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Mozart, The Magic Flute: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of the Birmingham Conservatoire, conductor Richard Laing, The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham 9.3.2009 (GR)


The space restrictions of The Crescent Theatre pit for this Birmingham Conservatoire production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute suggested that the overture might be somewhat thin. This was the case, but the tempo also seemed a little too lively for my taste and the pause in the middle felt overly long. The fewer the number of players the greater their exposure, but this was turned to advantage with a delightful taste of things to come from the first flautist. Richard Laing (I won’t forget his impressive Operamus Semele workshop last year) held the baton and was at all times sympathetic to his singers. German lyrics (plus subtitles) and English dialogue were used for this Singspiel, surely the correct combination here. I don’t think that Director Michael Barry came up with anything original, but with the assistance of Colin Judges on Design and John Bishop on Lighting, their side of things was up to the consistently high standards of Conservatoire opera productions.

I thought the best contribution to Act I came from the Three Ladies; Harriet Hunter, Helena Raeburn and Shira Lang  vied delightfully for the right to guard Tamino with their rapiers and 'Nein, Nein's. Most of the comedy in The Magic Flute stems from Papageno, but a lack of stage presence from this Vogelfänger left me a little flat, despite him playing his own pipes. Hannah Davey as Pamina was appropriately tender in the Mann und Weib duet – the pair kept it simple and let Mozart do the rest. I loved the Three Boys of Alexandra Saunders, Andrea Tjäder and Anna Jeffers, all resplendent in their blazers, caps and long shorts -  or was it short longs? Four dancers provided a pleasant diversion to the sound of Tamino’s magic flute from the pit. The fine choreography was continued as the baddies were dispersed by Papageno’s box of tricks, a high spot in any production. The rousing chorus praising the High Priest closed the first half and showed the Conservatoire voices to full advantage.

Act II opened to a striking piece of idolatry to represent Isis and Osiris together with some glittering costumes for the Brotherhood, equally impressive in dress and voice. The mature voice of Andrew Fellowes played Sarastro; he was imposing in both spoken and vocal delivery, although there was some loss of power on the lower notes. As Tamino and Papageno began their trials, the Three Ladies teased them with some snappy staccato. They were joined by Karmen Bödi as the Queen of the Night. Not so impressed by her first half Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren or indeed by her preliminary spoken lines that led to her big number, I was a little fearful for those high Fs and Gs, but she rose magnificently to the difficult task and deservedly earned the biggest applause of the afternoon.

Louise Wayman as Papagena was a squeaky and believable crone. Although the Three Boys did not enter by the aerial route, their harmonic trio reached heights of its own, ably assisted by the strings and woodwind. This excellent phase in the performance continued as Pamina plausibly expressed her grief and the priests demonstrated how well they had rehearsed their Isis and Osiris chorus. The Crescent speaker system was as clear as a bell to introduce a further plea from Papageno for his Mädchen – another great Mozart aria but I was again left a little frustrated.

After the Three Boys thwarted Pamina’s suicide attempt, they enchantingly combined with her to ensure that love would win through. The weaving sounds of the flute assisted the lovers successfully to negotiate the flames and when they re-entered the triumphant chorus ensemble they donned some snazzy headgear. It was only left for Papageno and Papagena to negotiate their snappy Pa-Pa’s with a promise of some Papageni and for the whole cast triumphantly to bring  us into the Temple of Wisdom. The Conservatoire had produced a little bit of magic as usual.

Geoff Read


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