Magic Flute in Germany
What an amazing morning I had on April 1st (no foolin’), when I listened on-line to the Berlin Philharmonic’s production of Mozart’s delightful masterpiece, “The Magic Flute”
This performance was given at the “Festspielhaus” in the city of Baden-Baden in Germany, and I tuned in at 9:30 AM, California time, to hear the live concert at 6:30 PM in Germany.
The singers were in modern dress; the staging was minimal, and very effective. Basically most of the scenes had a forest background.
Some of the principal singers were: (There were 18 amazing soloists)
Dimitry Ivashchenco, Bass, Sarastro
Pavol Breslik, tenor, Tamino
Ana Durlovski, soprano, Queen of the Night
Kate Royal, Soprano, Pamina
Michael Nagy, Baritone, Papageno
Chen Reiss, Soprano, Papagena
Annick Massels, soprano, 1st Lady
Magdalena Kozena, Mezzo-Soprano, 2nd Lady (she’s also Mrs. Rattle)
Nathalie Stutzmann, Contralto, 3rd Lady
The Berlin Radio Chorus, directed by Simon Halsey
The orchestra and singers were conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.
Robert Carsen is the Director of the opera
Some observations:
1. The variety of the plot and the music, and the spiritual aspects of this opera are legendary; and they are unique, even for a composer such as Mozart was.
2. This was the very first time that the Berlin Philharmonic performed this opera
3. The Queen of the Night aria with her daughter, Pamina, in the second act was sensational
4. Tamino’s singing was also just excellent. Powerful, and strong.
5. Papageno’s aria with Pamina in the first act was great.
6. Funny how Papagena shows up as a skeleton in Act 2! Her aria with Papageno later in the opera was terrific!
7. Papageno’s aria “Ein Maedchen oder Weibchen” is beautifully done.
This opera will soon be in the archives of the Digital Concert Hall. The performance has by strongest recommendation. You should see it.
I took online screen shots of the singers in action; see two of these on the left.
Here is Simon Rattle, talking about the Baden-Baden Easter Festival:
And finally, here is The Berliner Philharmoniker’s tour blog from the Easter Festival 2013:
Tags: Mozart, Zauberfloete, Magic Flute, Baden-Baden Festival, Berlin Philharmonic, Sir Simon Rattle