DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE?
Anyone going to watch Mozart's last opera? The Magic Flute? Not the whole opera but selected excerpts in a concert form. I wonder if the lead soprano will attempt Die Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen?! interesting....
For more info do go to KL PAC here quickly, its 22-25 March 2007 only!!!
***updated***
Ok bought my tickets for the opening night show. 8.30pm 22 March 2007. I've always wanted to see a malay soprano girl... a good one. I hope this Irma Lailatul makes the grade. I will write a review after the show.
***updated again after the concert***
The cast,from left last row -Peter Ong (as Tamino), Chong Kok Ting (music director), John Tan (as Sarastro), Irma Lailatul (as Pamina)
from left 2nd row -Janet Lee (as Papagena & 2nd Lady), Kho Mei Ling (as 1st Lady), James Long (as Papageno)
*not in pic - Tan Sin Sim (Queen of the Night), Wang Dixia (3rd Lady)
To me the highlight of it all, is Irma Lailatul! She is a superb Pamina! Controlled, tender, delicate, smooth and ahhh... so beautiful! Her highlights :1. Bei Männern (duet with Papageno)
2. Ach, ich fühl's (breaks my heart listening to this one... so sad..)
Another cast worth mentioning is the James Long as Papageno. His voice is well rounded, full bodied when at first i do wonder if he could sing the part! He is a delightful baritone. And his dynamics works very well with Irma's (Pamina).
The rest of the cast are ok. The queen of the night makes a decent attempt but still ok. The threee ladies is quite good, their harmonics sounds good! I do not understand why Malaysia do not have a better tenor other than Peter Ong? I felt like we only have 1 tenor in Malaysia and it is Peter Ong. The problem is that he is not even that good to begin with!? Gosh... what to do! U just can't have it all right?
Its quite weird to watch Die Zauberflote in English, but even weirder when there's a narrator cracking jokes and makes funny voices?! Still Irma Lailatul and James Long made my day. I truly felt the RM40 is well spent.
verdict = 7.5/10
It's format is great for opera newbies, but quite weird so a seasoned opera fan. Still Pamina and Papageno's performance makes it all worth while - MUST SEE!
I do hope Irma Lailatul and James Long would do a concert with the 2 of them. So they could do solo pieces and duets. I would pay anything to watch/hear them belt out bel canto arias!!!
Labels: opera
