LA Opera’s 40th Anniversary Season concludes with Mozart’s The Magic Flute, a revival of one of LA Opera’s most sensational productions. The fantastical production is conducted by James Conlon in his 20th and final season as the company’s Music Director before becoming Conductor Laureate. Adored by LA Opera audiences throughout his extraordinary tenure, it is fitting Mozart’s final opera was selected as the last one for Conlon to conduct, which he does with great flare from start to finish.
Since 2012, the updated reimagining of Mozart’s masterpiece has taken the world by storm, seen by nearly a million audience members on five continents. In 2013, LA Opera presented the first performances outside Berlin, with subsequent revivals in 2016 and 2019. This inventive and charming interpretation brilliantly captures Mozart’s dazzling celebration of true love conquering all, transporting audiences into an enchanted fantasy world.
The production was conceived by Paul Barritt and Suzanne Andrade, the co-directors of the British theater company 1927, in collaboration with Barrie Kosky, the former artistic director of the Komische Oper Berlin where the updated The Magic Flute premiered. The LA Opera staging is co-directed by Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky, with full-scale animation designed by Paul Barritt. This season’s production in Los Angeles is staged by revival director Erik Friedman. The scenery and costumes are designed by Esther Bialas and Jeremy Frank is the chorus director.
The singers perform in front of a huge an all-white wall in which there are several doors. Cast members appear at these doors when called upon to sing, but on occasion only their heads can be seen as the moving animation does the rest. Such is the case with the Queen of the Night with only the singer’s head showing while her entire physical body is that of an angry black widow spider! There’s no doubt from the start that she is not a good person to be around! And that’s just one of the amazing feats of singers performing live action in real time with animations projected all around them, creating the impression that gigantic comic strip collages are coming to life before your eyes.
Like so many other fairy tales, Mozart’s The Magic Flute is a story about the struggle for good against evil and light versus darkness, while believing in the virtues of justice, brotherhood, and love through acts of kindness and not hate. It begins as brave Prince Tamiko (tenor Miles Mykkanen) gets lost in a foreign land and is chased by a giant serpent, He is saved by three mysterious ladies who serve the Queen of the Night (soprano Aigul Khismatullina). And when the trio show Tamiko a portrait of the Queen’s daughter, Pamina (Sydney Mancasola), he instantly falls in love with her,
The Queen appears and tells him Pamina has been kidnapped by an evil sorcerer named Sarastro, and the desperate-to-save-her Tamino sets off on a rescue mission, accompanied by Papageno (baritone Kyle Miller), a cheerful, feather-clad bird-catcher. To aid their quest, they are gifted magical items: a magic flute for Tamino and magic bells for Papageno. Twists and turns reveal exactly who is good or evil, who Pamina was abducted, and all the trials and tribulations they go through to be joyfully reunited with their true loves.
My best advice is to focus on the absolutely awe-inspiring technical wizardry, magnificent performances and Mozart’s extraordinary music throughout the entire production and don’t let the confusing story weigh you down. After all, it’s an extradentary three hours of jaw-dropping, incredibly detailed artistry!
LA Opera is presenting six performances of The Magic Flute at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, located at 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012 from May 30-June 21 with evening performances at 7:30pm and matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets begin at $49, available online at laopera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles 90012). More production information at LAOpera.org/Flute.
And speaking of fairy tales with epic adventures, inspired by the beloved 1997 film Anastasia, a gorgeous new production of the musical Anastasia, with book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, is being presented by McCoy Rigby Entertainment through Sunday, June 28 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts during which audiences are transported from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by Gleb, a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of Dmitry, a dashing conman, and lovable ex-aristocrat Vlad to embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love and family.
With its opulent original set design by Andrew Hammer, dazzling original costume design by Ricky Laurie, lighting design by Jennifer Edwards, sound design by Josh Bessom, amazing projection design by Aaron Rhyne, and a soaring score with song favorites from the hit animated film, Anastasia is perfect for the whole family – a spectacular musical about discovering who you are and defining who you’re meant to be. The magical production is brilliantly directed and choreographed by Parker Esse with Musical Director/Conductor Ryan O’Connell leading an orchestra of eleven talented musicians.
Featured in the cast are glorious soprano Lena Ceja as Anya/Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov who thoroughly commands the stage, West Covina native Dillon Klena as Dmitry (whose older brother originated the same role on Broadway), astounding bass Peyton Crim as Vlad who knows exactly how to accentuate the humor during “The Countess and the Common Man” with Sarah Wolter as hot-blooded Countess Lily who shines performing “The Land of Yesterday” at the Neva Club for other Russian ex-pats living in Paris, Richard Bermudez as Soviet Officer Gleb Vaganov, Suzanna Guzmán as stately Dowager Empress Maia Romanov, with Annabelle Bergold and Elayne Cowden as Young Anastasia/Alexei, and a talented ensemble of fifteen triple-threat performers.
A real treat for ballet lovers takes place in Paris during Act Two’s “Quartet at the Ballet” which includes a short performance of Swan Lake, featuring extraordinary ensemble dancers Rasha Willes Samaha as Odette, master leaper Anton Harrison LaMon as Prince Siegfried, and Kyle Vaughn as Von Rothbart. Each movement is done with precision and grace and will leave you wanting more when it ends.
Performances continue through Sunday, June 28 on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (dark Sunday, June 7 at 6:30 p.m.) at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada. Tickets range from $24-$120, available at www.LaMiradaTheatre.com or by calling (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310. Recommended for ages 7 and up. Children under 3 will not be admitted into the theatre.