Alain Trudel
Conductor & trombonist
Artist page |
|
Mozart's MAgic Done Just Rights
November 10, 2009, 12:00 am
Mozart's Magic done just right
Characters easy to relate to, chuckle at
By ARTHUR KAPTAINIS, The Gazette
November 9, 2009
After opening the season with a stoutly Italian double bill, the
Opéra de Montréal stepped back a century on Saturday
night to present Mozart's The Magic Flute, a work as far away
from the verismo concept as can be imagined. Yet what came
across in Place des Arts was a fable of appealing simplicity,
made of characters and situations that were easy to relate to
and chuckle at.
Eye-popping sets are expected from this fanciful opera, and the
colourful Never Never Land created by David Hockney for the San
Francisco Opera did not disappoint. Temples and doorways were
pleasing in their geometry and the animals summoned by the title
instrument (think of exotic variants of pantomime horses) were
true to the naivete of the presentation.
Indeed, Canadian director Kelly Robinson, uninfected by the
postmodern swine flu, understood that telling the story clearly
was the best way of liberating its deeper messages concerning
courage, honour and love. Papageno's comedy was sweetly
underlined but we never lost sight of the journey of Tamino from
evil to redemption as the fundamental trajectory of the story.
Casting was up to what we can now confidently call OdM
standards. Soprano Karina Gauvin as Pamina was in golden voice
and projected an unerring sense of line. The aria Ach, ich
fuhl's can slow down the narrative if dully done. Here it was an
oasis of melancholy.
Tenor John Tessier, a little restrained in the first act, was a
dignified Tamino. Aaron St. Clair Nicholson, with a firm rather
than rich baritone, played Papageno with the requisite
athleticism and a gift for comic timing. His halfhearted threats
to hang himself were particularly amusing. Give him a medal also
for best vocal performance with his head upside down.
Coloratura Aline Kutan wielded a brilliant technique as The
Queen of the Night and the German bass-baritone Reinhard Hagen
(the sole non-Canadian among the majors) was grand and
authoritative as Sarastro. Given the current unpopularity of the
patriarchal views this High Priest espouses, a sympathetic stage
presence is mandatory.
The Orchestre métropolitain sounded muted in the great
overture, but the focus from the pit improved by the second act.
Alain Trudel, making his company debut, cut the singers plenty
of slack. Tempos were never pushed.
Nor was anything overstated. The climactic trial of fire and
water, disarmingly straightforward, got a chuckle from the
crowd. If only the difficulties of real life were so easily
overcome!
Well, maybe they can be. Anyone seeking layers of meanings in
The Magic Flute are welcome to seek them in this balanced and
agreeable presentation.
The Magic Flute repeats Wednesday, Saturday, and on Nov. 16 and
19 at 8 p.m. There is also a matinée Nov. 21 at 2 p.m.
akaptainis@sympatico.ca
© Copyright(c) The Montreal Gazette
Montreal Gazette
|
