Welsh National Opera

The Magic Flute (Mozart)
Tosca (Puccini)
Katya Kabanova (Janacek)

Apollo Theatre, 26th-30th June 2001

Strangely for a company so brim-full of talent and imagination as Welsh National Opera, the productions which they have brought on their summer tour represent rather a mixed bag in terms of quality.
On the one hand, their Tosca is a sumptious feast for both the eyes and the ears - an exhilarating triumph which had its audience roaring in appreciation before the last chord had died away. If it weren't for the very high quality of the singing, one would say that the production's greatest strength is its sets: three gloriously imposing creations, highly artistic and yet entirely evocative, which require extended intervals for their installation but are well worth the wait. For Act I, the hushed, towering, darkness of the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, broken only when the great wooden doors are flung open to allow the Roman sun and the crowds of the pious to flood in; for Act II, lowering grey walls preside over the menacing opulence of Scarpia's apartments; as Act III progresses the sun rises imperceptibly over battlements which seem to create more space than one had thought existed on the Apollo stage. Uniting the three is the awesome statuary - Christ in the church, a diabolical satyr in the chambers, then the angel of justice for the denoument. Uniting the whole, too, is the beautiful artistry of the staging, from the procession of gorgeously attired priests to the silhouettes of the soldiers on the battlements in the closing bars.
But the music is by no means secondary in this production; the cast, far from being overshadowed by the grandeur of the set, feed on it and complement it. Most importantly, the three main protagonists each turn in truly memorable performances. Miranda van Kralingen is captivates in the title role, with singing that is by turns passionately alluring and powerfully defiant. Stephen O'Mara, though he rarely takes the trouble to act in his role as her lover, has a voice of such majestic power and expressiveness that this matters little. Peter Sidhom played the part of the odious villain with obvous relish, and also sang with exhilarating power and gravitas.
The WNO's Magic Flute, on the other hand, is a rarity for the company, for it contrives to combine rather unimaginative staging with a less than ideal cast; while the result is not uniformly bad, it is, at best, uninspiring.
Göran Jävefelt's original conception for this production was in effect an attempt to simplify the story - to strip away the layers of Masonic imagery and mystery, and show The Magic Flute for what, in his opinion, it is at heart: a representation of the passage of youth to adulthood, and an encomium on human love. But while this approach might make the piece more comfortably comprehensible, and though it lends a pleasantly sentimental, idealistic air to the more serious moments of the piece, in many ways it misses the point. The overt misogyny and Masonic mystery of Magic Flute are what give the opera its spice; an over-sanitized version like this - a version which pretends not to notice that the forces of darkness are all women, while the temple of light is staffed entirely by men - is always going to be bland and unsatisfying.
There are some fine performances to savour. Christopher Purves combines powerful singing, impressive stage presence and an infectious sense of fun into a show-stealing performance as Papageno. Peter Wedd sings beautifully, and negotiates the challenging role of Tamino with apparent ease. Overall, however, the cast is let down by some uncharacteristically weak performances. And Claron McFadden, though her negotiation of most of the Queen of the Night's music showed her to be a highly accomplished singer, does not have a top F; to cast someone in a role who clearly does not have the equipment to sing it amounts to an insult to audiences.
The WNO's visit to Oxford also includes a new production of Janacek's tale of adultery and guilt, Katya Kabanova.

Matthew Rogers, 27 / 6 / 01