Alina Wunderlin / Recenzie

Salzburg / Salzburg State Theater (March 2021) Opportunities and risks of a streamed "Magic Flute" Streamed opera premieres are meritorious and encouraging projects for both the ensemble and the audience - as was the "Magic Flute" premiere at the Salzburg State Theater. Under the direction of Christiane Lutz and under the musical direction of Leslie Suganandarajah, an ensemble acts that above all can be heard. First and foremost Alina Wunderlin, who, with her wonderful voice and virtuoso coloratura, portrays the queen of the night between desperate motherly fear and the goddess of revenge overcome by anger. As a noble couple, Laura Incko as Pamina and David Fischer as Tamino bring a good mixture of Belcantic glamor and slender voice leading. Laura Barthel mimes and sings Papagena with goblin-like charm and George Humphreys savors the comedic potential of Papageno's role with pleasure, both vocally and in terms of acting. The three beautifully voiced singing ladies Julia Moorman, Olivia Cosio and Verena Gunz join together to form a finely tuned trio. Kammersänger Franz Supper gives the Monostatos dangerous but also compassionate tones. His employer Sarastro receives sonorous priestly consecration from Andreas Hörl. And the roles of the three boys are taken over by members of the Salzburg Festival and Theater Children's Choir. but also compassionate tones. His employer Sarastro receives sonorous priestly consecration from Andreas Hörl. And the roles of the three boys are taken over by members of the Salzburg Festival and Theater Children's Choir. but also compassionate tones. His employer Sarastro receives sonorous priestly consecration from Andreas Hörl. And the roles of the three boys are taken over by members of the Salzburg Festival and Theater Children's Choir. The direction gives the interesting impression that the dispute between the Queen of the Night and Sarastro is a courtly power struggle in the palace or temple of the Sarastro faction. In Christian Andrè Tabakoff's sparse yet variable stage design, there are extensions to the spatial design. But in the end the game focuses on a kind of planetary globe, standing on a stele in the center of the temple room. Christiane Lutz develops her vision of the work around this center with a multitude of creative ideas. But in the end, the whole thing doesn't want to come together as a unit in the cinematic implementation. On the one hand, the different theatrical possibilities of the ensemble limit the implementation of the director's concept. And the many medium shots and close-ups from the cameras obstruct the visual flow of what is happening as a whole. In addition, close-ups require the performers to act differently than long-distance shots. Not everyone who performs convincingly live on stage is trained to act directly in front of the camera. And the close-up reveals that relentlessly. As long as there are streams, the video director should adapt and keep more distance. Or camera-acting will be part of opera training in the future. As long as there are streams, the video director should adapt and keep more distance. Or camera-acting will be part of opera training in the future. As long as there are streams, the video director should adapt and keep more distance. Or camera-acting will be part of opera training in the future. Some coordination problems between orchestra and stage may be due to the tension of the premiere. Otherwise, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra played with the usual knowledge and touch of historically oriented playing practice. Overall respect for this production, which certainly had to deal with many pandemic problems in the run-up to and during the implementation.