Spain Mozart, Die Zauberflöte: Soloists, Symphony Orchestra of Navarre, Coro Intermezzo, Robert Reimer (conductor), El Baluarte, Pamplona 4.5.2012 (JMI)
Production:
Direction: Joan Font (Les Comediants)
Sets and Costumes: Joan Guillén
Lighting: Albert Faura
Cast:
Pamina: Susanna Phillips
Tamino: Antonio Lozano
Papageno: Joan Martín-Royo
Queen of the Night: Erika Miklosa
Sarastro: Georg Zeppenfeld
Papagena: Ruth Rosique
Speaker: Tobias Schabel
Three Ladies: Maria Hinojosa, Anna Tobella and Inés Moraleda
Monostatos: Vincenç Esteve
After a few performances at Barcelona’s Liceu last week Joan Font’s production of the Magic Flute has moved on to Pamplona where it awaited a different conductor, orchestra, and chorus.
I found Robert Reimer more compelling, more interesting than Pablo Gonzalez in Barcelona. His tempi were alive (he shaved some 14 minutes of the score compared to Gonzales) and had a better rhythm than to it. The occasional lack of coordination between stage and pit was understandable, given that the singers had to adapt to a different conductor within a week. The orchestra matched the decent standard set by Barcelona’s.
Susanna Phillips repeated her excellent Pamina with her rendering of the aria “ach, ich fühl’s” as the evening’s true highlight, just as Joan Martin-Royo made the most of Papageno again. Antonio Lozano was the new Tamino and he offered an attractive voice, although with a proclivity toward open sounds. Erika Miklósa improved on her performance of the Queen of the Night and Georg Zeppenfeld was the remarkable Sarastro he always is.
José MªIrurzun