: The Magic Flute, Royal Opera House

MOZART'S Magic Flute is one of the most joyous of all operas, but when David McVicar's production was first seen in 2003, it introduced a darker tone.

The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera House The Magic Flute at the Royal Opera House

From the threatening ritual of Sarastro's sanctuary to the wicked witch-like machinations of the Queen of the Night, the drama, in conjunction with John Macfarlane's looming sets, was taken to a new level which ran the risk of disturbing the comedy. 

The trick is to balance the humour and the seriousness, and the current production does it magnificently, perhaps for the first time showing the full benefits of McVicar's vision.

All it takes is a truly funny Papageno, a wonderfully sympathetic Pamina and a Queen of the Night with a glorious voice that can shatter glass, and this production has all three in perfect balance.

Christopher Maltman as the bird-catcher Papageno was a real delight. His portrayal of the role captured its essential ludicrousness, combined with cowardice and lovelorn self-pity perfectly, evoking laughter and sympathy in equal measure.

As a comic foil, the role fits perfectly with that of Tamino (Charles Castronovo), the hero on quest to rescue Pamina, the Queen of the Night's daughter, from the clutches of Sarastro.

The Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina has a wonderful warmth to her voice that makes her ideal casting for the part of Pamina. Warmth, however, is the last thing one wants to hear from her Mum, the Queen, and  the other Russian soprano in the cast, Albina Shagimuratova, brings a magnificent stridency to that role.

She only has two real arias in the opera but both are absolute raging show-stoppers, and Shagimuratova delivers them impeccably. I doubt that I have ever heard such a pure, crystal-shattering tone.

The action included a truly magical piece of pentagonal choreography, and I still cannot work out how he did it

With such a cast, McVicar's Flute really is Magic.  

To add to the magic at the start of the run, the Royal Opera House added a fascinating talk by the mathematician Marcus du Sautoy in its downstairs Linbury Theatre. I saw this a couple of days after watching the opera, and it added a good deal to my understanding and appreciation of the work and particularly of Mozart's fascination with numbers.

With the aid of a group of singers acting out several parts of the opera, du Sautoy pointed out, often with the aid of audience participation, the places where Mozart incorporates the rhythms of Masonic ritual into the music, and how the numbers 2, 3 and 5 dominate the action.

The action also included a truly magical piece of pentagonal choreography, and I still cannot work out how he did it.

The Linbury Theatre has often seemed to struggle to find a proper role for itself in the work of the Royal Opera House, but this seems exactly the sort of thing it is perfect for.

Tickets for the Magic Flute (until  May 9): 020 7304 4000 or www.roh.org.uk
Verdict: 4/5

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