Alan Brissenden’s cultural moment of 2019
The 2012 production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute for Komische Oper Berlin charmed and excited audiences at the 2019 Adelaide Festival.
Barrie Kosky, Suzanne Andrade and Paul Barritt’s 2012 production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute for Komische Oper Berlin has been seen in nearly 30 cities worldwide and came to the 2019 Adelaide Festival, charming and exciting audiences. It is not just the flute but the whole production that is magical. As much a tribute to 1920s black-and-white film as it is a 21st-century opera production, Pamina is a Louise Brooks lookalike, Tamino is a matinee idol in a dinner suit and Papageno is Buster Keaton’s twin.
This was a visually stunning presentation. The villain Monostatos threatened Pamina with savage dogs held on long leads; the Queen of the Night was a giant spider, only her head human; Papageno’s drink came in a giant cocktail glass; and Tamino’s magic flute was changed into a fairy who left a trail of musical notes wherever she flew.
The young and the not-so-young were generally excited, thrilled and astonished at this production.
As he passed me to get to his seat with his wife and three young children, a father said: “I’m either crazy to bring the kids or it’ll work.”
It worked. They went out at interval and came back to laugh, gaze with wonder and cheer at what they had experienced.
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