Well, there’s good news and bad news concerning Belgium’s Royal Opera House production of The Magic Flute appearing at BAM through this weekend. The good news is that the opera, directed by South African artist William Kentridge, is a visually striking and theatrically compelling experience. The artist makes copious use of his trademark hand-drawn animations, which run continuously throughout this three-hour opera and create an appropriately dreamlike atmosphere. And his choice of placing the action in the late-19th century makes good theatrical sense, given that period’s fascination with Egyptology and ornithology, both of which figure prominently in the opera (not to mention the 19th century’s ongoing obsession with Freemasonry, of which the entire opera is a send-up.)
The not-so-good news is that, for me at least, the visuals distracted from the opera itself. Which may have been by design, given the surprisingly lackluster quality of the performance – particularly by the orchestra and many of the secondary roles. Exceptions were Sophie Karthauser, who was delightfully engaging as Pamina, and Jeremy Ovenden as her heroic suitor, Tamino.
On the bright side, the Howard Gilman Opera House was packed with a attractive crowd of young and old, which I’m sure pleased BAM’s management. Unfortunately, I doubt either group came away satisfied: for art lovers, the opera was long and likely incomprehensible (literally, since the spoken text was offered in the original German) while regular operagoers will have heard far better performances of this opera elsewhere (i.e., this season’s stunning Met production.)
The final performance will be tomorrow at 7:30, with tickets from $40 to $125. Personally, I wouldn’t want this to be my first Magic Flute, but for those who have heard it before, Kentridge’s production provides a theatrically engaging alternate perspective.
(Pictured: William Kentridge, in front of cast and conductor Piers Maxim)