Die Zauberflöte
“…the evening belonged to Gerald Finley as Papageno.” Opera News
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto: Emanuel Schikaneder
Venue and Dates: Lyric Opera of Chicago
16, 19, 22, 25, 27 February,
2, 6, 8, 11, 13 (mat), 16 (mat) March 2002
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
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
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
Notes: One performance was broadcast on June 1 2002
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.