Festival Opera
The Magic Flute
Festival Theatre
Lillie Teden
Four Stars
From the crisp opening of the overture right through the technically spectacular production, there was no doubt in my mind that this fresh "1920's Hollywood" take on Mozart's The Magic Flute was revolutionary. Filled with whimsical style, ingenious magic and mesmerising control, it certainly shed a new light on the traditional world of opera.
Mixing the live singers with stunning 1920s style animation brought a constant delight to the production and didn't - as one may expect - detract from the unbelievable talent of the vocalists themselves. The elaborate Tim Burton-like thrill of the Queen of the Night's nightmarish appearance was bewitching in its audacity as Tamino (Allan Clayton) reacted fantastically to her toying spider legs disjointedly pushing and trapping him around the resourcefully-used stage.
Laughter from the audience at every single gesture sums up the hilarity emitting from each of the actors precise reactions, perfectly timed with the animations behind them. Not only that, but the angelic voices of the sopranos (Maureen McKay and Olga Pudova) and the reassuringly strong tones of the male figures (Allan Clayton and Dominik Köninger) maintained the exuberance of opera among the imaginative staging.
This ingeniously comical as well as artistic production left a stunned excitement ringing through the audience. It left me, as a first time opera goer, speechless. Full of fresh ideas and beauty in every aspect, it definitely isn't something you can miss.
Lillie Teden is a pupil at Royal High School and this review was submitted as part of the Herald Young Critics project with the Edinburgh International Festival
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