2/26, Wednesday. Seattle Opera presents Magic Flute, a unique production of the Komische Oper Berlin (by "1927"'s Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky).
Co-Produced by Los Angeles Opera (costume) and Minnesota Opera (set).
It is like watching a silent film, accompanied by singing and live orchestra, plus a lot of very funny animation.
I'm not sure that I like all operas to go this direction, but for once, it's refreshing, and well done.
This production has been around for over 10 years. First time I see something like this.
The added printed words help me understand the complicated (but silly) plot. The stage is very dark (I even dozed off for a few minutes). All characters are in black and white, completely 2 dimensional. I like beautiful sets and colorful customes in traditional opera productions. The animation is very clever and funny. The laser light is choregraphed nicely with the music and story.
So impressed, I stayed for the Q&A after the show. Duke Kim (Tamino) and Ariana Wehr (First Lady) joined the Q&A. They commented on how different to sing without moving, so no acting, but on ques to synchronize with the light projection. They are hoisted on the wall, standing on a narrow ledge. So they couldn't see what's on the screen. They also commented on how good the makeup team in Seattle Opera is. 12 people did the job instead of 35 in San Francisco. 2 hours before performance, thick white makeups on everyone. Another noteworthy is the conductor Christine Brandes, a former soprano, who has a deep instinct with the singers.
Seattle Opera has a new artistic director, James Robinson. I'm looking forward to what else he'll bring to the stage.
