Chicago Sun-Times and suntimes.com Wednesday December 7, 2011 8:11PM CST
‘The Magic Flute’ charms but has outlived its welcome at Lyric Opera
Conductor Davis and mixed-bag cast prop up revival
BY ANDREW PATNER
To January 22, 2012
(with new Tamino after January 6)
RECOMMENDED
The “Transition Season” sign popped back up Tuesday night at Lyric Opera of Chicago when the company opened its sixth run of its heavy on the charm, 1986-1987 production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
For a newcomer to the humane 1791 masterwork written with librettist Emanuel Schikaneder, this production, staged and designed by August Everding and Jörg Zimmermann (now both deceased), and directed by Matthew Lata, is still a great introduction. The story is told clearly, the Masonic symbols and rituals are presented simply and not made too much of, and it’s a rare chance to see dancing pachyderms and adorable children outside the world of the commercial musical theatre. Lyric’s music director Andrew Davis in the pit conducting an uncut score (totaling two hours and forty minutes plus one half-hour intermission) offers beautiful modern-instrument Mozart with an appropriately light and characterful touch.
But for those who have seen one or more of the actual dozens of performances of this children-of-all-ages-appropriate version over the last quarter-century, it’s too much of, literally, the same, and the freshness has to come from the cast, which is itself a somewhat mixed bag.
The anchor here is Chicago-based soprano Nicole Cabell, the Ryan Center alum who continues to develop as a serious artist well beyond being a pretty voice and face. As Pamina, the promised bride of the hero-prince Tamino, Cabell takes us on her character’s journey of maturity, vocally and theatrically matching each of her setbacks and joys. In his Lyric debut, New York native tenor Charles Castronovo displayed an attractive voice and stance, but could not match Cabell’s acting chops. (Cleveland-born tenor Alek Shrader, enjoying a rising international career, takes over the role for his Lyric debut for the last five of the opera’s seven scheduled performances in January.)
French baritone Stéphane Degout is the latest younger singer to take the birdman Papageno around the world as a signature role, and he has both the natural presence and the clear voice and projection to pull it off. He never once overdoes it, pitfall one to one hundred portraying this comic but not clowning role. Second-year Ryan Center soprano Jennifer Jakob has a nice breakthrough as his soulmate Papagena. A native of Germany, Jakob also has the sung and often-spoken language down, something that eludes some other members of the ensemble,
In his Lyric debut, Austrian bass Gunther Groissböck has the voice and presence but not the lowest notes, generally key to the character of Sarastro, ruler of the realm of mystery. The men of Lyric’s chorus, under 2011-12 chorus master Michael Black, deliver the two numbers of the priests stirringly, with Ryan members tenor Bernard Holcomb, bass-baritone David Govertsen, and colleagues rounding out their roles well.
As the comic villain Monostatos, Ryan alum tenor Rodell Rosel turned down the hamminess, but the green facepaint (attempted as a politically correct substitute for blackface) for him and his underlings has gotten tired. Veteran baritone Richard Stillwell was unfortunately not all there as the Speaker.
Debuting English soprano Elisabeth Meister had good company from Ryan Center mezzo Cecelia Hall and mezzo alum Katherine Lerner as the fun-loving Three Ladies. And while there was a little cheating going on in casting two of the Three Boys with girls, Anna Stephan, Benjamin Hoppe, and Nicole Horio, all from Glen Ellyn’s children’s choir, Anima, achieved great effects. It’s long past time, though, to ditch the Chicago sports teams bit toward the opera’s end.
Following a pullout from the key part of the Queen of the Night -- sort of the coloratura soprano predecessor of Darth Vader -- Lyric apparently had trouble finding someone who could handle the demanding but crowd-pleasing part. I can’t blame Oregon-born soprano Audrey Luna for not being able to conquer the role in her Lyric debut. Let’s hope that new general director Anthony Freud is looking for a singer to take on these vocal acrobatics in the future as well as a new stage world for her, her colleagues, and Lyric’s audience.
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