This afternoon's performance of Die Zauberflote at the Met was remarkable. It was an elaborate and whimsical production by the renowned Julie Taymor of the famed Lion King staging on Broadway. In an untraditional way, she made Mozart's opera come to life using spectacular puppetry and visual effects.The kite-like fabric puppets were manipulated with poles by people dressed in black reminiscent of Bunraku puppetry I first saw in Anthony Mingela's production of Madama Butterfly.
A gigantic bird carried figures representing the three boys, called the "Spirits", high above the stage. Perhaps the most enjoyable were the huge silk fabric figures of the dancing bears. Taymor's designs were attractive, best of which was Papageno's green tight-fitting costume which reminds me of a parrot. They were so effective that they are almost a distraction from the music Mozart has written for this opera.
This mystical fairy tale with an ensemble cast featuring Nathan Gunn as the bird-catcher Papageno was presented in its full-length German version. All that sophisticated stage machinery, geometric designs in triangles and circles and the colorful silk fabrics dominate the stage. It was simply magical - The Magic Flute.
