Review: Die Zauberflöte"Crown Jewels: New Jersey Opera unleashes The Magic Flute"Princeton Packet (Stuart Duncan) By most standards of measurement, The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote) is the most ambitious work yet staged by New Jersey Opera. The score is by Mozart and therefore challenging musically and the libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder is accepted as intricate (some would argue, nonsensical). Scholars agree that the subtext leaning heavily to Masonic dogma is great fun perhaps, filled with powerful stuff, but with many obstacles for the unwary opera company. It is therefore just the sort of challenge N.J. Opera relishes. Since its inception only four years ago, the group has eschewed lush settings or expensive props, preferring to search for young voices ready to reach for higher rungs on the ladder of achievement. And when the challenges are met, the rewards are great indeed. And the roars of delight from a knowing opening night audience in the intimate surroundings of the Berlind Theatre at McCarter left no doubt that the young company has reached those new heights. How fitting that the company's artistic director (and co-founder) Scott Altman provided the stage direction. With conductor Brent McMunn, he had taken the lush musical tale of morality, filled it with magic and laid it out in plain sight for all to see, hear and most of all, enjoy. There were two major decisions, both courageous and, at least for this reviewer, brilliant. First was the choice to use English for the dialogue while leaving the music in German. Next was the use of simple, large sliding panels often with projections on them, as the only scenery — so that the voices tell the story, not the scenery. As to those voices: all strong and pleasurable, several outstanding. Once again, as happens in many second-tier opera companies, the women have the edge, in part in this case because Mozart wrote his most dramatic sections for the female voices. Here, Colleen Daly, as the Queen of the Night, was the clear audience favorite, especially with her second act aria ("Der Hillie Rache"). Kisma Jordan was a superb Pamina and both she and Greg Warren, who sung Tamino, grew stronger and more confident as the evening proceeded. Princeton resident Matthew Curran sang Sarastro and clearly established himself as a stage presence, absolutely necessary for the role. Peter Couchman as Papageno had the most exciting moments of the evening. First he developed a wonderful rapport with the audience, but at an important moment his magic chime box developed a hitch and he ad-libbed his way from there to the absolute delight of the audience. Return to the Reviews and Articles Archive.
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