MOZART OPERA FUN!

Last night at the Met I saw a delightful production of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail that should not be overshadowed by Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, which seems to be getting all the buzz (or is it hype?) at the moment.

Die Entführung aus dem Serail, one of the most entertaining and well-crafted operas I've attended, tells a goofy story of two European couples who are sort of held captive by a Turkish pasha but somehow able to exercise considerable freedom. There's a lot of good old-fashioned comedy in the rightly crafted book, some "modern" themes touching on such topics as clemency, cultural tolerance, and women's rights, and generous servings of wit and sometimes stunning beauty in the music.

Last night's performance was not perfect, but it was filled with such high spirits and winning theatrics that it was a cartoony joy to behold. This was especially true in the middle act, in which the women characters take the spotlight. Aleksandra Kurzak was an utterly winning sexpot of a Blondchen. Diana Damrau (who had stolen the show in the Met's production of Die Ägyptische Helena) wasn't always on top of her challenging arias, but she stilld dazzle with nimbly negotiated intervals and a knack for delivering lovely mezzo-piano sonorities. Steve Davislim sang and acted very effectively as Blondchen's trickster lover Pedrillo, Matthew Polenzani gave a sweet voice and placid presence to the hero Belmonte, Matthias von Stegmann brought a similar placidity to the speaking role of the Pasha, and Iceland's Kristinn Sigmundsson was an oafish crowd-pleaser as the Bluto-like overseer Osmin. The Met orchestra, conducted by David Robertson, did lively justice to Mozart's sparkling score, which in one passage seems to anticipate Eine kleine Nachtmusik. But maybe, just maybe, there was too much triangle!

Here's the finale as directed by Milos Forman.



Source (1:22)