First Full-Length Merola Opera Since 2019

The Merolini that will be performing in The Magic Flute (photograph by Kristen Loken, courtesy of the Merola Opera Program)

At the beginning of next month, the 2022 season of the Merola Opera Program will present the first full-length fully staged opera production since August of 2019. That past occasion marked the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You, composed on a Merola Opera Program commission. This season programming will go “back to the classics’ with two performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 620 opera The Magic Flute.

This opera was the result of a partnership with Emanuel Schikaneder, whose theatrical troupe had a residency at the Theater auf der Wieden, which was located in the suburbs of Vienna. It would probably be unduly dismissive to call the result of this partnership “suburban entertainment;” but, while there is a relatively convoluted plot involving a tension between embodiments of night and day, the latter involving mystic rituals that may be traced back to Freemasonry, there is no shortage of low comedy. Much of that comedy involves the bird-catcher Papageno, whose role was performed by Schikaneder himself.

In this new production, which will be staged by Gina Lapinski, Papageno will be sung by baritone Scott Lee. The opposing forces will be sung by soprano Maggie Kinabrew as the Queen of the Night and bass Edwin Jhamaal Davis as Sarastro, whose temple involves worship of the sun. Soprano Chelsea Lehnea will sing the role of Pamina, who currently resides in Sarastro’s temple. Tenor Sahel Salam will take the role of Tamino, a prince who is charged by the Queen to rescue her daughter. In Joseph Campbell’s terminology he is the hero of this narrative, whose task is a heroic mission. In Campbell’s theory every hero must have a sidekick, and that sidekick is Papageno.

This makes for a generous share of both dramatic and visual diversity. In realizing that diversity, Lapinski will work with costumes created by Dame Zandra Rhodes and projections designed by Ian Winters. The sets will be created by Stephen D. Mazzeno.

This season the two performances of K. 620 will take place in the Blue Shield of California Theater, which is located on the grounds of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts at 700 Howard Street, on the southwest corner of Third Street. The first will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 4, followed by a matinee on Saturday, August 6, beginning at 3 p.m. Ticket prices will be $80 and $55 with an addition one dollar per ticket charged as a facility fee. Tickets are being managed by the San Francisco Opera (SFO) Box Office and may be purchased online through a Web page on the SFO Web site. The Box Office itself is in the outer lobby of the War Memorial Opera House, which is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue on the northwest corner of Grove Street. The telephone number of the Box Office is 415-864-3330.