James Gill
Local soprano Caitlin Cisler (center) was dazzingly powerful in her second aria as the Queen of the Night.
The Madison Opera closed out its season this past weekend with a lavish production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, confirming my conviction that it is virtually impossible to do a rational staging of this work.
Conceived chaotically between Mozart and his librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder (who also appeared in the original production as Papageno), its mix of absurd comedy and noble idealism seems beyond any balance.
Fortunately, Mozart’s wonderful score works and, on April 21, opening night, the Madison Opera cast was mostly outstanding musically.
As the two lovers, Tamino and Pamina, tenor Andrew Bidlack and soprano Amanda Woodbury brought strong singing and real personality to their roles. If a little fussy at times, baritone Alan Dunbar was aptly comical as the birdman Papageno, with local veteran Anna Polum as a pert soprano Papagena.
Amanda Kingston, Kelsey Park and Anna Parks sang beautifully and acted with humor as the Queen of the Night’s three Ladies. As Her Majesty, local soprano Caitlin Cisler did not quite settle into her first fiery aria, but was dazzlingly powerful in the second.
Bass Nathan Stark’s voice lacked weight and the crucial low notes in his portrayal of the noble Sarastro. The boys who sang the Three Spirits sang weakly and were directed to look ridiculous. The lesser parts, however, were handled securely.
Guest conductor Gary Wedow kept the orchestra in tight control and gave the singers stable support. The sizable chorus sounded splendid throughout.
Stage director Dan Rigozzi, in his Madison Opera debut, deftly delivered details, but had problems making the comic and the serious fit together; he appears to lean toward the comedic side. The direction was partly hampered by the set and costumes rented from the Arizona Opera Company. The set (consisting of giant picture frames) made no sense whatsoever. The costume anomalies and inconsistencies could be discussed at length. The chorus women are garbed as if in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and most members of the brotherhood look like refugees from a Vatican conclave.
Despite these elements, the production (sung in German, with supertitles) was certainly colorful, and the audience was greatly entertained.
