Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - The Metropolitan Opera Chorus* And Orchestra*, James Levine (2), Kathleen Battle, Luciana Serra, Francisco Araiza, Kurt Moll – Die Zauberflote

A grand opera production of a Singspiel German folk opera which inevitably leads to a shouting match losing all intimacy and nuance. The magical charm of this opera is non-existant and the Hockney sets which always seemed laboured and overseasoned to me now look dated. I have only really enjoyed this opera in the small theatre setting. A performance at the open air Théâtre de l'Archevêché in Aix en Provence under Daniel Harding was memorable while I find the Ludwigsburg Festival production on DVD under Wolfgang Gonnenwein far superior to this (or any other currently available) in terms of design, singing, acting and filming. Araiza is a fine singer but he is struggling here to project and he does not have quite the right voice for this role. Deon Van Der Walt is by contrast magnificent. As one would expect the Queen of the Night Luciana Serra fares better. But the dark costume and overall static nature of the acting with hand gestures gives an awkward impression. The whole production is clumsy and uncomfortable to watch. Perhaps I am being too harsh, but it just doesn't convey the childlike magical charm of one of Mozart's greatest and therefore Western civilisation's greatest artistic works. Without any really standout great singing in the roles it cannot be recommended. For the authentic Magic Flute go Ludwigsburg!