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Die Zauberflöte
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Composer |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Libretto |
Emanuel Schikaneder |
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Venue and Dates |
Metropolitan Opera House 24, 28 January, 2, 6, 9, 12, 18, 21(m), 26 February 1998 |
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Conductor |
Edo de Waart [Debut] |
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Director |
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Production |
Production : John Cox Designer : David Hockney Lighting designer : Gil Wechsler |
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Performers |
Pamina: Barbara Bonney (24, 28 Jan, 2, 6, 9, 18, 21 Feb) Heidi Grant Murphy (12, 26 Feb) Tamino: Frank Lopardo Queen of the Night: Mary Dunleavy (except 12 Feb) Elizabeth Carter (12 Feb) Sarastro: Franz Hawlata (24, 28 Jan, 2, 6, 9, 12 Feb) Kurt Moll (18, 21, 26 Feb) Papageno: Gerald Finley [Debut] Papagena: Korliss Uecker (24, 28 Jan, 2, 6, 9, 12 Feb) Carol Meyer (18, 21, 26 Feb) Monostatos: Dennis Petersen Speaker: John Cheek First Lady: Christine Goerke Second Lady: Jane Bunnell Third Lady: Judith Christin Genii: William Scot Murray (24, 28 Jan, 2, 6, 9 Feb) Nicholas Frisch (12, 18, 21, 26 Feb) Alexander Waldron Kevin Koteski Priest 1: James Courtney Priest 2: Matthew Polenzani Guard: Mark Baker Guard: Richard Vernon Slave : Glenn Alpert (24, 28 Jan, 2, 6, 9 Feb) Slave : Roger Crouthamel (24, 28 Jan, 2, 6, 9 Feb) Slave: Glenn Bater (24, 28 Jan, 2, 6, 9 Feb) Slave: Garth Dawson (12, 18, 21, 26 Feb) Slave: Mitchell Sendrowitz (12, 18, 21, 26 Feb) Slave: David Frye (12, 18, 21, 26 Feb) |
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Notes |
This was Gerry’s Met debut The performance on 21 February was broadcast |
What the critics say
John W Freeman for Opera News
In the Met revival of Die Zauberflöte, as in other good performances of this work, it was the ensemble that counted.
The revival of Die Zauberflöte at the Met (seen Jan. 28) brought house debuts by Edo de Waart, who conducted, and Canadian baritone Gerald Finley, the Papageno. Both quickly proved strong assets, but as usual with good performances of this opera, it was the ensemble that counted. De Waart's tempos, in keeping with current views about Mozartean practice, were vigorous and animated -- at first perhaps to excess -- but the conductor quickly proved his willingness to let the music breathe, and his lively approach helped the singers play up the human side of their characters. A sense of urgency never hurts this episodic story, and when Frank Lopardo entered as Tamino, pursued by a dragon, he seemed convincingly endangered, despite the whimsy of David Hockney's set and costume designs -- and a dragon as amusing as it is scary.
Lopardo's voice has developed considerable body, recalling such heldentenor Taminos as Helge Rosvaenge, yet with no loss of linear fluidity. This created a more virile, less passive hero than usual, reversing the equation with Papageno, whose voice is often the earthier and more substantial of the two. Finley used his lyric baritone with point and finesse, allowing for the common touch that Papageno requires but never sliding across the line from humor to horseplay. There was also a measure of wit in Dennis Petersen's Monostatos, even in Matthew Polenzani's Second Priest. James Courtney's First Priest and John Cheek's Speaker were sterner and more dignified, but the underpinning of the group properly came from the Sarastro of Franz Hawlata, whose sustained legato rolled his luxurious bass into the auditorium like a magic carpet.
Die Zauberflöte is often faulted for the sexist views voiced by the Speaker, even by Sarastro, but their condescension is aimed at the Queen of the Night, who often not only acts like a twit but sounds like one. In Mary Dunleavy's characterization, the Queen came across as much more of a threat, throwing off stabbing flashes of coloratura lightning. Her Three Ladies (Christine Goerke, Jane Bunnell, Judith Christin), self-possessed without their Queen, cringed when she appeared. Upholding the positive side of femininity, Barbara Bonney, as Pamina, sang and acted with touching concern, giving her duet with Papageno a sense of exchange and mutuality; her finely shaped "Ach, ich fühl's" combined agitation with despair. Korliss Uecker's flashy Papagena seemed like a plus version of the Queen's negative fireworks.
Between credible behavior and mythical mannerism, the John Cox staging holds the same balance captured by Hockney's designs (seriously playful rather than mock-serious) and Gil Wechsler's pure lighting. Especially imposing this time around were the second scene of Act I (in Sarastro's palace), with its abstracted Egyptian aura; the choral "O Isis und Osiris," staged in darkness with pyramid lanterns; and the jubilant finale, which frames the cast in a blaze of light without swallowing them.
Anthony Tommasini, January 26, 1998
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E3DA133BF935A15752C0A96E958260
Two Debuts at Met: Conductor and Baritone
The Metropolitan Opera has taken some criticism for the difficulty it has had in attracting internationally renowned conductors to its guest roster. The company has been working to correct this, however, and on Saturday night, Edo de Waart, the distinguished Dutch conductor, made an overdue Met debut in Mozart's ''Zauberflote,'' in the first of nine scheduled performances this season.
Though Mr. de Waart's base is the Netherlands, his work as an opera conductor in the United States has been extensive, including long associations with the Santa Fe and the San Francisco companies. This may explain why it has taken the Met so long to obtain the 56-year-old conductor.
His performance of ''Die Zauberflote'' took a while to settle in. The slow introduction to the overture was noticeably shaky; entrances were not consistently together. Once the main Allegro section started, the tempo seemed driven. Similarly, in the first scene, when the three ladies ogle and bicker over the sleeping Prince Tamino, the brisk tempo had the fine trio (Christine Goerke, Jane Bunnell and Judith Christin) struggling a bit to keep up. Soon, however, Mr. de Waart's performance gained in grace, poise and flexibility, with no loss of vitality and more structural clarity. There were character and nuance in the orchestra playing, with the strings sounding particularly warm and focused.
A promising debut took place onstage as well: Gerald Finley as Papageno. The Canadian baritone has a robust voice and clear German diction. He is an accomplished singing actor and an agile physical comedian, who brought a humane dimension to the bird catcher's hormonal yearning for a mate, without slipping into slapstick, the problem with so many Papagenos. He must have worked well with John Cox, the director responsible for this imaginative production.
The tenor Frank Lopardo, who has a virile, dark-toned voice, seemed set on making Prince Tamino a manly quester after spiritual enlightenment and a promised bride, Pamina. There is definitely a heroic dimension to this role, especially in the scene when, torn by confusion and anguish, Tamino grills the speaker at the temple. But sometimes Mr. Lopardo's singing was too beefy and hard pressed.
The soprano Barbara Bonney was a radiant-toned Pamina, whose subtle phrasing in the aria ''Ach, ich fuhl's'' was heart rending. The coloratura soprano Mary Dunleavy was a terrifying Queen of the Night. Runs and turns in her passagework were not always clear, but when leaping about in her upper range, including those notorious high F's, she was fearless and faultless. The resonant bass Franz Hawlata brought great dignity to the role of the wise Sarastro; the bass John Cheek was a stentorian Speaker, and the spirited Korliss Uecker was Papageno's long-awaited Papagena.
David Hockney's sets and costumes, first seen at the Met in 1991, remain a joy and a splendor. The technique involved is a throwback to the old days of simple, painted flats and scrims. But Mr. Hockney's eye for vibrant color and whimsical, striking imagery proves that you can do more with less.
Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 6 February 1998
Here is a selective listing by critics of The Times of new or noteworthy opera, classical music and dance events this weekend in the New York metropolitan region.
The Met's revival of Mozart's ''Zauberflote'' has brought the esteemed Dutch conductor Edo de Waart to the company for his debut, and Mr. de Waart's work, though not technically flawless, is impressive. This is vibrant, serene and insightful Mozart conducting. The robust-voiced British baritone Gerald Finley, also making his Met debut, is a lively and endearing Papageno. Other standouts in the cast are the lovely lyric soprano Barbara Bonney as Pamina, and the fearless coloratura soprano Mary Dunleavy as the Queen of the Night. David Hockney's sets and costumes are, as always, a delight.
