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Mozart – Die Zauberflöte
Tamino: Tyler Clarke Papageno: Peter Brathwaite Queen of Night : Suzanne Shakespeare Pamina: Sarah-Jane Brandon Sarastro: Jimmy Holiday Speaker: Sam Evans First Lady: Monica Bancos Second Lady : Audrey Kessedjian Third Lady: Rosie Aldridge Pappagena: Susanna Hurrell Monostatos: John McMunn Priests : Ed Grint, Anthony Gregory Director: Tim Carroll Royal College of Music Britten Theatre – 4 December 2009 Taking a break from their “Handel-Fest”, the College has offered The Magic Flute again. Next best thing to a pantomime? Not really - as its director, Tim Carroll, pointed out: “It’s real, dealing with real psychological hurdles in one’s life that have to be overcome.” Forget the Masonic trimmings, this opera is about actual people who are always changing as in real life; in real life your best friend can become your worst enemy and vice versa.
Tyler Clarke portrayed Tamino as a rather earnest young man but his singing was full of emotion. His Pamina, Sarah-Jane Brandon, has a voluminous soprano voice and is obviously destined for meatier roles. The dark-skinned Papageno, Peter Brathwaite, displayed a rather light baritone but compensated with engaging stage presence. He got the best laugh of the evening with the line Es gibt ja schwarze Vogel in der Welt, warum denn nicht auch schwarze Menschen? (there are black birds in the world, so why not black men?)
Jimmy Holiday as Sarastro sang with appropriate gravity, the real impact, however, was made by Suzanne Shakespeare as the Queen of Night. It was not so much her vocal acrobatics that impressed as her lively projection of her words – this is a singer with potential, both vocal and dramatic.
Poor old Monostatos, sung by John McMunn, has been reduced to an impotent caricature due to the strictures of the P.C brigade. Perhaps he needs a makeover into a sort of hapless Gordon Brown figure – a serious conspirator whose plots never seem to work. The three ladies, arrayed in white veils, looked as though they had strayed in from a production of Thais but both they and the Three Boys made substantial contributions to the drama.
The chorus sang well, if handicapped by the limited space of the faceless set, occasionally jostling for position like Monday morning commuters. The overall colour scheme of white and blue was attractive but created an unsuitably bland atmosphere, relating to specific location. The general effect of this production was placid rather than dynamic, possibly a sensible decision for the season of Goodwill (even towards critics, one hopes).
An important constituent of an enjoyable occasion was, as ever, the contribution of the orchestra under the baton of Michael Rosewell. The invisible players in the pit tend to get overlooked and deserve recognition for their hard work. Mozart’s music helps us to steer a course through the shifting sands of human emotions to eventual reconciliation and tranquility. Merry Christmas!
Stuart Jenkins
But see The Times' serious reservations ! [Editor]
Photo credit Chris Christodoulou
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