Features

A classic opera can withstand all manner of temporal transposition and psychological interpretation. Cal Opera’s production once more proves “The Magic Flute” a classic.  

Imagine that Sarastro is not the philosophical voice of Masonic mystery, but the unscrupulous CEO of a mega-corporation; that the Queen of the Night is a sincerely caring mother of a daughter who has sold out to that corporation; Monostatos is a middle-level manager who harasses his workers; the trio of cherubim are psychiatric consultants. Sound far-fetched? Of course it is. Yet somehow it all works and presents a cohesive reinterpretation that achieves a modern relevance, instead of merely aiming for it.  

The director Axel van Chee (who also plays Papageno) emphasizes the bare plot of the opera by employing a narrator, who first introduces the characters and then presents the basis of the action in lieu of the sometimes tiresome dialogues.  

All characters sing their parts in German, while the English narrative gives context. Full translations of all sung texts are shown by overhead projector, so the language barrier is broken.  

The plot is also brought to the fore by the complete absence of scenery, machinery and staging business: all action takes place in front of the proscenium curtain. 

The members of the cast and orchestra are all quite talented musicians. Especially noteworthy is Jamie Mago as Queen of the Night, whose coloratura passages sparkle as they effortlessly soar, while she preserves a winningly warm tone for her instructional arias. Although Sepp Hammer’s Sarastro lacks vocal power in the lowest range, his suave yet smarmy acting gives the character the needed evil nuances to subvert the expected piety.  

Max Celaya portrays Monostatos with enough melodramatic gesture to provide much-needed comic relief. Van Chee successfully plays Papageno as a purely comic figure, which helps balance out the ending in which Evil triumphs.  

Michael Feuerstein and Katherine Howell present Tamino and Pamina as real people who are seduced by corporate lies and one another’s pretty pictures. Their romantic attraction seems quite plausible, fueled by fine vocal blending as much as genetic urges. Vanessa Langer’s short appearance as Papagena convinces the audience that Papageno is well rewarded for his humble earthy attitude.  

The ensemble singing and interplay of both featured trios is excellent: the three ladies-in-waiting portray a level of elegantly studied concern that nicely flirts with caricature, while the three angelic consultants display vocal beauty which matches their stunning good looks.  

The orchestra, Bay Area Classical Harmony, produces a rich well-balanced tone that never overwhelms the singers or calls attention to itself. The small string sections allow the winds and brass more emphasis, so the audience is well-reminded that Mozart’s genius included orchestrating as well as inventing melodies. 

This production aims at presenting Mozart’s magical opera to an audience of non-opera-goers. As van Chee said, “If you’ve never seen an opera, that’s great.  

“We are delivering something that you might actually relate to, instead of watching a fairy tale that talks about strange ideas that you might not be comfortable with.”  

While it clearly succeeds at making this masterwork accessible to a new audience, this interpretation reveals enough new insights and displays enough polished local talent to win over the most seasoned opera fan.  

This is the second collaboration between Cal Opera and B.A.C.H., two groups of UC Berkeley students which are not officially connected with the university.  

Music majors and talented musicians from other departments work together in their spare time to produce true community theater. Conductor Andrew Chung said, “We are interested in reaching out to the Berkeley community... even getting high school students involved”. 

Although this is obviously an amateur production, the audience is reminded that the root meaning of “amateur” is that the performers are motivated by love of the material, rather than a paycheck.  

This love shines through and easily compensates for the few minor glitches and inconsistencies which lend inevitable charm to any low-budget show. I am confident that Mozart would have been quite happy to see this production.  

All ticket sales benefit Longfellow Middle School.  

Miko Sloper can be reached at miko@cheerful.com