This 2011 version of Die Zauberflöte may have retained the singspiel feature of this opera. But the piano is occasionally heard in the background as if matching some of the spoken lines. Like when Papageno was verifying the identity of Pamina based on the portrait that he carried. (I had to suppress my laughter upon mentioning “blonde hair” when the soprano playing Pamina clearly isn’t. No budget for wigs?) This was also the case while Monostatos contemplated aloud about kissing Pamina in her sleep. It’s like setting up the momentum before the performers can finally sing their arias.
The use of a layered widescreen background helped. What do I mean by “layered”? Based on what appeared on screen, there is a widescreen at the back of the stage with a frame wide enough to show the enlarged portions of the borders of the image projected. It ends up looking like your screen on Google Hangouts if you are trying to screencast the part that is supposed to show your face but end up showing a series of screens descending inward. Here at Die Zauberflöte, you could see at least 2 or 3 layers so as not to get the images diluted. It would also avoid highlighting the characters onstage. The images appear bigger on the TV telecast version in a way that looks like 2 slides of a presentation overlapped onscreen.
The stage occasionally has props either close to the widescreen borders or on stage to emphasize the period that this 2011 version of Die Zauberflöte is situated. The camera that the 3 witches used implied that they are moneyed matrons capable of sending Papageno on errands in exchange of sugar. That camera also carried the titular instrument for Tamino to use. The music box was separately handed over to Papageno though. It looked more like a cash vault though. And the speaker appeared with chalk and a blackboard on a stand. It somewhat matched the theme that this version of Die Zauberflöte is trying to present = the age of enlightenment through academic freedom. This approach is very helpful in presenting the final trial that Tamino and Pamina will go through.
Actually, what excited me about the speaker was discovering who is the baritone that played him in this version of Die Zauberflöte. The cast and characters were shown on screen while the overture played. And it showed that the role of the speaker ended up with Detlef Roth. Readers may be familiar with him as I mentioned his participation in another version of Die Zauberflöte. Except that is role is that of Papageno in Opera Paris. So seeing him as the speaker in this version of Die Zauberflöte meant his appearance is limited. Quite sad for me for two reasons. One, he will not be in his funny self. Two, he might not be seen in the succeeding scenes. Might. The role of speaker suited him though.
This 2011 version of Die Zauberflöte also presented effectively how gullible Tamino could be. He managed to believe the Queen’s claim of Sarastro being a tyrant, despite lack of proof. And when voices around the 3 doors told him that Pamina is alive, he believed it too, despite lack of proof. This might be why Sarastro ended up luring him to the 3 trials. He saw how he can talk some sense over to this kid and teach him some critical thinking. And some effective meditation too. Because the toughest way to meditate is to be paired with a talkative ally like Papageno.
Pamina herself needs enlightenment too. It is a given that she loved her mother so much that she can’t imagine her doing anything wrong. But in the scene before Sarastro arrives, she contemplated about telling Sarastro the truth and thought that it would be a crime. This brings me to one of the issues here at Die Zauberflöte in general. The idea that a man must guide a woman to her happiness. I have yet to see a version of Die Zauberflöte that presented Sarastro as the chief of child services assigned in taking children away from their mothers. And Tamino is discouraged from listening to useless chatter especially if it comes from women like the 3 witches.
Pamina’s own father thought that a man like Sarastro can guide his daughter better than his own wife, the Queen of the Night. So it’s basically 2 images of a woman = weak and dependent like Pamina or strong and arrogant like that of the Queen of the Night. It does not help that Papageno wished that he’s a girl so that he has an excuse to be scared. So as much as I liked most versions of Die Zauberflöte, this is one opera I will not recommend to my “SJW” friends. I would recommend a few arias though since the music in Die Zauberflöte is really glorious.
The feud between Sarastro and the Queen of the Night still served as the main source of twists in Die Zauberflöte. They have their own versions of the truth. Main difference is that the Queen of the Night would impose it on the characters that she talks to while Sarastro would let the people around them prove for themselves similar to how the speaker let Tamino talk despite absence of proof. Quite relative in an age where almost everyone believes everything before any proof contrary to claims has surfaced.
Any allusions to the Freemasonry is quite in your face if you watch this version of Die Zauberflöte from the television (or tablet). Apart from the layered widescreen treatment, some of the images overlapped significantly enough to take over the screen as the characters sung in the background. But again, not too much for you not to see any of the people onstage. The eye blinks from a half-closed view to wide open as Sarastro tried to convince the rest of brotherhood to allow Tamino entry into the Temple of Trials. The visuals are just short of showing a compass, a pick ax and a sickle to go with the rulers drawn on widescreen alongside the wide-open eye.
As for the voices, the bass, Günther Groissböck, in this version of Die Zauberflöte might have been one of my new faves playing the role of Sarastro. Full round voice with a range that reaches really low when heard singing the aria “Isis und Osiris”. His parts in this opera are more memorable than the parts that featured the Queen of the Night, played by Albina Shagimuratova. Just to be clear. I don’t find her that bad. It’s just that if this is a production of Die Zauberflöte that showed how Sarastro and the Queen of the Night were trying to outdo each other, then Sarastro got the upper hand in terms of singing. Besides, at the heart of this story is a couple of wizards trying to outdo each other.
The love story between Tamino and Pamina may seem rushed as how it was originally written. But it managed to be a believable pairing. Thanks to heartfelt singing of Saimir Pirgu and Genia Kühmeier. Kühmeier’s singing fitted the parts where Pamina is at her most melancholic from the time when Tamino stopped talking to her to when she attempted to stab herself. Along with Pirgu, they make an almost pitch perfect couple. Pirgu, on the other hand, fitted the role with the help of his youthful looks and lyric voice. I look forward to seeing either of them in more lead roles after Die Zauberflöte.
This 2011 version of Die Zauberflöte is available in Blu-Ray version through Arkiv Music. With Roland Böer as musical director, it has only very few copies left in the website. Click here to get your own copy before you get placed on the queue and wait for new copies to be made. Tips in appreciation of this article are also more than welcome by clicking the “Donate” button below. We’d be expecting you. Thanks for reading.
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