Die Zauberflöte at Komische Oper Berlin
This production is a truly special take on Mozart’s 1791 icon: the stage is a flat two-dimensional white surface onto which a sort of animated fairytale reminiscent of 20th century silent film is projected to show most of the plot.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎭 Die Zauberflöte
🎶 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
💭 Barrie Kosky / 1927, 2012
🏛️ Komische Oper Berlin
🗓️ 21.12.2024
“ES SIEGTE DIE STÄRKE, UND KRÖNET ZUM LOHN DIE SCHÖNHEIT UND WEISHEIT MIT EWIGER KRON’”
This season has once again shown that Berlin is the undisputed worldwide capital of opera. Where else within the span of a single season, lest a single WEEK, can you see three entirely different productions of DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, each telling a vastly different story? The Berlin opera houses strike again—take that, Berliner Senat!
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE at Komische Oper Berlin last week was the final piece in this special trifecta, following earlier visits to Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper. I cannot stress enough how different these productions are: modern-Maoist (my intepretation), classically inspired and entirely fairytaile-esque (Schinkel lässt grüßen), and now an homage to 1920s expressionist cinema and animation.
This production is a truly special take on Mozart’s 1791 icon: the stage is a flat two-dimensional white surface onto which a sort of animated fairytale reminiscent of 20th century silent film is projected to show most of the plot. Singers are revealed on this projection surface through rotating doors that pivot quickly and to reveal a character in midst of the projection. Most of the time, singers limit their movement to exaggerated facial expressions. The projected video takes care of the rest and moves around the singers, giving the impression that they are no more than animated characters in a children’s fairytale (stage photos from the KOB website).
The dialogue in between the musical numbers (DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE is a Singspiel, after all) is also silently expressed, with text projected onto the stage. Each character seems to have their own special font, and font sizes vary to emphasize what is being said—or written. Singers gesticulate as if in an old-school silent film. DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE becomes entirely entertaining in a whole new way.
I found the singing and articulation of the cast to be impeccable. Rarely have I heard such a pristine and clear rendition of DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. A special surprise was the personalized coloratura riff in the Queen’s iconic revenge aria, where she made the coloratura MORE difficult by singing two notes an octave higher than intended. When I tell you that an audible GASP went through the entire audience!! Whether out of shock, dismissal, rapture, or a mix of it all we’ll never know. I, however, remain obsessed.❤️🔥
Thank you Queen of the Night, thank you Komische Oper, and thank you Berlin. The gift that keeps on giving!!
Komische Oper Berlin
