Opera review: The Magic Flute
The only thing wrong with Simon McBurney's glorious production of the Magic Flute is that I had seen it before, when it was first at the London Coliseum in 2013.
McBurney displays so many wonderfully innovative ideas that the audience, orchestra and singers are all swept along on the energy of his vision.
The orchestra, for a start, are lifted out of the usual pit to a level almost equal to that of the stage. This makes them not only visible but also able to play an active part in the production.
When Pamino's magic flute is played, we are no longer treated to the unconvincing sight of the singer pretending to play the instrument, but the flautist wanders over to take her place by his side. Papageno's magic bells are given a similar treatment.
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The three boy sopranos who guide Pamino on his quest traditionally look like, well, three boy sopranos. Instead, McBurney portrays them as three prematurely aged Benjamin Buttons, combining the innocence and purity of youth with the wisdom of old age.
Then there are the absurdly low-level graphics, drawn in chalk on a blackboard and projected onto the stage. Also, just at the edge of the stage, there is a telephone-box sized kiosk from which strange percussion effects emanate, produced by bottles or containers full of rattling things.
The overall effect is simply wonderful, bringing the humour of the piece up to date without losing anything of the original. As always at ENO, it is sung in English, but this time the translation by Stephen Jeffreys is outstanding.
A few of the arias have been almost completely rewritten to glorious effect, again adding to the humour of the piece.
Mark Wigglesworth conducts the orchestra with great vigour and brings out the very best in Mozart's beautiful score and, before I stop raving about the excellence of the production, I should mention the magnificent singing of Lucy Crowe as Pamina.
The purity of her voice fits the role perfectly, leaving the other singers, good as they were, some distance behind.
For some time I had one reservation about the production this time, which was Peter Coleman-Wright's portrayal of the bird-catcher Papageno as rather more grumpy than I am used to.
He made up for this, however, by sitting down with the orchestra when he needed to play the magic bells and showing his expertise not only as a singer but a glockenspielist too.
If you have seen this production before, it's well worth seeing again; if you haven't seen it before, Simon McBurney's Flute will seem truly magical.
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