SFO: The First Spring Opera

One of the projected images for the new production of The Magic Flute (photograph by Cory Weaver, courtesy of SFO)

As was promised this past Tuesday, this site will attempt to provide “informative introductions” to each of the three operas to be presented by San Francisco Opera (SFO) between May 30 and June 23. The first of these will be a new production (at least for SFO) of a long-time favorite, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 620, The Magic Flute. The staging was conceived by Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky, and it was originally presented by the Komische Opera Berlin. Here in the United States, SFO is sharing the production with the Los Angeles Opera and the Minnesota Opera.

The producers were inspired by silent film, the Berlin cabaret of the 1920, and early Hollywood animation; and the latter will be included through the animation efforts of Paul Barritt. The stage design and costumes were created by Esther Bialas. SFO Music Director Eun Sun Kim will conduct, and she will participate is a post-performance talk following the matinee on Sunday, June 2.

Many readers probably know that the “hero” of this opera is the prince Tamino, whose role will be sung by tenor Amitai Pati, an Adler alumnus and Merola fellow. Those (if any) familiar with narratology know that the hero always has a sidekick. In this narrative he is Papageno, who (again following tradition) is a bit of a rascal and catches birds for the Queen of the Night. Those roles will be sung respectively by bass-baritone Lauri Vasar and coloratura soprano Anna Simińska. Pamina, the “heroine” sought by Tamino will be sung by soprano Christina Gansch. She is the daughter of the Queen of the Night; but Sarastro (bass Kwangchul Youn), who values wisdom above all else, sees the impetuous passions of the Queen as a bad influence. He has thus taken Pamina under his own aegis, charging his servant Monostatos (tenor Zhengyi Bai) to oversee her care. (This turns out to be mistaken judgment!) Taken as a whole, the narrative presents a diversity of characters with a diversity of motives.

As has already been observed, this production will be given nine performances at 7:30 p.m. on May 30 and June 4, 8, 14, 20, 22, and 26, and 2 p.m. on June 2 and 30. The performances will take place in the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue on the northwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and Grove Street (across MTT Way from Davies Symphony Hall). Ticket prices range from $26 to $426, and a single Web page has been created for purchasing tickets for all of the above dates and times. Tickets may also be purchased at the Box Office in the outer lobby of the Opera House or by calling 415-865-2000. The Box Office is open for ticket sales Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Web page also includes a hyperlink to an Opera Previews Web site and a second Web page with information about pre-performance talks.