Hello Gentlemen,
It's Asian Nicole. The Magic Flute (German: Die Zauberflöte) is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theatre in Vienna. Mozart conducted the orchestra, Schikaneder himself played Papageno. Unfortunately, three and a half weeks later, on 28 December 1791, Mozart died at the age of 35. Very sad!
I have admired Mozart's last opera--The Magic Flute for a very long time. Last Friday evening, my darling opera professor invited me to see this famous show just right after I returned from vacation at the Four Season Centre. It was the last show of this opera (from January 19 to February 24, 2017).
The power of Mozart’s The Magic Flute had worked its way throughout the Four Seasons Centre, as the Canadian Opera Company began 2017 with a revival of its 2011 production of this flawed masterpiece. But it took a little while to achieve that state.
Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is about the trials a youth must overcome to find true love. A child-like fantasy is paired with the master’s most stunningly beautiful music. From the spectacular fireworks of the Queen of the Night, to Pamina’s anguished lament, and Papageno and Papagena’s comic antics, Mozart’s profound understanding of the human condition is given voice. It is filled with deep symbolism related to Freemasonry, an order to which the composer (and the opera’s librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder) belonged.
The Magic Flute always represents a challenge for any company having a go at it. Bernard Labadie, the COC’s conductor for this production says:" it’s hard not to make a success of an opera that features some of the most sublime music ever written. Just show up, sing the notes and you’ll have a hit."
There is no hint of frustration or regret when Labadie starts talking about the Mozart of The Magic Flute, written in the last six months or so of the composer’s life. “Late Mozart is so powerful,” he says, “because you’re looking at a composer at the height of his powers. I feel very small and humble in front of a score like that. … In an opera like The Magic Flute, I think an interpreter can get in the way. A lot. And I’m trying not to get in the way. I’m just trying to take what’s there and enhance it. I’ve heard other conductors take a lot of liberties with the score to try and make it more expressive. It’s a mistake. The music is easy to kill by excessive love.”
So, it took a while, but the COC’s Magic Flute finally delivered. The Magic Flute is Mozart’s equivalent to Beethoven’s Ninth, his Ode to Joy to brotherhood. Conductor Bernard Labadie also makes his COC debut, leading the orchestra in a buoyant if equally thoughtful reading of Mozart’s poignant score.
Wow...Thanks so much for the spectacular opera show, my darling opera professor! It was amazing and I had such a joyful night!
It's Asian Nicole. The Magic Flute (German: Die Zauberflöte) is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theatre in Vienna. Mozart conducted the orchestra, Schikaneder himself played Papageno. Unfortunately, three and a half weeks later, on 28 December 1791, Mozart died at the age of 35. Very sad!
I have admired Mozart's last opera--The Magic Flute for a very long time. Last Friday evening, my darling opera professor invited me to see this famous show just right after I returned from vacation at the Four Season Centre. It was the last show of this opera (from January 19 to February 24, 2017).
The power of Mozart’s The Magic Flute had worked its way throughout the Four Seasons Centre, as the Canadian Opera Company began 2017 with a revival of its 2011 production of this flawed masterpiece. But it took a little while to achieve that state.
Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute is about the trials a youth must overcome to find true love. A child-like fantasy is paired with the master’s most stunningly beautiful music. From the spectacular fireworks of the Queen of the Night, to Pamina’s anguished lament, and Papageno and Papagena’s comic antics, Mozart’s profound understanding of the human condition is given voice. It is filled with deep symbolism related to Freemasonry, an order to which the composer (and the opera’s librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder) belonged.
The Magic Flute always represents a challenge for any company having a go at it. Bernard Labadie, the COC’s conductor for this production says:" it’s hard not to make a success of an opera that features some of the most sublime music ever written. Just show up, sing the notes and you’ll have a hit."
There is no hint of frustration or regret when Labadie starts talking about the Mozart of The Magic Flute, written in the last six months or so of the composer’s life. “Late Mozart is so powerful,” he says, “because you’re looking at a composer at the height of his powers. I feel very small and humble in front of a score like that. … In an opera like The Magic Flute, I think an interpreter can get in the way. A lot. And I’m trying not to get in the way. I’m just trying to take what’s there and enhance it. I’ve heard other conductors take a lot of liberties with the score to try and make it more expressive. It’s a mistake. The music is easy to kill by excessive love.”
So, it took a while, but the COC’s Magic Flute finally delivered. The Magic Flute is Mozart’s equivalent to Beethoven’s Ninth, his Ode to Joy to brotherhood. Conductor Bernard Labadie also makes his COC debut, leading the orchestra in a buoyant if equally thoughtful reading of Mozart’s poignant score.
Wow...Thanks so much for the spectacular opera show, my darling opera professor! It was amazing and I had such a joyful night!
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