review: SF Opera’s “Magic Flute”—ingenious animation invigorates a beloved classic

Tenor Amitai Pati as Prince Tamino in “The Magic Flute.” Tamino falls instantly in love with Pamina after seeing a photo of her and spends the rest of the opera in search of her, journeying through fantasy worlds and encountering obstacles laden with references to the Wiemar era. One of the most memorable animations is the foreboding giant head as the gateway to Sarastro’s Temple of Wisdom, its brain chambers dedicated to Wiemar ideals—wahrheit/truth, weisheit/wisdom, arbeit/labor, and kunst/art.  Barred from entry, frustrated Tamino screams “heuchelei”/hypocrisy, via a cleverly placed intertitle.  Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

It’s all about dazzling rapidly moving images in the mesmerizing production of “The Magic Flute” at San Francisco Opera which I attended Friday and thoroughly enjoyed. Inspired by early animation, silent film, characters of the late silent era, and foreboding 1920’s German Expressionist visuals, this production which originated at Berlin’s Komische Opera, offers an entirely refreshing take on Mozart’s beloved story.  It’s as much cinematic as operatic.

This 2012 production is a co-creation of Berlin director Barrie Kosky with writer and performer Suzanne Andrade and animator and illustrator Paul Barritt, the two founders and artistic directors of the London-based theater company 1927.  It is directed in San Francisco by Tobias Ribitski. 1927 is known for ground breaking productions that merge live performance with music and animation and look to the silent film era for inspiration. Normally, the singing and Mozart’s music are front and center ─those sparkling arias, glorious ensembles, and breathtaking orchestral passages.   They are still there but not clearly the main attraction. The visual allure of seamless non-stop interaction between on stage performers and projected hand-drawn animation is quite breathtaking. Adding to the novelty is is that the delightful animation is built around both popular and obscure silent film plot references.

The main characters suggest stars of the late silent era. Pamina has the short “Lulu” bob hairdo of flapper-era star Louise Brooks who was bewitching to audiences, especially in “Pandora’s Box” (1929), the pinnacle of German expressionism and one of the great films of all time. Papageno, the birdcatcher, is pure Buster Keaton.  Sinister Monostatos echoes Nosferatu. They wear Chaplin-style white facial makeup and have darkened eyes and lips to help define facial features and expressions to standout from the projections.

Amitai Pati as Tamino and Lauri Vasar as Papageno in between cleverly placed projections of intertitles, a nod to the silent era, that convey the libretto’s spoken dialogue. With his khaki suit, hat and hapless antics, Vasar resembles Buster Keaton, another nod to the silent era. Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

While Emmanuel Schikaneder’s libretto is in German with a lot of spoken dialogue, the team from 1927 cut out the spoken dialog but retained the singing in German. In keeping with the staging’s inspirations from 1920’s cinema, some of the opera’s texts are projected into the set like intertitles in silent film. The accompaniment for these moments is drawn from two of Mozart’s keyboard works, “Fantasia in D minor, K. 397” from 1792 and “Fantasia in C minor K. 475” from 1785, played by Bryndon Hassman on a period fortepiano that has been amplified. As we know from silent film, it’s quite enjoyable to follow a story relying on visual ques—gestures, movements, glances. And, at SF Opera, with the singing, it all came together beautifully.

Christina Gansch as Pamina and Lauri Vasar as Papageno in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

Campy animation abounds in “The Magic Flute.” Lauri Vasar as Papageno, Christina Gansch as Pamina and Zhengyi Bai as Monostatos. Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

The biggest change is the two dimensional staging, which is set up to fully facilitate the animation which is cued by a dedicated stage manager who oversees 729 different animation cues.  Imagine an enormous flat screen TV, with several small openings for the singers, who are perched on various ledges, and these slide shut when they are finished. These singers are essentially anchored in place while images swirl about them in constant motion. This is the exact opposite of what we normally experience. While the tech constrained the singers significantly, the tradeoff, in terms the production’s stunning immersive visual impact, was an immensely enjoyable result. This made me aware of the vital contribution that live singers make to this art form.

Amitai Pati as Tamino in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” In this production, his magic flute is replaced with an animated fairy, shown on left. Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

Samoan-born, New Zealand tenor Amitai Pati, as Prince Tamino, was very moving in his Act I Scene 1 aria “Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön” (“This image is enchantingly lovely”) which he sings as the Three Ladies show him a picture of Princess Pamina, the Queen’s daughter, who he promptly falls in love with. He performed the aria with such conviction and tenderness that he was absolutely mesmerizing. 

Christina Gansch as Pamina in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

Austrian soprano Christina Gansch as Pamina, with her stylish Louise Brooks bob, sang exquisitely. Gansch (Dorinda, “Orlando” (2019) and Zerlina, “Don Giovanni” (2022)) navigated all sorts of ques seamlessly throughout too. Her character interacts with Papageno, Tamino, the Queen, and Monostatos and each of these encounters requires precision, synchronization with projected animation she can’t see and, when there’s another singer in the scene, coordinating with them as well. And the acting has to be somewhat exaggerated to make sure it stands out from the projections. All of this while singing. It’s regretful there was no press photo available of this being rehearsed. Gansch was impressive in Pamina’s major aria “Ach, ich fühls”/ “Ah, I feel it, it is vanished,” which comes in the middle of Act II, just after her mother has instructed her to stab Sarastro and after she has seen Tamino who was unresponsive when she tried to speak with him.  Unaware of the vow of silence he’s taken, she believes he no longer loves her.  She sang beautifully with desperation, heartbreak.   

Papageno (Lauir Vasar) has a humorous run-in with (animated) red-lipped toothy tarantulas in “The Magic Flute.”  Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

Estonian bass-baritone Lauri Vasar in his North American premiere had the necessary warmth and natural comedic flare to pull off Papageno, the Queen’s dimwitted bird catcher and one of opera’s most beloved characters. He accompanies Tamino on his quest to rescue Pamina from Sarastro and, in a plot twist, they learn it’s Sarastro who is protecting Pamina from her evil mother.  His beautifully sung Act I “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” (“A girl or little wife”) springs out of his experience in Sarastro’s realm with Prince Tamino. His Act II “Pa-Pa-Pa-Papageno” duet with Papagena, soprano Adrianna Rodriguez in her Company debut, was delightful, both of them embracing the pure fun in the singing and the crowd applauding wildly.  

Anna Simińska as the Queen of the Night (head of spider) and Amitai Pati as Tamino in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”  Everything is this scene is an illusion accomplished with film projections against a flat white wall, save for the singers. Photo: Cory Weaver: SF Opera

In her Company debut as Queen of the Night, Polish soprano Anna Simińska was the small living head on a huge animated spider who was weaving a web, a deceitful one at that. She enlists Tamino to rescue her daughter from Sarastro and goes on to sing two of opera’s most spectacular arias. She has sung this role to great acclaim all over the world and was spectacular at SF Opera, dispatching the requisite vocal gymnastics with seeming ease.

She sang Act I’s  “Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren”/ “With her my happiness was taken,” tenderly and passionately as she lamented Pamina’s loss. She sailed through the relentlessly paced staccato high notes in Act II’s “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” /”Hell’s vengeance boils in my heart,” one of opera’s most notoriously difficult arias, projecting explosive fits of rage and drama, largely unseen but heard.

Kwangchul Youn as Sarastro (left) and Zhengyi Bai as Monostatos (right) in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”  Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

South Korean bass Kwangchul Youn, a distinguished interpreter of Richard Wagner’s music dramas, in his Company debut, sang in a rich deep base, playing the high priest Sarastro with the dignity and aplomb worthy of the enlightened leader. Youn will sing King Marke in “Tristan and Isolde” and in Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” in SF Opera’s 2024-25 season.

Christina Gansch as Pamina and Zhengyi Bai as Monostatos in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”  Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

Chinese tenor Zhengyi Bai, a former Adler and Merola fellow, played Monostatos, Sorastro’s sinister right-hand man with the creepiness befitting the character he was modeled after—Max Schrek’s Count Orlock in F.W. Murneau’s magical 1922, silent era gem “Nosferatu.”   With its menacing huge hand-drawn wolf-dogs tethered to Monostatos, the photo above captures the exquisite visual impact of the animation.

Olivia Smith as the First Lady, Ashley Dixon as the Second Lady, and Maire Therese Carmack as the Third Lady in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”  Photo: Cory Weaver/SF Opera

Along with the rest of audience, I was drawn to the triplets.  The Three Ladies, the Queens emissaries who materialize above Tamino—current Adler soprano Olivia Smith, mezzo-sopranos Ashley Dixon, a former Adler, and Maire Therese Carmack, in her Company debut—sang harmoniously together and were delightful in their spatting. Perched side by side upon tiny half circle platforms that seemed to float above Tamino, they were visual standouts, dressed in heavy coats suited for winter in Berlin and outfitted with humorous hats and white face Kabuki doll style make-up with pink cheeks, red lips. What seemed like hundreds of animated red roses punctuated their affection for Tamino and they were somewhat outdone by the flurry of animated hearts that literally leapt in at the end of their scene.  The other trio, three young boys/guiding spirits (Niko Min, Solah Malik, Jacob Rainow) who are sent to guide Papageno and Tamino on their adventure, all sang angelically too in high treble voices.

Mozart and librettist Schikaneder were both freemasons and the number three figures prominently in the opera, alluding to freemasonry’s emphasis on order and balance. In-depth analysis on the connection with freemasonry and its symbolism is available online but this production tends to focus more on Wiemar era and film associations. In short, the opera’s overture begins with three familiar loud gong-like cords, in the key of Eb major, which has three flats. These chords repeat in the overture and the Act I, where we encounter three ladies. Sarastro’s temple of wisdom has three doors. Following  the three trials of Masonic self-discipline, when searching looking for purification, we encounter three young boys. 

SF Opera Music Director Eun Sun Kim has conducted “The Magic Flute” with multiple European companies and with Washington National Opera.  On Friday, she masterfully and joyfully guided SF Opera Orchestra’s long-awaited return of this masterpiece. From the overture’s thrilling opening cords and familiar stanzas which had a couple behind me humming loudly, the orchestra’s playing was enthralling. Kim kept it bouncing at an energetic pace and everything went off quite smoothly in terms of coordination between the projections, singers, and orchestra.  Julie McKenzie was the soloist for Papageno’s delightful solo; Stephanie McNab played the pan flute solos; and Bryndon Hassman played fortepiano featured for the intertitles. Kim will return to Mozart in June 2025 with “Idomeneo,”  one of the composer’s earliest operas, after leading Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” and Beethoven’s “9th Symphony” this fall. The SF Opera Chorus remained hidden on the sides of the stage, save for a single mass appearance in top hats, but very audible.

Details:

SF Opera’s “The Magic Flute” is sung in German. Run time is 2 hours, 42 min, with one intermission.  There are four remaining performances:  Thursday, June 20 (7:30 p.m.), Saturday, June 22 (7:30 p.m.), Wednesday 26 (7:30 p.m.) Pride Day, and Sunday, June 30 (2 p.m.) Tickets are selling quickly for remaining performances.  

For more information, tickets: https://www.sfopera.com/operas/the-magic-flute/

Review: San Francisco Opera’s “Hansel and Gretel”—happily ever after, with adult moments

San Francisco Opera’s new co-production with London’s Royal Opera of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” features Heidi Stober (L) as Gretel and Sasha Cooke (R) as Hansel. Photo: Cory Weaver/ SFO

San Francisco Opera (SFO) has officially kicked off the holiday season with it’s wonderfully staged new co-production of German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.”  This family-friendly English-language adaptation of the Grimm Brothers’ classic tale follows an impoverished brother and sister who get lost in dense woods and come upon an enticing edible house owned by a witch who lures children in and then roasts and eats them.

Beautiful singing from beloved mezzo Heidi Stober (Gretel), soprano Sasha Cooke (Hansel) and talented supporting singers, along with plush romantic-era music from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra under conductor Christopher Franklin are all pure delight.  With Ian Robertson directing the members of the SF Opera Chorus and a special children’s chorus comprised of members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus and San Francisco Boys Chorus, the experience is both sophisticated and magical.  Running just two hours and 12 minutes, the shortish opera is perfect for families.

Act I of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” features mezzo soprano Michaela Martens as Gertrude, the mother (L), and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Peter, the father (R). Photo: Cory Weaver/ SFO

What’s unique about this co-production with London’s Royal Opera House by British director and production designer Antony McDonald, is that the original Brothers Grimm story, published in 1812 in Children’s and Household Tales, has been changed significantly.  Librettist Adelheid Wette, Humperidinck’s sister, wrote her version of Hansel and Gretel in 1983 to appeal to German opera audiences while addressing pressing issues of the day—child labor, callus treatment of children, education and gender roles in the household.  In Act I, Hansel and Gretel work right beside their parents, with little time for childhood frivolity.  In the original Grimms’ tale, the father and stepmother are painted as awful characters who deliberately abandon their children.  Wette turned the stepmother into the actual mother, and she doesn’t die in the end.  Instead of being a woodcutter, the father is a broom-maker, a critique of patriarchal authority.

Antony McDonald has further softened many of harsh aspects of the original tale and added new characters.  The father is not portrayed as a drunk; when the mother sends the children into the forest to forage for strawberries and they do not return home; both parents go to look for them.  Even when they are lost and frightened, the children distract themselves with play.

Act II’s “Dream-Pantomime” scene in SFO’s new co-production of “Hansel and Gretel” includes characters from other Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Photo: Cory Weaver

The addition of new characters may come as a  surprise.  In Act II, a delightful Sandman (mezzo Ashley Dixon, Adler Fellow) appears to lull the lost children to sleep.  As the children say their evening prayers and begin to fall asleep, instead of being attended to by angels, several characters from the other Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales make cameo appearances, including Little Red Riding Hood (Sarah Nadreau), the Wolf (Sarah Yune), Prince Charming (Michael Bragg), Snow White (Stacey Chien), Rapunzel (Nina Rocco), Rumpelstiltskin (Kay Thornton), Will-o’-the-wisp (Chiharu Shibata).  As the opera’s final act begins, Hansel and Gretel are awoken at dawn by a Dew Fairy (soprano, Natalie Image, Adler Fellow) who sprinkles them with glistening drops from her water can.

Depending on your preference for adhering to the authentic story, these additions will either delight or annoy you.  Compared to the computer-generated creatures that dominate the screens and kids’ attention nowadays, these furry animals and real human characters add quaint charm.  Antony McDonald is a Royal Designer for Industry, a title he was awarded in the UK honoring his decades of experience designing and directing imaginative productions for opera, theater, and ballet.  Recognizing that “Hansel and Gretel” may be a young child’s first experience of opera, he stated he wanted it to be “visually arresting and engaging, creating a balance of fear and delight.”  He has succeeded.

Robert Brubaker as the witch and Heidi Stober as Gretel in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” at SFO. Photo: Cory Weaver/SFO

Still, the opera goes to some very dark places.  With all we know about child molesters who pretend to be something they are not to prey upon innocent children, the gender-changing witch (tenor Robert Brubaker) takes on terrifying connotations.  On the other hand, the addition is relevant and timely.

Sasha Cooke as Hansel in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.” Photo: Cory Weaver/ SFO

This performance reunites powerhouses Cooke and Stober who wowed SFO audiences in June when they co-stared in Handel’s baroque masterpiece, Orlando. (https://genevaanderson.wordpress.com/2019/06/21/meet-richard-savino-whose-baroque-instruments-add-period-splendor-to-handels-orlando-at-sf-opera-through-june-27/ )

Mezzo Sasha Cooke was fabulous and abuzz with youthful energy in the pants role of Hansel.  She had a huge stage presence and sang a number of duets where her warm voice sparkled.  She harmonized wonderfully with soprano Heidi Stober who delivered an energetic and delightful Gretel and dazzled in her demanding soli and duets.

Heidi Stober as Gretel in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.” Photo: Cory Weaver/SFO

Just before last Sunday’s opera began, SFO General director Matthew Shivlock took the stage to announce that mezzo Michaela Martens, cast as Gertrude, the mother, was ill and that first year Adler Fellow, mezzo Mary Evelyn Hangley, would replace her.  Hangley took the ball and ran with it, singing the role with confidence in her surprise SFO debut.  These unexpected moments make live opera so exciting.

Bass baritone Alfred Walker as Peter, the father, delivered powerful singing and brought requisite intensity to the role, especially when celebrating the boom in broom sales that put food on his impoverished family’s table.  Tenor Robert Brubaker was wonderful as the frightening witch who ultimately is pushed into the oven and roasted.  More sensitive young viewers may react to seeing the witch corpse in Act III.

The opera’s sets masterfully recreate beloved landscapes from storybooks, from the initial show scrim—a blown-up photo of a romantic valley scene, to the quaint cabin kitchen scene, to the ominous wood forest—to the witch’s creepy chocolate house with a huge knife across the roof and a cherry on top.

In Act I and throughout the opera, a large cuckoo clock atop the proscenium has motorized hands which spin round to mark the passage of time.  The actual sound of the cuckoo comes from behind the orchestra pit and is preformed by percussionist Victor Avdienko, playing his custom-made flute-like instrument,“L”Cuckoo,” made out two PVC pipes.  In Act II, a large automated moth and beetle move slowly around the proscenium seemingly encircling the exquisitely shadowed forest, lit by Lucy Carter.

Act III of Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” with Heidi Stober as Gretel and Sasha Cooke as Hansel features a witch’s house inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Psycho.  Photo: Cory Weaver/ SFO

In Act III, the banister of the witch’s house that Gretel breaks off is made on the morning of each performance from dark chocolate that is cast in a mold and baked.  The finished piece is dry brushed with white chocolate to resemble wood.  The house itself was inspired by Hitchcock’s Psycho.

In all, “Hansel and Gretel” is very satisfying due to its high entertainment factor and family friendly vibe.  If you do attend, come early to watch the mayhem.  There is something wonderfully energizing about seeing the opera house full of happy children scurrying around in a scavenger hunt.

Family Activities:

Gingerbread Hunts: Children with performance tickets are invited to participate in a gingerbread scavenger hunt that starts in the Opera House lobby before every performance.

Character Meet and Greets: Following the performances on Saturday, Nov. 30 and Sunday, Dec. 1, audience members can meet fairy tale characters in the Opera House lobby.

Exploration workshops for families: “All About Hansel and Gretel” workshops, perfect for children ages 6 and above, explore the opera’s story, music, production design and characters. Saturday, Nov. 30 at 11 am and 12:30 pm at the Wilsey Center for Opera, Veterans Building, 4th floor, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. Tickets: $10 per person. Purchase online here.

Details:

There are five remaining performances of Hansel and Gretel—Sat, Nov. 23, 7:30 pm; Sat, Nov 30, 2 pm; Sunday, Dec 1, 2 pm; Tues, Dec 3, 7:30 pm; and Sat, Dec 7, 7:30 pm. War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco. Tickets: $26 to $398. Admission for children under 18 is available at 50% off with the purchase of one or more adult tickets in certain sections. Info: (415) 864-3330 or www.sfopera.com