Southampton Mayflower – 16 May 2023
Reviewed by Lucy Hitchcock
3***
Arguably the most famous opera of our time has been re adapted by Welsh National Opera to bring you a modernised version of Mozart’s brilliance.
Conducted by Teresa Riveiro Böhm, this incredible orchestra navigates us through the storyline and does not miss a beat in the slightest. We meet Tamino and Pamina, two young friends who have been separated from their childhood and we join Tamino’s quest to find and bring Pamina home to her mother, the Queen of The Night. Albeit a very easy storyline to understand, I did find myself longing for the magic and energy that Mozart originally created for the piece. The modern reworking is great, if you want to bring children along to their first opera, but I found the execution of some of the modernisations to be lacklustre and fell a little bit flat.
I also found that the reworking of the libretto to include more ‘funky language’ a little bit off putting – as I can’t imagine Mozart intending the word Awesome to be part of one of his best pieces! I must say however, that Quirjin de Lang’s portrayal of Papageno, a bird catcher who provided much needed comedic relief, to be a massive breath of fresh air and a driving force for this production.
If you want to see a modern, more hip version of a well known opera, this is definitely for you. An easy watch, perfect for children and young adults – sadly, I prefer traditionalism.