Florida Grand Opera’s Offbeat Magic Flute As Funny As It’s Beautifully Sung
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In a classic opera depicting the battle between intellectual enlightenment and romanticism with allusions to ancient Masonic rituals, you don’t expect a character to exclaim, “Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?”
But this is director Jeffrey Marc Buchman’s whimsical take on Mozart’s The Magic Flute, one of the most popular operas of all time, in part, because its inherent irreverence begs to be enhanced with goofball humor and imaginative re-interpretations – both of which mark the Florida Grand Opera’s edition.
If Buchman doesn’t quite coalesce the warring tones of low comedy, heartfelt boy-meets-girl romance and highbrow pursuit of virtues extolled in ponderous verbiage, FGO’s Flute remains an entertaining evening.
Musically, conductor Andrew Bisantz assuredly leads the orchestra and cast through a faithful and satisfying rendition of Mozart’s score with some strong if not stunning performances.
