Just Stand there and Sing!
Took the kids to see The Magic Flute at LA Opera on Friday night. Their first opera experience, and not a bad place to start for kids who are into fantasy stories. Mozart is, in my opinion, easier to listen to than other possibilities, and the fact that the action opens with the hero being chased by a big ol' snake/monster/dragon kind of thing certainly got their attention. Probably the best thing about this version, for my kids at least, was the fact that it was animated.
Yes, I said animated.
Just behind the proscenium was a blank white wall that closed the stage and allowed the projection of images that the live singers interacted with to tell the story. Sets were constructed and changed via animation, as were most props (including the magic flute and Papageno's bells). There were doors that opened up on the animation screen that allowed singers to appear and disappear as needed, at various levels on the "stage" or projection screen. This was both magical and not so magical, and I'm still trying to figure out if this presentation style is something I have to see again, or if it's just an interesting gimmick everyone should see at least once (a seat filler once).
Don't get me wrong, this production was as beautiful as it was unique, and I particularly enjoyed the artistry of the music. Erika Miklosa delivered an exceptional Queen of the Night, that stunned with her ease and clarity even through the fire of rapid coloratura. Reading her bio, it is clear why she has sung this role all over the world "more than 400 times", she was pitch-perfect and in complete ease even at the furthest reaches of standard repertoire range. It was glorious to behold. The rest of the cast was clearly not as experienced at their roles as Ms. Miklosa. Janai Brugger as Pamina is building a significant performance resume, and her performance was nearly as polished--a gorgeous legato line that will amaze when she is done completing it, she's just about 90% of the way there. Evan Boyer as Sarastro seems to still be growing into the limits of his range, and the lower notes (and Sarastro sings as low as the Queen of the Night sings high) were a bit unsteady and muddy. When I looked at his picture and bio I was a little surprised he wasn't more unsteady, as he looks to be quite young for this kind of bass role. Kudos to him as well. There were definitely some incredible musical moments, and some of them may be due to the idiosyncrasies of the animation. You see, in order to hit their marks with the animation, they pretty much just stood there and sang their hearts out.
This reminds me of an anecdote from my own experience with The Magic Flute, back in college (shout out to Tim McDonald if you're out there!). My friends had been rehearsing for weeks, and as Papagena, I didn't get to do much during rehearsals, and a lot of our staging/choreography had been left to the last minute because Tim (Papageno) and I were quick studies, and it only effected the two of us. It was during a marathon weekend of tech rehearsals that we finally put it together in the lobby of the rehearsal building. So we took it to the stage for the first time near the end of this monster run through--first time on stage, first time on stage with the full orchestra (our conductor dropped his three beat regularly, but it took me hours of watching his baton backstage to figure out why I couldn't read him with my peripheral vision). Good times. The conductor didn't care for the choreography. He stopped everything and had a classic 4-day before opening rant, aimed at Tim and I, in front of the full orchestra, the tech crew, and the whole rest of the cast waiting to take the stage for the finale. After some choice words about the blocking (which was more movement across the stage than choreography), he said, "this is an opera, not a dance hall musical! Just stand there and sing!!!"
We did. I'm still not sure how we did, and I'm not convinced we didn't sound more like Alfalfa from the Little Rascals than our normal selves. Still, our conductor's point was taken--music first in an opera, staging and other nonsense last.
This production definitely put music first, so although the animation could be used as a gimmick to sell tickets to a production that did not shine musically, it most definitely was not used this way. The animation/set design had singers hovering at the top end of the "screen" center stage, the door would flip around and the singer would be standing there--far above the stage. My guess is they were belted in somehow, but they most definitely could not move much, and rarely did so. Any of you who thought being an opera singer is for the faint of heart, let me assure you it isn't. First of all, you have to musically be extreme, pushing yourself physically to the limit--opera roles always demand athleticism and artistry--and then do so in the weirdest positions or places, based on the stage direction or sets. The animation provided both sets and stage direction here, while the singers (out of necessity), just stood there and sang. That doesn't mean it was easy.
Looking at the animation itself, there were some really creative and thrilling moments--the opening chase scene as Tamino runs from a monster has never been so much fun, as the normal bounds of what we can portray on live stage is instantaneously revised for the audience as the new medium is revealed. The torture of Pamina was also given new life with animated dogs and chains, that could evaporate as soon as they were no longer needed. The magic flute and the bells became animated objects that fairly took over the stage when it was there time to play. There were times when the animation certainly added to the production, but alas there were also times when it did not.
I've already raved about the Queen of the Night, and her portrayal as a giant spider was creepy genius--I just wished she could also have moved. It's not that I have a small attention span, her performance was far from boring, even just standing there, even if her animated legs had disintegrated, there was a ton going on. Yet, like I mentioned before, opera is about pushing the limits. Ms. Miklosa gave a stunning performance standing still, and I was wowed. I left wondering if she could do the same hanging upside down on a wire or storming across the stage in fury. In short, I felt a little like I had watched an animated concert version of The Magic Flute, wondering what else the singers had inside that hadn't been let out of the bottle, so to speak, so they could just stand there and sing and make all their animation marks.
Another thing about The Magic Flute that didn't quite work for this particular version: a deeply flawed second act. This opera is a big ol' allegory of mythic proportions, and as such it can get a little surreal and weird in the first half. In the second act, it heads into this whole exploration of trials as the main players prove their heroic worthiness. It's choppy as hell, as the audience is ping-ponged back and forth from one character's problems to the next, with no real attempt to transition them. In short, the story doesn't really propel itself forward, and that's why I describe it as deeply flawed. I felt like the animation could have helped string some sort of story together with animation or at least animated sets to help establish which struggle is about to be developed. Since the basic theme was one of silent film, all dialogue was projected with animation. This silence, and lack of physical character movement during dialogue, only contributed to the feeling of choppiness between musical numbers for me. Perhaps I was just getting tired. Still, I think the animation very much compartmentalized the libretto further, by taking on each musical number individually, instead of making an attempt to weave together the larger act or opera as a whole.
It was definitely interesting, and this was definitely an opera to animate, but I think it detracted as much as it added in this go around. Might be fun to see this as a pure anime version instead of silent film, to take the allegory to full over the top musically AND visually--let there be ninjas, spirits, magical weapons. Whip up a little Miyazaki/Mozart allegory goodness.
Yes, I said animated.
Just behind the proscenium was a blank white wall that closed the stage and allowed the projection of images that the live singers interacted with to tell the story. Sets were constructed and changed via animation, as were most props (including the magic flute and Papageno's bells). There were doors that opened up on the animation screen that allowed singers to appear and disappear as needed, at various levels on the "stage" or projection screen. This was both magical and not so magical, and I'm still trying to figure out if this presentation style is something I have to see again, or if it's just an interesting gimmick everyone should see at least once (a seat filler once).
Don't get me wrong, this production was as beautiful as it was unique, and I particularly enjoyed the artistry of the music. Erika Miklosa delivered an exceptional Queen of the Night, that stunned with her ease and clarity even through the fire of rapid coloratura. Reading her bio, it is clear why she has sung this role all over the world "more than 400 times", she was pitch-perfect and in complete ease even at the furthest reaches of standard repertoire range. It was glorious to behold. The rest of the cast was clearly not as experienced at their roles as Ms. Miklosa. Janai Brugger as Pamina is building a significant performance resume, and her performance was nearly as polished--a gorgeous legato line that will amaze when she is done completing it, she's just about 90% of the way there. Evan Boyer as Sarastro seems to still be growing into the limits of his range, and the lower notes (and Sarastro sings as low as the Queen of the Night sings high) were a bit unsteady and muddy. When I looked at his picture and bio I was a little surprised he wasn't more unsteady, as he looks to be quite young for this kind of bass role. Kudos to him as well. There were definitely some incredible musical moments, and some of them may be due to the idiosyncrasies of the animation. You see, in order to hit their marks with the animation, they pretty much just stood there and sang their hearts out.
This reminds me of an anecdote from my own experience with The Magic Flute, back in college (shout out to Tim McDonald if you're out there!). My friends had been rehearsing for weeks, and as Papagena, I didn't get to do much during rehearsals, and a lot of our staging/choreography had been left to the last minute because Tim (Papageno) and I were quick studies, and it only effected the two of us. It was during a marathon weekend of tech rehearsals that we finally put it together in the lobby of the rehearsal building. So we took it to the stage for the first time near the end of this monster run through--first time on stage, first time on stage with the full orchestra (our conductor dropped his three beat regularly, but it took me hours of watching his baton backstage to figure out why I couldn't read him with my peripheral vision). Good times. The conductor didn't care for the choreography. He stopped everything and had a classic 4-day before opening rant, aimed at Tim and I, in front of the full orchestra, the tech crew, and the whole rest of the cast waiting to take the stage for the finale. After some choice words about the blocking (which was more movement across the stage than choreography), he said, "this is an opera, not a dance hall musical! Just stand there and sing!!!"
We did. I'm still not sure how we did, and I'm not convinced we didn't sound more like Alfalfa from the Little Rascals than our normal selves. Still, our conductor's point was taken--music first in an opera, staging and other nonsense last.
This production definitely put music first, so although the animation could be used as a gimmick to sell tickets to a production that did not shine musically, it most definitely was not used this way. The animation/set design had singers hovering at the top end of the "screen" center stage, the door would flip around and the singer would be standing there--far above the stage. My guess is they were belted in somehow, but they most definitely could not move much, and rarely did so. Any of you who thought being an opera singer is for the faint of heart, let me assure you it isn't. First of all, you have to musically be extreme, pushing yourself physically to the limit--opera roles always demand athleticism and artistry--and then do so in the weirdest positions or places, based on the stage direction or sets. The animation provided both sets and stage direction here, while the singers (out of necessity), just stood there and sang. That doesn't mean it was easy.
Looking at the animation itself, there were some really creative and thrilling moments--the opening chase scene as Tamino runs from a monster has never been so much fun, as the normal bounds of what we can portray on live stage is instantaneously revised for the audience as the new medium is revealed. The torture of Pamina was also given new life with animated dogs and chains, that could evaporate as soon as they were no longer needed. The magic flute and the bells became animated objects that fairly took over the stage when it was there time to play. There were times when the animation certainly added to the production, but alas there were also times when it did not.
I've already raved about the Queen of the Night, and her portrayal as a giant spider was creepy genius--I just wished she could also have moved. It's not that I have a small attention span, her performance was far from boring, even just standing there, even if her animated legs had disintegrated, there was a ton going on. Yet, like I mentioned before, opera is about pushing the limits. Ms. Miklosa gave a stunning performance standing still, and I was wowed. I left wondering if she could do the same hanging upside down on a wire or storming across the stage in fury. In short, I felt a little like I had watched an animated concert version of The Magic Flute, wondering what else the singers had inside that hadn't been let out of the bottle, so to speak, so they could just stand there and sing and make all their animation marks.
Another thing about The Magic Flute that didn't quite work for this particular version: a deeply flawed second act. This opera is a big ol' allegory of mythic proportions, and as such it can get a little surreal and weird in the first half. In the second act, it heads into this whole exploration of trials as the main players prove their heroic worthiness. It's choppy as hell, as the audience is ping-ponged back and forth from one character's problems to the next, with no real attempt to transition them. In short, the story doesn't really propel itself forward, and that's why I describe it as deeply flawed. I felt like the animation could have helped string some sort of story together with animation or at least animated sets to help establish which struggle is about to be developed. Since the basic theme was one of silent film, all dialogue was projected with animation. This silence, and lack of physical character movement during dialogue, only contributed to the feeling of choppiness between musical numbers for me. Perhaps I was just getting tired. Still, I think the animation very much compartmentalized the libretto further, by taking on each musical number individually, instead of making an attempt to weave together the larger act or opera as a whole.
It was definitely interesting, and this was definitely an opera to animate, but I think it detracted as much as it added in this go around. Might be fun to see this as a pure anime version instead of silent film, to take the allegory to full over the top musically AND visually--let there be ninjas, spirits, magical weapons. Whip up a little Miyazaki/Mozart allegory goodness.