The Opera
What oh what were they thinking.?!?!?!
Actually I can guess, the direction and concept of this production was not particularly sophisticated. The budget was not huge (how could it be when tickets range from 2.8ö-2ö.öö?) and they did not have scenery backdrops or many coloured light gels, but they did have a CD (or perhaps an 8-track?) of sound effects to work with.
I am writing this with the assumption that the reader has some knowledge of The Magic Flute and how it "should" be.
The costumes were probably left over from The Marriage of Figaro. Everyone was dressed Mozartian.
At one point Papagano looked up the Third lady's skirt at her knickers.
There was one part of the stage which was raised exactly once: When in O Zittre Nicht the Queen starts the coleratura. Nothing in her second aria.
The sound effects included the braying of wolves (Queen's entrance), the twittering of Birds (Papagano's Presence) The caw of a crow (Papagana as the old lady), and the glorious sound of glass shattering as the Queen threw a sword down from the sky for Pamina to use to kill Sarastro. (What shattered? A bloody cloud??)
The curtain went down on the first act with Sarastro's guards flogging Monostatos, in rhythem with the cadence. Smack, smaaaaack, swat, SWAT!
The 3 Boys were actually 1 boy and 2 girls. And they did not actually sing. I suspect by the flat tone of the middle voice that the 3 ladies sung that chorus from offstage.
The soldier (minion) who had charge of Papagano kept stealing sips from a flask
Instead of fainting from fear before Monostatos' aria, Pamina gets drunk and falls down
Sarastro - the priest of the temple of the SUN - was costumed in black leather boots and black leather pants and a black coat. His temple was in a dark room. He had a skull in the room and an hourglass. No sun. His guards were carrying wooden spears.
ONE of the guards was played completely flaming. NOT the place.
AT one point two of Sarastro's soldiers are supposed to sing a song. For the first (and only) time in the entire opera, the stage is flooded with colour. The soldiers are now RED soldiers. Well, well..
At one point there were rain sound effects too
At another point Tamine was lying flat on the stage under a white blanket while Sarastro's soldiers all pointed swords at him. This was never explained.
When Papagano strug up the noose to hang himself, he tied it on the tree at WAIST level
Tamino faces the trails in a fawn-coloured flared waistcoat and matching top hat.
There was not a trial for each element. Tamino walked with the flute on a plank over fire. He kept teetering and grabbing at the white backdrop-curtain, and squealing in falsetto. He got through, and 3ö seconds later Pamina wander accross. They are suppsoed to be together, BOTH protected by the flute.
The second trial involved being lowered with the 1 trap door. 3ö seconds later, they cam up again.
THERE WAS NOT THIRD TRIAL.
When the queen was banished below they did not use that nifty and perfectly-placed trapdoor. No, she just casually wandered off the stage with her minions.
During the Pa- Pa- song Papagano put on a rooster head (for the first half of the song) and papagana a hen TAIL.
During the second half they marched in 9 kids (where had the extra 6 been all evening... long wasit for them) to be little papagano/as
The Opera did not end with Tamino and Pamina entering the temple of the Sun. Instead they were in a dark room and they had grown old. Tamino was writing at her desk and Pamine stood close by. Then the door opened and the light shone in, and all the papaganos and papaganas and some extra girls and boys cam in and danced around and threw confetti. THEY CHANGED THE ENDING.
...And my favourite. It is TRES difficult to commit suicide by sword. Especially for a lady. Swords are long. Arms are not. This particular sword had already been embraced undera sheet during an aria of Papagano's, so we know that the side is not sharp, and Pamia would have to FALL on the POINT of the sword, somehow. That is not the complaint, however. During her Suicide aria the sword is removed by one of the children over a minute before she is supposed to hold it up to kill herself. It is a dramatic moment - the most so in the opera, and she did NOTHING.
I will not even start with the singing. I Shocked, shocked! How could they get things so WRONG? (There is ample room for personal interpretation withought these changes). The version with the puppets in Salzburg was a million times better.
Actually I can guess, the direction and concept of this production was not particularly sophisticated. The budget was not huge (how could it be when tickets range from 2.8ö-2ö.öö?) and they did not have scenery backdrops or many coloured light gels, but they did have a CD (or perhaps an 8-track?) of sound effects to work with.
I am writing this with the assumption that the reader has some knowledge of The Magic Flute and how it "should" be.
The costumes were probably left over from The Marriage of Figaro. Everyone was dressed Mozartian.
At one point Papagano looked up the Third lady's skirt at her knickers.
There was one part of the stage which was raised exactly once: When in O Zittre Nicht the Queen starts the coleratura. Nothing in her second aria.
The sound effects included the braying of wolves (Queen's entrance), the twittering of Birds (Papagano's Presence) The caw of a crow (Papagana as the old lady), and the glorious sound of glass shattering as the Queen threw a sword down from the sky for Pamina to use to kill Sarastro. (What shattered? A bloody cloud??)
The curtain went down on the first act with Sarastro's guards flogging Monostatos, in rhythem with the cadence. Smack, smaaaaack, swat, SWAT!
The 3 Boys were actually 1 boy and 2 girls. And they did not actually sing. I suspect by the flat tone of the middle voice that the 3 ladies sung that chorus from offstage.
The soldier (minion) who had charge of Papagano kept stealing sips from a flask
Instead of fainting from fear before Monostatos' aria, Pamina gets drunk and falls down
Sarastro - the priest of the temple of the SUN - was costumed in black leather boots and black leather pants and a black coat. His temple was in a dark room. He had a skull in the room and an hourglass. No sun. His guards were carrying wooden spears.
ONE of the guards was played completely flaming. NOT the place.
AT one point two of Sarastro's soldiers are supposed to sing a song. For the first (and only) time in the entire opera, the stage is flooded with colour. The soldiers are now RED soldiers. Well, well..
At one point there were rain sound effects too
At another point Tamine was lying flat on the stage under a white blanket while Sarastro's soldiers all pointed swords at him. This was never explained.
When Papagano strug up the noose to hang himself, he tied it on the tree at WAIST level
Tamino faces the trails in a fawn-coloured flared waistcoat and matching top hat.
There was not a trial for each element. Tamino walked with the flute on a plank over fire. He kept teetering and grabbing at the white backdrop-curtain, and squealing in falsetto. He got through, and 3ö seconds later Pamina wander accross. They are suppsoed to be together, BOTH protected by the flute.
The second trial involved being lowered with the 1 trap door. 3ö seconds later, they cam up again.
THERE WAS NOT THIRD TRIAL.
When the queen was banished below they did not use that nifty and perfectly-placed trapdoor. No, she just casually wandered off the stage with her minions.
During the Pa- Pa- song Papagano put on a rooster head (for the first half of the song) and papagana a hen TAIL.
During the second half they marched in 9 kids (where had the extra 6 been all evening... long wasit for them) to be little papagano/as
The Opera did not end with Tamino and Pamina entering the temple of the Sun. Instead they were in a dark room and they had grown old. Tamino was writing at her desk and Pamine stood close by. Then the door opened and the light shone in, and all the papaganos and papaganas and some extra girls and boys cam in and danced around and threw confetti. THEY CHANGED THE ENDING.
...And my favourite. It is TRES difficult to commit suicide by sword. Especially for a lady. Swords are long. Arms are not. This particular sword had already been embraced undera sheet during an aria of Papagano's, so we know that the side is not sharp, and Pamia would have to FALL on the POINT of the sword, somehow. That is not the complaint, however. During her Suicide aria the sword is removed by one of the children over a minute before she is supposed to hold it up to kill herself. It is a dramatic moment - the most so in the opera, and she did NOTHING.
I will not even start with the singing. I Shocked, shocked! How could they get things so WRONG? (There is ample room for personal interpretation withought these changes). The version with the puppets in Salzburg was a million times better.
posted by Melamondiale @ 2:44 PM
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