If I was the kind of person who had a favorite opera, The Magic Flute would be my favorite opera.
It has the drama factor, since it was Mozart's last finished project before his death (of trichinosis, rheumatic fever or Salieri, take your pick). The plot is a three-ring circus of melodramatic tropes: it starts as a detective story (Prince Tamino is approached by a no-good dame looking for her kidnapped daughter), turns into a fairy tale (Tamino receives a magic flute to aid him in his quest) and wraps up with a splash of spiritualism (Tamino is initiated into the secrets of a Masonic(ish) temple).
The Halifax Summer Opera Workshop's (HSOW) August 13 performance of The Magic Flute was my third viewing of the opera 鈥� I'd seen the UBC Opera Ensemble's 2010 staging, as well as Julie Taymor's version at the Met. No Magic Flute I鈥檇 seen before, though, conjured up The Queen of the Night's minions as career women in power suits, Sarastro鈥檚 temple as a Powerpoint-friendly corporation called "Isis and Osiris," or a Papageno prone to greeting threats with a glower and a rifle (he鈥檚 usually a goofy bird-catcher).
Perhaps directors David Mosey and Garry Williams felt that HSOW had garnered enough of a pedigree to experiment a little. The Halifax Summer Opera Workshop has been staging arias in the August swelter since 2004, starting with Mozart鈥檚 Cosi fan tutte. The company appears to favor Mozart鈥檚 works 鈥� Don Giovanni was produced in 2006, Il nozze di Figaro in 2008, and an earlier staging of The Magic Flute was put together in 2007. And, while not officially affiliated with AV俱乐部, the program鈥檚 Maritime locale means that it frequently draws upon the talents of Dal grads and students.
Managing the stage
One such student is Kayleigh Sheehan, who is going into her fourth year in AV俱乐部鈥檚 technical scenography program (which, for the uninitiated, she explains as 鈥渃ombining essentially everything that鈥檚 backstage鈥�). Her 鈥渦nofficial specialty鈥� is stage management: 鈥渋t just sort of picked me, in a way. I鈥檓 very well suited to it.鈥�
On HSOW鈥檚 Magic Flute, Ms. Sheehan鈥檚 duties included looking for props, coordinating fittings, recording blocking, and calling the show (among sundry other tasks). This is Ms. Sheehan鈥檚 third show with HSOW (after 2010鈥檚 Susannah and 2009鈥檚 Little Women), but she鈥檚 far from bored. 鈥淓very production is different, even within the same company.鈥�
You wouldn鈥檛 guess from the final product, but HSOW participants don鈥檛 exactly have a wealth of time to prepare their performances: two operas have been produced simultaneously in recent seasons (this year鈥檚 Magic Flute went up with Offenbach鈥檚 Les contes d鈥橦offman), and the workshop itself is only a month long. However, Ms. Sheehan said that the unusual staging of the show harmonized serendipitously with their tight schedule.
鈥淥ne of the good things about it is we don鈥檛 have to rely on historically accurate costuming,鈥� she explains. 鈥淎 lot of the workshop participants were actually in their own clothes.鈥� She also speaks approvingly of the double-cast performances: 鈥淚 love seeing the dynamics of two casts working through the same show.鈥�
Though still a student, Ms. Sheehan鈥檚 on-the-job experience, both through AV俱乐部 (she worked on recent shows such as Brecht鈥檚 The Caucasian Chalk Circle) and community endeavors like HSOW and the Atlantic Fringe Festival, is considerable. 鈥淚 work more often than I do school at the moment,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been really lucky, I鈥檝e been given a lot of opportunities.鈥�
Creative choreography
Andrew Pelrine, who graduated from AV俱乐部 in 2010 with combined honors in music and theatre, choreographed this production of The Magic Flute (and played Monostatos in HSOW鈥檚 2007 production).
鈥淚 started dancing when I was five鈥� ballroom, actually,鈥� says Mr. Pelrine of his background; perhaps more pertinently, he previously choreographed AV俱乐部 productions such as Die Fledermaus and Orpheus in the Underworld.
While also singing in this season鈥檚 Les contes d鈥橦offman, Mr. Pelrine worked hard to capture the whimsical, yet modern, flavor of HSOW鈥檚 new Magic Flute in its dances.
鈥淭here definitely are changes and interpretations, because each director has their own vision鈥� they wanted a lot of it to be very playful and very childish,鈥� he explains.
Mr. Pelrine, who says he 鈥渓oves the concept of play鈥� was happy to oblige. And, while a current resident of Toronto, Mr. Pelrine was 鈥渂orn and raised in Halifax鈥� and would love to come back and work on another show with HSOW.
After all, it鈥檚 not often one has the opportunity to spice up classical repertoire with the chicken dance.