Music Reviews

Apr 8, 2006 - Nevada Opera's "The Magic Flute" is colorful, beautifully sung - and long

By Jack Neal

Mozart's "The Magic Flute" is magical in every way except for its length; three hours, with intermission, and counting (but only slightly).

That's blasphemy to think and say (or write), I know, at any time - especially on this 250th birthday celebration of the prodigy-genius-composer's birth. And what would one cut? Every measure, every phrase, every elegant tune is a musical jewel.

Beyond that slight pique, Nevada Opera's celebration of Mozart - which opened last night (Friday, 4/7/06) at Reno's Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts - is rich in superb singing, and a sublime musical interpretation by conductor (and No artistic director) Michael Borowitz.

The set, a stalagmite kind of look that would make Marlon Brando feel at home on the planet Krypton, is ripe for reflecting Don Smith's attractive rainbow-of-color lighting designs. Frankly, I loved the look of the lighting, set and costumes. Stewart Dawson designed the set. The elegant costumes were created by Howard Tsvi Kaplan.

The opera's silly story, an early giveaway at the drop of your average magic flute or set of protective chimes, is a no brainer from start to finish. Love flourishes, of course, not quite like it does on "Desperate Housewives" but flourish it does and there's lots of rigmarole getting to the final chase.

Will Prince Tamino hook up with Princess Pamina? Will Princess Pamina's mother, the wicked Queen of the Night, get her come uppance by the final curtain? Will the birdcatcher, Papageno, finally catch his fine-feathered Papagena? Will those operatic Andrew Sisters - Erste Dame, Zweite Dame, Dritte Dame - ever get a man of their very own? Will the High Priest of Masonry rid his temple of the doom of Pamina's black-hearted guard, Monostatos? Will Monostatos, a very dirty old man, ever clean up his act?

Those questions encumbered by an enormous serpent, three singing boys from the right side of the tracks, a zoo of cute animals and all those Masons going through their rituals answer the riddle, why three hours to resolution?

Mozart's funloving nature and his genius for writing great music and a nonsense libretto (with Emanuel Schikaneder) that tickled his fancy, along with a keen mind that wasn't into sound bites or reality TV, creates the presto of invention that makes "The Magic Flute" tick - and tick away the time.

Thank heavens for beautiful music, beautiful voices, an orchestra that plays well, a chorus that sings well, and a director - William Shomos - that keeps things moving well.

Tenor John Bellemer is a golden voiced Prince Tamino. Soprano Jane Redding is a lovely, warm and crystalline voiced Princess Pamina. As the wicked, and highly strung (lots of high notes via Mozart's exasperatingly tough coloratura writing) Queen of the Night, soprano Elizabeth Hogue has a field day. (If Barbara Bush weren't the president's mother, Hogue's snarling old queen could be.)

As Papageno, baritone Corey McKern's muitl-colored sound is thrilling to hear. He's an operatic find of the first rank. The stately John Ames, with his vibrant, deep bass voice, sings his way into the record books of opera as one of lyric theater's most memorable Sarastros. Melinda Martin flutters her way to a winning Papageno. As the nasty pedophiliac Monostatos, tenor Roland Wunderling is divinely confused and funny. "Thank heavens," Monostatos could sing, "for little girls." And those three delightfully lecherous old bags, Erste Dame (Brenda Frye), Zweite Dame (Brianna Brock), Dritte Dame (Sarah Blaze), could sing "Thank heavens for little boys."

To make "The Magic Flute" work, Mozart's ethereal music must be lovingly and stylishly performed, and the production must play out with a tongue-in-cheek, nonchalance sense of fanciful whimsy. Nevada Opera's creative team, cast, crew and artisans push all the right buttons. The company's "The Magic Flute" gets two thumbs up and four-and-one-half stars. It's a hit.

Nevada Opera's "The Magic Flute" can be seen at the Pioneer Center for the Perfornming Arts, 100 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada, Friday, April 7 (2006), at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 6 (2006), at 2 p.m. For information about "The Magic Flute" and other Nevada Opera events and performances call 775-786-4046. For tickets call 775-786-4046 or 775-686-6600.