What with certain goings-on in certain places -- I don't know, like maybe, um, New York? -- it's an unusually good week to be reminded about the virtues of steadfastness, tolerance and discretion, not to mention nobility, sincerity and purity. They all fuel Mozart's eternally endearing opera, The Magic Flute, currently playing to packed houses at the Peabody Conservatory.
Thursday's cast, which performs tonight at a sold-out show, enjoyed a sprightly romp through the tuneful mix of fantasy and fable.
Between conductor Hajime Teri Murai's welcome momentum and an uncluttered stage that summoned sufficient atmosphere from stylistically diverse rear projections (designed by Maryland Institute of Art students), there wasn't much that could slow down this vividly costumed Peabody Opera Theatre production.
Director Roger Brunyate likewise did his part to keep things moving, except for an occasional, curiously listless patch -- the scene with the evil Monostatos and his henchmen threatening lovely princess Pamina and fun-seeking bird-catcher Papageno fell flat before and after the bit with the magic bells.
Dominating the performance, personality-wise, was Andrew Sauvageau, as Papageno. His light baritone didn't fill out the music fully, but the color in his singing and spoken lines alike shone through delightfully (he sounded the most thoroughly at home with the opera's German language). His acting, too, had lots of spark and nuance.
As the good prince Tamino, tenor William Davenport compensated for tightness in the upper reaches with phrasing that was consistently elegant. He was not an entirely persuasive actor but got the job done.
Although Solen Mainguene, as Pamina, lacked firm vocal focus at the start, the soprano soon revealed a bright, strong, expressive sound and gave the character an effective warmth.
Many a coloratura has come to grief facing the pyrotechnic challenges given to the duplicitous Queen of the Night. Jessica Lennick revealed admirable composure in the assignment, landing firmly on most of the stratospheric notes and putting sufficient bite into the delivery.
Jeffrey Tarr, the only guest artist in this otherwise student cast, sang the role of the all-wise Sarastro with eloquence of line, if not the last word in tonal richness. Adam Caughey's Monostatos was suitably manic, and the singing had a good deal of flair. (The original racist elements involving Monostatos were sensibly marginalized in this production.)
Hirotaka Kato produced a promising sound as the Speaker. Jessica Abel's Papagena proved engaging. There were generally stylish vocal contributions from the remainder of the cast. The orchestra had its sloppy moments, but, at its best, came through vibrantly.
The comic side of the opera got an extra kick here and there. I especially liked the appearance of an egg basket for Papageno and Papagena as they sang of all the children they could have.
And one of Sarastro's priests turned out to be great fun, just speaking lines of dialogue -- Paul Brown admonished Papageno using a high-pitched, wonderfully sing-song-y voice that sounded like it came right out of a Monty Python skit.
tim.smith@baltsun.com