Flat Flute

The Magic Flute

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto by Emanuel Shikaneder

Directed by Dennis Crowley

Produced by William Mansfield

At Lowell House

Through March 15

FOLLOWING THE inauspicious debut of wunderkind Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1791, the music critic of the Berlin Musikalisches Wochenblatt remarked that the opera had "not won the much hoped for and expected acclaim, on account of its inferior text and subject matter." Even so, the magical spectacle and symbolism that makes up what is perhaps Mozart's most popular opera continues to win the hearts of many music-lovers and theater-goers alike. That is, when the opera is performed well, which is definitely not the case at the Lowell House Opera's current rendition of this all-time favorite.

Mozart's idea of a grown-up fairy tale, The Magic Flute opens with the fair-haired Tamino, a self-proclaimed lost "son of royalty," being overtaken by a ferocious fire-breathing evil serpent represented in this production by some sort of kite. Fainting at such a sight, Tamino is saved by three bewitching and mysterious ladies--messengers of the "star radiant" Queen of the Night, who will continue to play a large role in Tamino's life.

The Queen, it seems, has chosen Tamino to help her retrieve her beautiful daughter Pamina from the evil clutches of the Sorceror Sarastro, the Queen's devilish adversary. Setting out for Sarastro's palace with comedic bird-catcher Papageno for company and a magic flute to charm away all evils, Tamino eventually finds Pamina unscathed and virtue intact but ready for love once the right man has come along.

In the midst of extricating her from her difficulties, Tamino discovers that the source of evil in the land is not Sarastro, but the Queen of the Night, herself. Testing their virtue through a series of trials, Sarastro conspires with the two lovers and eventually triumphes with them over the forces of evil, leaving the Queen in the dust--daughterless and powerless.

THROUGHOUT THIS philosophic and mysterious plot, Mozart has written some of the most thrilling and beautiful music of any of his operas, which the Lowell House Company attempted to deliver with zeal to its small audience Thursday night. Three majestic chords begin and also end the overture which musically combines all the basic thoughts and conceptions of the opera. The playing throughout the opera was erratic, though punctuated by a few inspired musical moments.

However, a production such as this lives or dies by its musicans--both in the pit and on stage. Michael J. McNulty as Tamino, for instance, was handsome enough for the tenor part, but lacked the tonal quality and voice for the upper-register arias which are necessary to the role. His loud, shrill voice broadcasted well through the intimate Lowell House Dining Hall, but, as a result, the minor idiosyncracies in his less-than-smooth portrayal stuck out as well.

On the flip side, Papageno, played by George Shepherd, stole the show with his energetic and comic display of Falstaffian humor. Shepherd's rendition of Mozart's comic bird catcher with a heart of gold kept the audience howling with his playful comedic routines and impish humor, making up for his mostly inadequate voice. On the whole, his playful antics and spirit added greatly to the production which tended to drag on as the hours progressed.

JANE CORMIER PETERSON (who lists among her accomplishments a first place in the New England Young Soloists' Competition) as the dreaded "Queen of the Night" definitely provided the headiest and most musical highpoints of last Thursday night's production. Her first act "Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren" (Fate hath decreed me doomed to suffer) aria was sung with soulful pathos and true heartfelt sorrow as she lamented her lost daughter Pamina's fate.

Special kudos also goes to M.K.Kamala Soparkar who played the evil third lady and the sweet fetching third boy with equal ease using her beautiful alto voice.

Overall, the Lowell House's production of the Magic Flute is long, but fun. Starting late and running a bit over three-and-one-half hours, Thursday night's productions had quite a few pitfalls (including what amounted to over half-an-hour of set moving!) which just could not be righted by the few winning performances it produced. Spend five dollars instead and go see Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman's 1976 version of The Magic Flute--definitely more vocal magic for your money.