Review: Die Zauberflöte"Summer Magic: NJO balances quality and charm in Mozart's colorful work"The Star-Ledger (Bradley Bambarger) Known as New Jersey Opera Theater until a few months ago, New Jersey Opera dropped that last word to subtly underscore burgeoning confidence in its ambition to be the state's top producer of opera. The Princeton-based company has earned the position over the past four years, convening casts of attractive up-and-comers in generally creative, thoughtful productions. That's not to mention the cozy appeal of its summer home at the McCarter's 360-seat Berlind Theatre – ideal for Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), which opened in two sold-out performances this weekend. New Jersey Opera's summer stagings – which also include Gounod's Romeo et Juliette and Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance this month – cap a seven-week calendar that starts with masterclasses, a kids' camp and vocal concerts. The company has added a winter production, too; last season's staging of Puccini's Turandot stepped out to the McCarter's larger hall and New Brunswick's State Theatre. This winter, it's Verdi's Rigoletto, playing in Morristown's Community Theatre. But the summer series is something special, balancing quality and intimacy in a way that isn't common with opera. Even when everything isn't ideal… the performances always have warmth and charm to recommend them. Mozart's final stage work is an Austro-German "folk opera" hybrid known as singspiel, with a mix of singing and dialogue akin to today's musical theater. On grand opera stages, The Magic Flute is often pitched as a rarified spiritual journey, stressing its Masonic trappings and moral lessons. At heart, though, the work is a colorful parable on the challenges to finding true love and keeping it – with Mozart's kaleidoscopic score making the experience as profound as it is entertaining. New Jersey Opera artistic director Scott Altman emphasized the proto-Broadway aspects by using English translations for the spoken parts. With supertitles above the stage, English wasn't necessary, but it added undeniable immediacy (even if the translations weren't the hippest around). And keeping the sung text in the German that Mozart originally set was a musically sensitive move that not all opera companies choose. Once upon a time, the lost prince Tamino finds a princess, the put-upon Pamina. He does so no thanks to a fellow traveler, the kind-hearted but lily-livered bird-catcher Papageno. On the way, they out-wit Pamina's evil mother, the Queen of the Night, helped by the good wizard Sarastro. The linchpin of any Magic Flute is its Papageno. Pennsylvania native Peter Couchman was a charismatic comedian in the role...and his baritone had as much richness as character. And he was paired with a dream of a Papagena in Melanie Long, their scenes together a total delight. Kisma Jordan… emanated sweetness and, moreover, sang the opera's most touching aria – the lament "Ach, ich Fühls" ("Ah, I Feel It") – with beauty and feeling. …Princeton native and company regular Matthew Curran sang with fluid nobility as Sarastro. Brent McMunn conducted the small orchestra with snap, though, making sure that Mozart's ingenious accompaniments weren't lost. Principal flutist Mary Schmidt played her key role with grace, and timpanist William Wozniak managed to get through the overture without mishap, despite a blown lightbulb that left him in the dark. |
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