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Die Zauberflöte
“...the evening belonged to Gerald Finley as Papageno.” Opera News
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Composer |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Libretto |
Emanuel Schikaneder |
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Venue and Dates |
Lyric Opera of Chicago
16, 19, 22, 25, 27 February, 2, 6, 8, 11, 13 (mat), 16 (mat) March 2002
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Conductor |
Andrew Davis |
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Production |
Original Production: August Everding Stage Director: Matthew Lata Set Designer: Jörg Zimmermann Costume Designer: Renate Kalanke Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler Wig and Makeup Designer: Richard Jarvie Magic and Special Effects Designer: Brian Glow
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Performers |
Tamino: Paul Groves Pamina: Dorothea Röschmann Papageno: Gerald Finley Queen of the Night: Mary Dunleavy Speaker: Egils Silins Sarastro: Matti Salminen First Lady: Kelley Nassief Second Lady: Melina Pyron Third Lady: Beth Clayton Monostatos: David Cangelosi Papagena: Lielle Berman Three Genii: Members of the Tölzer Knabenchor First Priest: Scott Ramsay Second Priest: Christopher Feigum Third Priest (actor): William Combs Fourth Priest (actor): Jeffrey Taylor First Armored Man: Michael Hendrick Second Armored Man: Bjarni Thor Kristinsson Three Slaves (actors): Dan Frick, Peter Mohawk, Richard Knapp
Chorus Master: Donald Palumbo
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Notes |
One performance was broadcast on June 1 2002
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What the critics say
Lawrence A Johnson, Opera News, June 2002
Following Nikolaus Lehnhoff's staging of Parsifal for Lyric Opera, it was a relief to experience Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (Feb. 22) in August Everding's witty, warm-hearted production. Since its unveiling in the 1986-87 season, the late German director's magical staging of Mozart's comedy has become the most beloved of Lyric's repertory favorites and one of the hottest tickets in town. Faithful to the spirit of Mozart's opera, it offers lovable animals, colorful scenic design, eye-popping stagecraft and infectious good cheer; Everding's Flute seems to grow in stature with each revival.
This season, Lyric presented an almost uniformly excellent cast. Paul Groves proved a worthy Tamino, handsome and stalwart; he sang with virile tone. Though there were brief flashes of a gritty undertone in "Dies' Bildnis," the Louisiana-born tenor sustained Mozart's lyrical aria with elegant style and a firm line. Making her American opera debut, soprano Dorothea Röschmann showed why her Pamina has been so widely acclaimed in Europe. Graceful and attractive, the German soprano was a sweet yet intelligent heroine, bestowing her lovely voice with lush tone and agility; her "Ach, ich fühl's" was beautifully poised and affecting.
Yet the evening belonged to Gerald Finley as Papageno. Delightful and broadly comical, the Canadian baritone brought an ample, rounded timbre and enormous zest to his character. Finley's rich voice blended wonderfully with Röschmann's in "Bei Männern," and his own arias were as impressively sung as vividly characterized. Mary Dunleavy's Queen of the Night brought the only disappointment; the soprano encountered persistent problems with the high tessitura, and she was rhythmically shaky even with Davis's indulgent tempos; her approximate F-sharps were shrieked more than sung.
As Sarastro, Matti Salminen produced subterranean low notes that sounded just as ripe and imposing as they had the night before, when the Finnish bass had sung Gurnemanz. Egils Silins was a dignified Speaker, David Cangelosi a manic, well-sung Monostatos; Kelley Nassief, Melina Pyron and Beth Clayton were wonderfully fantastical as the Three Ladies. Some droopy string intonation in the overture betrayed some battle fatigue after Parsifal the previous evening, but Andrew Davis soon had his musicians energized, bringing wit and sparkle to Mozart's endlessly invigorating score.