by Heath Anderson
pera Memphis' artistic
director Michael Ching has discovered the perfect pitch for his company's
season finale, The Magic Flute -- and it's not emanating from one
of his singers. To pique the interest of those who find this opera mostly
bewildering, Ching compares this work to another story involving a prince
and princess, set long ago and far away. "The Magic Flute,"
says Ching, "has a Star Wars flavor and can be enjoyed by those
of all ages, especially junior-high and high-schoolers who are interested
in sci-fi and fantasy." In other words, may the Flute be with
them.
Despite whatever similarities
The Magic Flute has with Star Wars, the opera will require
a bit more concentration. The opera's plot demands that the audience pay
full attention to detailed twists and turns taken by various characters.
Written by Mozart, The Magic Flute has its main characters -- spirited
bird-catcher Papageno (performed by Memphian John David Miles), and prince
Tamino (Michael Rees Davis) -- coming face-to-face with various evils in
their quest to rescue the evil Queen of the Night's luminous daughter, Pamina.
Pamina, meanwhile, has her own trials and tribulations to deal with before
the two boys can even attempt to set her free, which adds to the intrigue.
The story serves as a showcase for the acting and singing of Nancy Bergman,
who will be making her Opera Memphis debut with The Magic Flute.
For many, it will be the music that really makes this opera memorable, and for others it will be the performances. Ching, who has conducted several productions, in Memphis and elsewhere, including Il Trovatore, The Beauty And The Beast and Romeo et Juliette, was in charge of casting The Magic Flute and is extremely excited about the opera's strong ensemble cast.
Over the years, opera companies, including Memphis', have experimented with the staging of The Magic Flute, but this season Ching decided to stay true to the theme and setting of the original script. As Ching says, "We always try to do something unusual for the season finale, and the last time The Magic Flute was done [in Memphis], it was done in an odd, South American setting. You can set the opera in pretty much any setting you like, and ours is a little more traditional because it's an Egyptian fantasy land."
Opera Memphis performs this opera with all the pizazz one would expect from the largest opera company in Tennessee. Dale Morehouse, who is making his directorial debut, has used some of Flute's $140,000 budget to employ Peter Dean Beck and Marie Anne Chiment as scene and costume designers, respectively. Ching, who expresses utmost confidence in the two, says that, "As far as The Magic Flute goes, Beck and Chiment are both very well-respected designers in the opera field, and we just let them go at it and expect fantastic results." The Egyptian fantasy-land setting for the opera calls for bright, rich colors onstage, allowing the audience to escape into a faraway paradise as conductor Darryl One leads the way with Mozart's music.
To further the cause, Opera Memphis is providing tapes of The Magic Flute to area schoolteachers who request them. The tape, which is aimed at late-elementary to high-school students, features the storytelling of Margaret Wolfson and the music of Cliff Parms. In addition, the tape is available at Davis-Kidd Booksellers, either through the purchase from a selection of children's books or for $10.
When asked why the company decided to end their season with The Magic Flute, Ching replies, "We [Opera Memphis] booked two big shows at the beginning and ending of each season, and The Magic Flute seemed like the perfect complement to match the great performance of La Traviata."