Germany Mozart, The Magic Flute: Soloists, Chorus of Bremen Theatre, Bremen Philharmonic / Lukas Ziesché (conductor). Bremen Theatre, 2.7.2026. (DM-D)
Much of the dialogue was cut in this fresh and exuberant production and what was left of the spoken text and libretto was amended to avoid any allusions to racism or misogyny. For example, Pamina, addressing Sarastro, sang ‘Monostatos verlangte Liebe’ instead of ‘Der böse Mohr verlangte Liebe’. Whereas such edits for political correctness made sense, others, especially for Papageno, deprived the production of much of its humour. The change of sequences of the approved spoken passages and the music, compared with the original, came across as arbitrary; for example, Papageno first appearing to Tamino with his mouth already padlocked, or Papageno introducing himself to Pamina rather than Tamino with his aria ‘Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja’. The changes allowed for an increase of pace, and some of that enhanced pace was used to make up for the lack of textual wit, adding funny moments when Tamino awakened from his swoon, saw the Three Ladies, was about to address them and fainted again – several times throughout the ladies’ tercet. At some point Pamina had lost her way and looked around for Tamino or Papageno. In despair, she called out for Tamino and Papageno, but then she saw her mother, followed by a very funny exclamation of ‘Mama’, expressing the extent of her surprise.
The set consisted of a vast cyclorama, serving as a screen for a range of impressive projections. A spaceship-pod came down from the ceiling, serving, among other things, as the command centre for Monostatos. The Three Ladies came down on wires from the fly tower for their scene with Papageno and Tamino, hovering above them menacingly. The costumes by Sara Schwartz complemented the eclectic nature of the space pod projections: Sarastro and the men of his order wore silvery futuristic outfits, Papageno and Papagena quite unsightly padded garments of vague shape and colours – not much nature there!
The cast showed Bremen Theatre at its best. Jasin Rammal-Rykala, who had impressed in a range of smaller roles over the season, sang Sarastro, the Speaker, one of the priests and one of the men in armour. His voice was strong and sonorous in the middle and higher registers, with long legato lines. For the exposed lower range of Sarastro’s arias, he delivered with notable care, with much attention to detail and nuance, to compensate for less in terms of available volume. That increase in care did not imply any sense of strain.
Diana Schnürpel knew how to bring out the best of her voice for the Queen of the Night. Her coloratura was finely chiselled, the individual notes, especially at the very top, pointed, sharp and short like needles. Oliver Sewell combined sweet lyrical singing and more dramatic sounds for his interpretation of Tamino. Elisa Birkenheier sang Pamina with a suitable combination of beautifully blooming vocal lines and quirky moments foregrounding her character’s independence. For some performances of the opera during the forthcoming 2026/27 season, she is scheduled to sing the role of the Queen of the Night.
Christoph Heinrich made the most of the little spoken text left for him as Papageno in this production; his singing voice was clear and strong. Fabian Düberg provided sturdy support as one of the priests and men in armour and made Monostatos as rounded a character as possible with his bright and clear voice. Sarah-Jane Brandon, Nadine Lehner and Nathalie Mittelbach were luxury casting for the Three Ladies, as was Ulrike Mayer as Papagena. Lukas Ziesché conducted with verve, accentuated well and cogently between varying tempi and proved very attentive to the singers.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Featured Image: Theatre Bremen’s The Magic Flute © Jörg Landsberg
Production:
Director – Marco Štorman
Set design – Jil Bertermann
Costume design – Sara Schwartz
Lighting design – Christian Kemmetmüller
Choreography – Alexandra Morales
Chorus master – Karl Bernewitz
Dramaturgy – Frederike Krüger
Cast:
Sarastro / Speaker / First Priest / Second man in armour – Jasin Rammal-Rykala
Queen of the Night – Diana Schnürpel
Pamina – Elisa Birkenheier
Tamino – Oliver Sewell
Papageno – Christoph Heinrich
Papagena – Ulrike Mayer
Monostatos / Second Priest / First man in armour – Fabian Düberg
First Lady – Sarah-Jane Brandon
Second Lady – Nadine Lehner
Third Lady – Nathalie Mittelbach