‘Magic Flute’ Casts a Spell

The colors may have faded but the spunk remains in Maurice Sendak’s delightful, 20-year-old production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” which opened Opera Pacific’s 15th season, Tuesday night in Costa Mesa.

The visual elements retain their many charms, including a cuddly green serpent, a balloon-gondola that moves cast members through the space above the stage, assorted cute animals, and slaves costumed and reconfigured as happy peasants. The audience in Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center laughed out loud at all of this magic for the eyes.

More important, especially for those Mozarteans who may have resisted the composer’s serious fable-with-fraternal-order overtones (the story line has its origin in Masonic ritual) all these years, the musical achievement is stunning.

Making his Opera Pacific debut, conductor Carl St.Clair, music director of the Pacific Symphony, presides over a tight, thrilling orchestral performance from the pit and solid, often beautifully sung vocal contributions from a gifted cast. That cast regularly delivers understandable English--via Andrew Porter’s serviceable translation. This is a “Magic Flute” one can love, as well as follow.

St.Clair’s accomplishment cannot be overstated: From the Overture onward he chooses articulate tempos, keeps pit and stage in admirable sonic balance, and supports the singers wholeheartedly. A veteran “Flute”-watcher, knowing all the things that can go wrong in this opera’s intricacies, can only guess that extra rehearsal time, along with the conductor’s unfaltering leadership, is responsible for the result here.

The cast is uniformly strong, but strongest at the top. It benefits from Dorothy Danner’s apprehendable and uncomplicated stage direction. Pamela Armstrong, despite an unflattering costume, is an ideal Pamina, musically distinguished and resplendent of tone; her “Ach, ich fuhl’s” was the high point of this evening, as, of course, it ought to be.

Jan Grissom’s Queen of the Night dominated her scenes with virtuosic singing and a magisterial stage manner, assisted commandingly by the Three Ladies of Lori Stinson, Stephanie Woodling and Shoghig Koushakjian. Christina Suh made an irresistible Papagena.

Kevin Langan proved an authoritative and practiced Sarastro, and was seconded solidly by James Kleyla’s Speaker and Beau Palmer’s well-sung but unthreatening Monostatos.

Though rough of tone and musically undistinctive, David Miller carried himself well as Tamino. Frank Hernandez, Papageno, sang heartily. The Three Genies contributed strongly to the musical pleasures in this production.

* Opera Pacific’s “Magic Flute” will be repeated tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. $29-$107. (800) 34-OPERA.