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#Post#: 25992--------------------------------------------------
The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: db105 Date: December 8, 2022, 4:09 am
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A cute scene from a 2001 performance of Die Zauberflöte, in
German but with English subtitles. The child-spirits save the
live of the heroine Pamina who, broken-hearted, was about to
take her own life:
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQOr-27ZFJ8
And the same scene from a much older performance (1954). Here
the acting is more theatrical:
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXhdtDUA9QU
Finally, a concert version (not acted, but with beautiful
singing) by the soloists of a boy choir, with the female soprano
part also sung by a boy soprano:
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ClRipZ_1pU
As a bonus, a different scene from the 2001 representation,
where the child-spirits tell the hero to be a man:
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OjWzGVvmfY
#Post#: 25995--------------------------------------------------
Re: The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: Plagosus Date: December 8, 2022, 6:01 am
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The Magic Flute is the opera par excellence where directors give
free reign to their imagination. "Concept" productions are on
the whole more about the directors than the composers. All the
famous opera composers knew what they were doing and their works
are best produced as imagined by the composers. The Magic Flute
is an exception, though a production set in Ancient Egypt where
it is actually set would be a change. I do sometimes wonder what
is going through the director's mind. Some of the costumes defy
explanation.
#Post#: 25997--------------------------------------------------
Re: The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: afinch Date: December 8, 2022, 7:05 am
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It's a perfect opera. The child spirits are almost always sung
nowadays as "three ladies". The Met's "old" production had set
design by Chagall and is absolutely stunning. A new one is
about to debut. I have tickets but can't imagine it being
nearly as good.
#Post#: 25998--------------------------------------------------
Re: The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: Plagosus Date: December 8, 2022, 7:40 am
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An imperfect Mozart opera is a contradiction in terms!
The virtuosity and musicality of some boy trebles can be
astonishing. However, I have seen a few vids of boy trebles
singing the Queen of the Night's aria. All the notes are there,
but the performances do not really come off as a full powered
dramatic soprano is needed. Whilst the roles of the Three
Spirits are not that demanding, it is perhaps not surprising
that female sopranos are preferred in large opera houses as boy
trebles with the same power as a trained soprano are not that
easily found.
#Post#: 26015--------------------------------------------------
Re: The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: afinch Date: December 9, 2022, 2:21 am
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In addition, boy trebles require child minders by Union rules
here, which adds to the expense, and have limitations on hours
worked in performance or rehearsal under those same rules.
Generally, at least in the US, if a child's role in a live
performance can be realistically played by someone over 18,
producers will make that choice.
#Post#: 26074--------------------------------------------------
Re: The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: db105 Date: December 18, 2022, 5:49 am
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I'll post a few more videos of the same bald sprangt song
because it's fascinating how the same scene is interpreted in so
many different ways.
For example, here everyone is dressed in khaki overalls... and
what on Earth is going on in the background with that bizarre
human pile?:
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m337VuKCRxI&ab_channel=LiBeBCNOFNe
Here's a more classic setup, with Kathleen Battle as Parmina,
and cuddly child spirits dressed in Greek-style tunics:
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ5zjtQy8pI&ab_channel=artgo2000
And a movie version directed by Kenneth Branagh and with the
lyrics translated to English by Stephen Fry (the link should
start at 1:42:24, if it doesn't you can find the song there):
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99Ppk6eOZA&t=6144s&ab_channel=FlickVault-FullHDMoviesforFree
And this is from an older movie version directed by Ingmar
Bergman (video starts at 1:37:01):
HTML https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufQxByt7dNM&t=5821s&ab_channel=FrancescaTomazJr
#Post#: 26076--------------------------------------------------
Re: The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: Plagosus Date: December 18, 2022, 3:46 pm
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The Magic Flute is such that it just about bears any setting.
Most works of art are open to varying interpretation. In my
view, a production should seek to present clearly the ideas
(reasonably) perceived to be in a work, not to impose on it the
director's idea, often conceived to impress. The Magic Flute is
a child of The Enlightenment of which Mozart was a paid-up
member - see also for example Don Giovanni and The Marriage of
Figaro. No production should stray too far from that so as to
give a message Mozart could not have intended.
The khaki overalls are clearly part of a concept production. The
aim is to confuse the audience so that they think the director
is a genius whose deep thoughts cannot be penetrated.
All the great opera composers knew what they were doing and do
not need help from over-intelectualising directors.
#Post#: 26077--------------------------------------------------
Re: The three child-spirits from Mozart's The Magic Flute
By: afinch Date: December 18, 2022, 7:59 pm
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[quote author=Plagosus link=topic=2795.msg26076#msg26076
date=1671399979]
The Magic Flute is such that it just about bears any setting.
Most works of art are open to varying interpretation. In my
view, a production should seek to present clearly the ideas
(reasonably) perceived to be in a work, not to impose on it the
director's idea, often conceived to impress. The Magic Flute is
a child of The Enlightenment of which Mozart was a paid-up
member - see also for example Don Giovanni and The Marriage of
Figaro. No production should stray too far from that so as to
give a message Mozart could not have intended.
The khaki overalls are clearly part of a concept production. The
aim is to confuse the audience so that they think the director
is a genius whose deep thoughts cannot be penetrated.
All the great opera composers knew what they were doing and do
not need help from over-intelectualising directors.
[/quote]
They aren't "over-intellectualizing". They are arrogant. I am
in this business, and I believe that Regietheater is evil. I
was trained as a classical pianist. I was taught that my first
job was to honor the composer's intention. If I thought a
different note "sounded better" than the one written, I was not
allowed to play that note in performance. This trend is most
blatant in opera houses (La Boheme on the moon in France, or
Carmen in a gorilla suit at Covent Garden anyone or Rigoletto in
Las Vegas with the Duke and his courtiers as members of the Rat
Pack anyone?) It has also reared its ugly head in musical
theatre (Daniel Fish's absolutely disgusting, awful travesty of
a production of "Rodgers & Hamerstein's Oklahoma!"--which is
nothing of the kind. I have it on authority of family members
of Mssrs R&H with whom I am acquainted that their grandfathers
are spinning in their respective graves). To quote the late
Stephen Sondheim: "Let us hope this lunacy is just a trend."
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