Category: Magic Flute (Page 1 of 2)

Performing at a venue as grand as the Metropolitan Opera House is no small feat, and last night’s performance of The Magic Flute did not disappoint. From the unbelievably impressive vocals to the grand revolving stage, everything about the opera was captivating and engaging. In terms of staging, everything fell in place with the entire performance- each aspect was crucial to the full picture. The revolving stage features various scenic backdrops, such as the woods in which Tamino and Papageno must travel through to rescue Pamina. Along with the jaw-dropping stage, another interesting point to note is the blocking of the actors. The performers, from the main and supporting characters in the opera to the dancers, everyone used the space smartly, so that the audience never felt an awkward emptiness anytime during the play. Of course, with a sage as big as the Met’s, it is silly not to incorporate the space into the story. Dancing bears, fleeing captives, and even the star-shimmering Queen of the Night- all of these characters were well aware of their space and did not idle in any one position for more than a few minutes at most. Even when the sage was revolving to match the next scene, the performers would flawlessly wrap up their act and not have the stage change interfere with their performance.

Magic Flute: Choreography

Before we went to see the Magic Flute, we went to see the Valley of Astonishment where I also observed the choreography there. I was excited to observe the choreo. of the opera and compare it with my observations from the Valley of Astonishment visit. The choreography at the Met Opera was in many ways different. The way the characters moved around the stage really reflects their personality. You have Papageno with his jumpy, clumsy movements reflecting the freedom he has being in the lower class compared to Timino’s very rigid, more reserved movements from the pressure of having to act proper and high class. You then see the choreography of bear props. I can’t imagine how heavy the props must have been or how difficult it was to control. The bears were practically flying across the stage. The movements were very flow-y and gentle, showing us the power of the magic flute and how it is was able to control and soothe the beasts of the forest. We soon got to see the magic bells in action as well. The birds that danced to the music were very fairy-like with very dainty and light footsteps. This helps to portray the bells as the dainty, very magical, fragile yet crisp sounding instrument that it is. I really enjoyed our visit to the Met Opera. It was very rewarding and prior to this class, I never knew such a place even existed.

• The use of body language to express mood of the scene is very prominent

• I didn’t have to look at the subtitles to understand the plot of the story and the roles of each character.

• Papageno served as the comic release and you could tell his mood in each scene without even listing to the words because of his use of body language and his acting.

• You could also tell the difference between the characters based solely on their acting. For example, you could tell Tamino is very disciplined and comes from a prominent home because he doesn’t move around a lot and just by listening to his voice you can tell that is the voice of a noble man. On the other hand Papageno was always running around looking like a fool while everyone laughed at him, you could tell that he came from a common family not concerned with how others viewed him
• Another example of how the acting displays the qualities of a character is in Sarastro and the Queen of the Night. While Sarastro was calm and collected throughout the play the Queen of the Night was angry and emotional but you could tell they both maintained a sense of superiority and both seemed powerful.
• The acting also enhances the emotion of the play. For example, Tamino’s love for Pamina and Pamina’s love for Tamino radiate whenever they look at each other. The acting is so good you actually believe that they are truly and deeply in love.

Papagena had a beautiful young virgin voice, angelic and smooth. It flows, and isn’t choppy.

The three spirits were young children that also had virgin voices. It was soothing listening to them

The three women were in harmony, one was the highest of the all three, one was in the middle, and one was the lowest of all three. They sounded angelic as well when they sang.

Queen of the Night was an old soprano. She had a very superior voice, and it shook me to my core. I loved hearing her sing, though, because I would get goosebumps. She was so powerful in her singing.

Prof. Natov

I was very impressed by the performances in the opera. I did not think I would enjoy it at first because I imagined something similar to the Capital One commercial where these people get on the bus and start to sing in these amazingly deep voices. I did not know what to expect, but all the characters made the opera enjoyable. I think that the stage was clearly the scene setter. I could see what appeared to be these huge structures of glass or clear plastic. I noticed the color change and mood change through the staging. The holes inside these walls is what set the tone not only to present the characters, but also what the characters felt. If there was a gloomy mood, a tone of blue or green appeared; fearful mood, red and orange, heavenly and divine mood had a lot of blue or white with yellow. The colors were the fuel of life for the performance. Although the stage had an array of props, it was the colors that made the scene have a mood or particular feel. All the characters had amazing voices; it was particularly Tamino, Pamina, and Papageno who made the colors of show flow with his humor. I thought that the way Papageno moved and acted while singing made him funny and charismatic. Also, the Queen of the Nights Voice was superb, I can’t believe she hit all those notes and they were clear. These were the aspects of the stage that made the show pop out to me.

I chose Soprano and Tenor at first for the Voices because I thought high voices were very characteristic of opera, which I had previously only seen on television. However, when I attended the live performance of The Magic Flute, I was intrigued by the bass voices because they seemed to make the whole auditorium vibrate. It was like time stopped! The three boys (the guiding spirits), the three ladies, the Queen of the Night, Pamina, and Tamino were Soprano (for the females) and tenor (for the males). A common aspect for these voices was harmonizing. A lot of the time, the boys’ voices would complement each other or someone else’s high voice to create a kind of balance and echoing. The repetition made the song verses last and brought them emphasis. The three ladies’ voices harmonized the most. Their songs were quick, which symbolized their curiosity and unanimity. There were practically one person split into three characters. Although I think the Queen of the Night did a great job, her song was not my favorite. I felt like she lacked some stamina, and especially because we sat at the back of the auditorium, it was a little harder to hear. Of course, I am also to blame because my expectation was high after watching the phenomenal performance with Professor Natov and Professor Minter the other day. My favorite voice was Pamina’s because it was effortless and the way it complemented Papageno’s lower voice was my favorite part of the entire opera. Because I was intrigued by the bass voices, my other favorite voice was Sarastro’s. He voice was so powerful, and even father-like, which was fitting for his role in the opera.

The staging in the Magic Flute opera was both elaborative  and unconventional.  The opera began with a completely blue background  while the orchestra was playing and serving as the focal point of attention. The blu background became increasingly more illuminated to reveal a geometric pattern of triangles, that lifted and gave way to a glass like platform with a circular apparatus behind it. Through this apparatus, shadows of fish were shown. Blue light was shining during the serpent battle, which gave the illusion that the scenery was underwater. After this scene, the lighting shifted to a green tint and the same backdrop that looked like the ocean in the previous scene now looked like grass and trees. The scenery had transformed from an underwater environment to the wilderness. Finally, in a following scene, the lighting darkened to dark grayish-blue and the same glass platform and scenery now appeared to be the middle of the night. What had appeared to be trees in the last scene, now looked like clouds. At the closing of the opera, there were statues on stage with fire in them. These statues evoked feelings of fear, danger, excitement and surprise. In the scenes where Sarastro was present, the background was very bright, illuminated well, and suns were painted on the backdrop. The people in these scenes, who appeared to be Sarastro’s followers, stood in very geometrically perfect lines which showed order in the kingdom, Sarastro’s great power, and Sarastro’s connection to the gods through the images of the sun. It was amazing how the Magic Flute used the same backdrops and set ups for many scenes, but when one thing like lighting was changed, a totally different feeling was evoked.

Majority of the props that are used in this opera are made out of fabrics. The fabrics give the props a light and airy feeling. The puppetry of the fabric wolves when Prince Tamino plays his flute gives the whole atmosphere a mystical aura. The light and fleeting movements of the fabric wolves draw the audience into a world of fantasy. The bird that carries the three spirits is also made out of light materials.  The slow movement of the bird and the light flapping of its wings seduce the audience into the spiritual world.  The bird also has a haunting quality to it which complements the soft voices of the three spirits. Other props include colorful birds, the three ladies’ masks, and Papageno’s dinner. These props are mostly controlled by puppetry which make the audiences feel like they are in a dream-like state because the props are floating all over the place. Everything is so light and airy that the opera feels surreal. There is no constraint and stability and these qualities add to the mystical aura of the whole opera.

-Lights specifically placed on masks of the individuals, which effectively hid the rest of the body because the actors and actresses had on black.

-Glitter and brightly colored, lavish costumes made to uplift the spirit of the audience and to outline the core happy story of the hero and the princess.

-The Queen’s voice is powerful in its ability to fluctuate between notes and keep them continuous for long periods of time. Pamina’s voice is lovely in how effortlessly she can hit high notes, and she can be easily heard because of how loud her voice can go.

Theater and Audience

• The entire theater was grand and elegant

• Red velvet carpets, seat, and railings

• You enter the lobby to see two grand staircases, an atrium, and magnificent Swarovski Crystal chandeliers. They catch your eye right away and are truly spectacular to look at with their “starburst” appearance. Thin rods radiate from the centers of the chandeliers casting their dazzling lights around the theater.

• There are also crystal chandeliers in the theater that rise as the lights dim and the opera begins. There is a bronze metal sculpture above the stage as well.

• The theater itself consists of six stories with rows upon rows of seats- 3,800 seats to be exact. Each seat has a small rectangular screen on the railing in front of it providing subtitles for language used in the play.

• The orchestra pit sits directly in front of the stage

• The audience sits in the seats facing the stage and on the left and right of the stage.

• Outside the theater is a bar for food and refreshments available during intermission.

• The audience’s attire ranged from gowns, cocktail dresses, and suits to jeans and sneakers- a mix of elegant and casual.

• The audience was extremely quiet during †he performance,; you were able to hear a phone vibrate rows away.