LIVE CONCERT REPORT EXEMPLAR
IB Music Mr. Johnston
12/26/08
On December 21st, 2008, I went to Sagamioono Green Hall to see the Polish National Warsaw Chamber Opera perform Mozart’s The Magic Flute. It was my first time to ever see an opera and I had more fun than I expected.
All of the actors were very accomplished singers but had differing voice qualities and registers, which suited their respective characters. Tamino, the main character, was a tenor who had a soft but pure voice, much like his personality. Papageno had a rich, loud baritone voice and was the most humorous and boisterous character. Monostatos, the ‘bad guy,’ had a husky, sometimes nasal tone. Sarastro, a chief-like figure, had a deep, rich bass voice, reflecting his authority. Pamina was a soprano with a clear, gentle tone, with whom Tamino falls in love. The Queen of the Night had a high soprano voice. It was not deep and menacing as I had expected it to be, but was clear and loud, perhaps in keeping with the comical nature of the opera.
Most of the music in The Magic Flute was homophonic: a character singing a melody on top of orchestral accompaniment. The pieces were mostly in common time, giving the whole opera a sense of regularity and coherence. The tempo depended on the mood of the song. There was plenty of word painting, where the music reflected the meaning of the words. A recurring pattern in the melodies of the songs was singing a number of words on one note, then jumping a fourth or fifth or more, then descending. This gave many songs a dramatic feel. Since there were a lot of songs, I will just specifically address three of the most memorable.
In Act 2 scene 3, the Queen sings “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” (Hell's vengeance boileth in mine heart). This is probably the most famous piece in the opera, and I instantly recognized it when it was sung. It followed a song sung by Monostatos who, being on crutches sang with a grudging tone and with a narrow range. “Der Hölle Rache,” introduced by sounds of thunder and a sudden quickening of the orchestra’s playing (accelrando) had a very wide range and was sung in a clear, determined tone. This contrast immediately captivated the audience as well as enhanced the awe one felt listening to the Queen’s song. It started forte with the orchestra filling the Queen’s pauses with accented minor chords. The melody was disjunct and the tempo was allegro, in common time. These engendered a sense of urgency. The orchestral accompaniment used many fortepianos (fp) while the melody, with slight alterations was mostly at a forte dynamic. This resembled the angry thoughts stirring in the queen’s head. The many jumps (leaps), both ascending and descending, in the melody made the piece dramatic and emphasized the anger that the queen felt. The coloratura had a softer, woodwind accompaniment, probably to highlight the voice. Unlike most of the rest of the song it is in a major key, which gives the section a mocking tone because in this piece the queen is telling Pamina her daughter to kill Sarastro, otherwise she will be disowned. Until I heard this song performed, I did not realize how challenging it was, because even this professional opera singer from Warsaw went sharp on the highest broken chords in the first coloratura. However, the singer sang the second coloratura containing the series of triplets so smoothly and I was very impressed. This section also had a softer accompaniment to enhance the homophony.
Another memorable aria was Pamina’s “Ach, ich fühl's, es ist verschwunden” (Ah, I feel it, it is vanished) in Act 2 scene 4, when she is upset that Tamino will not speak to her because she does not know of his test of silence. This was also in a minor key and had a largely descending melody, with a slow tempo in triple meter, reflecting her sadness. Pamina sang at a mezzo piano dynamic and used many feminine cadences, making her sadness seem sincere. At one point there was question and answer between the oboe and the voice. The mellow tone of the oboe enhanced the melancholy mood, as did the flutes playing soft descending tetrachords in the accompaniment. There were some instances where the voice sang a descending chromatic scale, giving a feeling of dejection, and others when the melody quickened and ascended sharply then returned to the usual tempo and range, showing an intensity of emotion. Towards the very end, Pamina sang a cappella, monophonically, enhancing her loneliness.
Though the whole opera was very enjoyable, my favorite piece was Papageno and Papagena’s duet in Act 2 scene 10, suitably called “Papageno! Papagena!” It started quite fast, reflecting Papageno’s apprehension to meet Papagena, his wife-to-be, but when he called for her and she did not come, the music slowed down and was in triple meter, and entered a minor key, reflecting his sadness. When three angel-boys came to say that she was coming, it reverted back to a major key and common time, and Papageno played his bells calling to her and rejoicing. The flute doubled Papageno’s baritone melody a couple octaves higher, making the music sound hopeful and uplifting. The funniest part was when Papageno and Papagena saw each other for the first time: they sang in astonishment on short syllables of “Pa” alternately. First, the syllables are on every other beat, then every beat, then every half beat, and finally they are able to say each other’s names. The major tonality and intervals and the question and answer of “Pa’s” gave a happy and humorous feel to the song. There was a lot of homorhythm where the two voices were often separated by thirds or sixths, sounding a full major tonality giving a sense of completeness. Sometimes they sang harmony on a descending major scale, which emanated a feeling of contentment. They also used counterpoint which was humorous as well, because one voice often sang on one long note while the other sang a conjunct staccato melody on a quick succession of “Pa’s,” reflecting their joy. Their happiness was also reflected in the dynamics which was louder when the singers were physically closer. The song was brought in full circle when both singers sang “Pa’s” quickly and ended the piece by singing their names.
I think that one of the best things about opera is that it can be so expressive, because it is a combination of drama, poetry, music and some dance. The addition of music especially deepens the expression, and even if a viewer does not understand everything that is being said (this opera was in German with Japanese subtitles) he/she can usually understand quite well through the music. If The Magic Flute were a drama, it would not be so entertaining because all the ‘bad’ characters are magically whisked away. The music and dancing greatly enrich the piece with humor and liveliness. I am very glad I was able to attend such a magnificent performance.