Well, that’s that then. I have completed the Grand Slam of The Magic Flute. I have seen the September 2024 production, the February 2025 one, which was the same but with a few cast changes, the free, 40-minute pop-up version performed in Holbeck Working Men’s Club in June, 2021, The 30-minute rendering in County Arcade, Leeds for 2021 Purple Tuesday, and now – drumroll please – The Magic Flute Lite!
This incarnation was based on the full opera, but cut down to an hour and three-quarters, including the interval. As it was a matinee and during half term, the auditorium was full of children and their parents, or we members of the bus pass brigade, apart from the lady sitting next to me, who was an inbetweenie.
You don’t have to scroll very far to see my reviews of the full monty, but, in order to make it more family-friendly, the story had been tweaked and a few of the cast changed again. When I say changed, I mean that some were different altogether, being members of the Chorus of Opera North who had been given lead roles, and others were in the originals but taking a different part; namely Pasquale Orchard, who sang Papagena in the original and Pamina today, and Andri Björn Robertsson, moved from The Speaker to Sarastro. Prince Tamino, Osian Wyn Bowen and Themba Mvula – Papageno – appeared from nowhere. The one exception to the above shuffling was Nazan Fikret, who sang Queen of the Night, as she did in the full production, due to an illness to Miranda Bevin. I felt a little uneasy at this as I witnessed the phenomenal power and range of Ms Fikret’s voice last week and, as I was seated directly beneath the chandelier, I was afraid it might shatter during her big aria, a fear compounded by my being booked to see Only Fools and Horses next Tuesday! Fortunately the house lights, and my spectacles, survived her, once again, stellar performance.
The changes to the story, which you can see by looking at my first review, had, thankfully omitted the shenanigans of the creepy Monosantos, who, rather than force himself on Pamina, was promised her hand in marriage by the Queen of the Night. Many of the audience seemed to have seen this opera as many times as I have because he was still jeered to the echo at the curtain call. Oh yes he was!
Themba Mvula put his stamp on Papageno by being a little more Playschool, than laconic, although he did it really well and the part had been altered somewhat to facilitate this. His scene where he contemplates hanging himself, had also been made less graphic.
All in all, the cast did themselves, and Opera North, proud. We all knew that the members of the Chorus of Opera North, were supremely talented, but this was proven beyond any doubt by the way in which they excelled when given their moment in the spotlight.
The amazing Orchestra of Opera North, today conducted by David Cowan, was its usual magnificent self.
I am only sorry that there are no production photographs, as the work is only on a very limited run, and, for all I know, the parts may be on rotation at the other venues. They are Newcastle Theatre Royal on 6th March, Lowry, Salford Quays, 13th March and Theatre Royal, Nottingham on 20th March. All shows begin at 11.00am. For full details and bookings please go to https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/the-magic-flute-lite/
For details of all Opera North productions it is https://www.operanorth.co.
To see my reviews of the full production just scroll back a couple of items. For the two free performances I saw click on https://tyke-it-to-the-limit.com/2021/06/16/whistle-stop-opera-the-magic-flute-recycled/ and https://tyke-it-to-the-limit.com/2021/11/09/opera-north-in-county-arcade-for-purple-tuesday/
Tyke It To The Limit 