Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, presented in Birmingham this week in an excellent English translation as The Magic Flute, is one of the most accessible and popular perennials in the Opera repertoire. This is due, no doubt, to the quality of Mozart’s score, because the plot is frankly weird. It begins with the lead male character Tamino being pursued by a monster, in this production a rather ridiculous giant prawn, in the opening scene. The surreal dystopia also sees wild animals tamed by a magic flute and three boys flying away in a bicycle-powered mechanical fish. In this production the Welsh National Opera did very well to maximise the humour engendered by the bizarre narrative, while also conveying the serious aspect of the work. Written and performed in 1791, it warns of the tyranny of fanatical monarchs in the wake of the French Revolution, and promotes the qualities needed for leadership in a series of tests for the next generation of throne-sitters.

There were some excellent performances by several cast members. The most famous aria, Queen of the Night, with its daunting staccatos reaching a dazzling high F, was sung with confident aplomb by Anna Siminska.  Ben Johnson was solid and sturdy throughout as the intrepid love-struck Tamino, determined to demonstrate his mettle in the face of his character tests. Mark Stone was excellent as the comic bird catcher Papageno, demonstrating not only his fine voice but also his fine stage presence and spontaneous sense of humour. The star of the show, for me, was Anita Watson as the female lead Pamina. Her voice was scintillating, smooth, and excellently controlled. She carried every scene. Alas, it was a mixed night for Jihoon Kim, who has a lovely voice in his mid-to-high range, but struggled to project over the orchestra in the deepest bass notes. Most impressive, though, were the chorus. The WNO has strength in depth, and Mozart’s musical arrangements allowed the cast to showcase the ‘wall of sound’ for which Welsh choirs are rightly celebrated.

The focus on the production was clearly on the singing and acting performance. This was competently supported by a well-balanced orchestra under the baton of Thomas Blunt. But I’m afraid the set and staging was not as effective. The set was a three-sided wall comprising a number of doors. Unfortunately, every time a door was shut the walls shook as if they were about to fall down. The lighting lacked imagination or adventure. There was something going on below the stage using hatches through which the chorus would often pop up. This obviously pleased those seated in the circle, but left those of us in the stalls wondering what we were missing. This was a shame, because I did enjoy the colour contrasts between the set and the costumes, particularly the blue backdrop to the bright orange suits and bowler hats of the cast.

Criticisms of the staging should not detract from an otherwise strong performance by the WNO. This was a very enjoyable evening as part of one of three Operas being presented by the WNO as part of their Spring tour, the others being Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux and Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera. The Magic Flute returns to Birmingham on 9^th March and will run with the other two operas again gracing the region at the Bristol Hippodrome in April. Well worth catching if you can.   ★★★★☆    Robert Gainer   8^th March 2019