Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 3 The Magic Flute

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 31 We agreed, and then we listened to it. After watching clips of some dodgy productions, we immediately thought, ‘What have we agreed to?’ But then we went straight to the source, listened to the music ad infinitum, and fell in love with it. We dreamed up some ideas and let the music do the profound stuff while we did the playful stuff.” Almost ten years after its premiere, Komische Oper Berlin’s The Magic Flute has been performed in 35 different cities, seen by nearly 700,000 people around the world, and continues to sell out every run when it’s presented in Berlin. Kosky is excited to bring Flute to the Windy City. “I’m very thrilled that we’re able to bring this to Chicago.” Andrade, animator Paul Barritt, the rest of the 1927 team, and Kosky spent three years creating the production. “The first year and a half involved talking through the whole thing. There was a lot of discussion and we took the entire piece apart line by line, moment by moment,” explained Kosky. Andrade added, “Every idea came from careful listening to the music—not from an academic standpoint or as operatic experts—just as listeners. We sat with the music for such a long time, and it informed every idea.” As is done when sequencing traditional films, the group put together storyboards; every single concept was borne from the minds of the creative team. The staging uses a computer program to project the opera’s animation, but all imagery was hand drawn by Barritt, who spent about a year creating The Magic Flute’s art. After the team concepted the entire opera, the ensemble began to workshop scenes with singers. It took two months to teach the cast its choreography. 1927 and Kosky’s Flute is an endlessly colorful universe; its many inspirations include silent film, German expressionism, and quirky British humor. Andrade filled in further details about the myriad sources that informed the ensemble’s creativity: “We chose silent film as the starting point for the show; 1927 is hugely inspired by silent film in all of its work. Paul, Barrie, and I also are total magpies. We all read and watch so much, so naturally a mish-mash of influences came through. Edward Gorey has always been a wonderful inspiration for staging. He draws his characters so beautifully—all of them dynamic and composed at odd angles—and he was very inspired by ballerinas. We often use his work in practice with actors to move them away from naturalism.” The Magic Flute was the last of Mozart’s singspiels , a German operatic form developed in the 18th century. Singspiels include spoken dialogue interspersed with music; these sections of text often drive forward the plot, while arias, duets, and other ensemble pieces delve more deeply into characters’ emotional perspectives and development. “In a way, The Magic Flute is one of our first musicals,” Kosky illuminated. The Magic Flute’s spoken segments can make the work challenging to conduct and direct. To keep the piece flowing, the directorial team made the decision to follow the model of silent film and incorporate the opera’s spoken portions into the animation, accompanied by a fortepiano. “It was one of our best ideas, because it frees the piece from its dialogue,” Kosky asserted. Andrade agreed. “The silent film title cards tell the story as succinctly as possible. This was very important to us all.” Staging The Magic Flute in this manner allows the opera to maintain momentum. Though it is certainly an interpretation that takes full advantage of modern technology, this production actually resurrects Magic Flute librettist Emanuel Schikaneder’s artistic style and vision. The German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer was extremely influential in Vienna’s theater and operatic circles, and sang the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute ’s 1791 premiere at the Freihaus-Theater auf der The Magic Flute (Los Angeles Opera) Cory Weaver