12/31/2007

Energy, imagination make `Magic Flute' sing

By Marilyn Farwell
For The Register-Guard

What a difference a year makes.

When the Eugene Opera gained a new administration, it also acquired a welcome new perspective on opera productions. This year, instead of the usual competent but unimaginative performance of an operatic standard such as "La Traviata," the company presented a musically invigorating and highly imaginative production of a standard but totally rethought opera, Mozart's "The Magic Flute."


While this radical reimagination of the opera did have its problems, the sets by Nadya Geras-Carson, the stage direction by Eugene Opera's artistic advisor Mark Beudert, and the conducting of Nicholas Carthy brought an energy not seen from this company in the past several years.


The excellent soloists as well as local artists in comprimario roles, in the hefty chorus and in the orchestra added a special luster to the performance.


Usually "The Magic Flute" is staged with quasi-Egyptian scenery befitting the text's indebtedness to the Freemasonry of the 18th century. Both Mozart and his librettist were masons and imbued this opera with the ideas and possibly the initiation rites of that then-radical sect.


Even the opera's central key signature with three flats reflects the mason's important number of 3. The Eugene Opera eliminated references to masonry and Egypt. Instead, it set the opera in a quasi-meso-America replete with jungle scenery on scrims and a chorus dressed in half-African, half-Aztecan costumes.


While I welcome resetting operas in order to make them relevant to contemporary audiences, too many ideas rather than too few burdened this interpretation of Mozart's last opera. Geras-Carson's first-act painted scrim in the style of Henri Rousseau was beautiful, as was her second act in an Art Deco style, each representing one of the two worlds in Mozart's opera, nature and reason. These two styles, however, seemed unrelated.


The costumes by Mary Mikkelsen were a hodgepodge of strikingly simple white - for the primary soloists, the lovers Tamino and Pamina and the sage Sarastro - and of the over-done, painted bodies and grass hats of the chorus, which looked not like a sect that idealized reason but like a group of cartoon primitives about to boil Tamino alive.


Much of the singing was laudable. Peter Sovitzky as Tamino used his light, lyric sound well, although he needed more emotional involvement. Eun-Hee Kim as Tamino's beloved Pamina has a bigger voice than most singers of this role. She projected a beautiful, open sound, especially in her middle range, and her main aria, "Ach, ich fuhl's," was impressive. Sarastro is usually sung with a heftier bass voice than Steven Gallop's, but he ably reached those wicked low notes in this role.


In her two stratospheric arias, Bronwen Forbay as the Queen of the Night exhibited an impressive coloratura soprano with high notes to burn. Jon Kolbert as the lascivious Monostatos displayed a lovely lyric tenor voice. Andrew Wilkowske was a vocal and dramatic delight as the bird catcher, Papageno.


The highlights of the opera for me were in some of the minor roles. The three Ladies - Kristin Vogel, Teresa Hoy and Elizabeth Pojanowski - inhabited the stage with fine ensemble work and delightful characterizations. Lindsey Cafferky lit up the stage as Papagena, and her scene with Wilkowske held the audience captive.


Local artists also played significant roles in this opera. Sandy Naishtat sounded better than ever as the Speaker, Reggie Tonry and Brennen Guillory as the Armed Men were properly full-voiced, and the three boy spirits, strangely played by seven young boys, gave special energy to their scenes. The chorus was encouragingly large. The opera orchestra displayed some fine playing, and although there were problems of coordination between the pit and the stage, guest conductor Nicholas Carthy whipped up some fine dramatic playing from the orchestra.


While I may grouse about some aspects of this production, the energy and imagination that were on display Saturday evening gave me hope for the future of Eugene Opera.


OPERA REVIEW


The Magic Flute


Where: The Hult Center's Silva Concert Hall, Seventh Avenue and Willamette Street

When: 7:30 p.m. today

Tickets: $25 to $65 (682-5000)

Also: A New Year's Gala party at the Hult Center's Studio One follows tonight's performance; tickets are an additional $60

Marilyn Farwell, a UO professor emerita, reviews vocal and choral music for The Register-Guard.