We went to see The Magic Flute for Family on Saturday. Namely, we went to see Honey, I Shrunk the Opera. From 3h15, it got reduced to a lively 2 hours. And it got translated too, because there aren’t too many kids ages six and over who speak German around here.

Looking for something to illustrate this post, we found this YouTube clip below: an excerpt of the current run of The Magic Flute. It’s pure genius! The opera should be posting clips like this of their productions for us to tease you with! This is what you’ll hear and see at The Magic Flute. Aren't you intrigued? Doesn’t it look amazing? Don't you want to go? More importantly, how come we couldn't find a clip for Appomattox or Samson? (This does not count; neither do the simulcast recordings at the ballpark). The opera should be posting good quality clips themselves, not waiting for some bootlegged versions to show up.

An aside on publicity: we heard these commercials for the SF Opera on KDFC, and we snort our drink through our nose every time: some excited young adults on a sugar high talk about the opera like it's a rock concert. The concept: opera is hip, opera is young, opera is for everyone. It’s a fine message that we endorse heartily, but we’re like: dude, if you play this on staid, boring KDFC, not only will you fail at reaching your target audience, but you’ll turn off the actual listeners of the station. KDFC thinks that modern music begins and ends with the theme from Star Wars! Tell them opera is comparable to a rock concert, and they'll stay home.

At the time of this writing, the view counter is 42 on the clip above, the CPM is roughly 0, let's see how many click-through impressions we can get! Maybe that would be a better advertising strategy?

Back to the Flute for Family: it was great to see kids treated to a show of the same quality that the adults normally receive. Actually, there were a lot of adults there without kids (especially one irritating guy sitting behind us who was laughing so hard at some of the flimsiest jokes; we were going to strangle him.) The show was light, refreshing, entertaining, but to find a giant plush animal that funny? Really, you had to be seven.

The kids are getting the real deal: the storyline is pretty much preserved, Mozart’s music is treated with respect, and it is (almost) the same orchestra in the pit. Even SF Opera music director Donald Runnicles was at the helm. Civic Center Mike dishes the dirt on the last minute switcheroo, as Alya Joffe was supposed to conduct and still had her picture and bio in the program.

The singers are up to snuff as well: most of them are Adler Fellows, the singers-in-training who appear on the regular opera production. That is: young, promising singers who will be the operatic stars of tomorrow. Ji Young Yang got lots of acclaim for her turn in Tannhaüser and Jeremy Galyon for his portraying of Abe Lincoln in Appomatox. Here they were, as Pamina and Sarastro respectively. It's even the same Papagena (Rhoslyn Jones) for both versions!

Some performances paled in comparison with the principals in the regular Magic Flute production. But it’s no knock on the singers; it’s just that the other guys are really really good. But the lead characters, Tamino (Chad Freeburg), Pamina (Ji Young Yang) and Papageno (Daniel Belcher), could sustain the comparison with the A-team with ease.

Papageno is given the role of a narrator, filling the cuts in the text with a few explicative sentences and plenty of jokes. He's a natural, and it does not hurt that he can sing too. Our only regret was that the 3 ladies of the Queen of the Night have been excised: they were so much fun!

The plush animals designed by Gerald Scarfe (the sets are identical to the regular version) get more stage time: they dance during the (shortened) overture, and reappear during some longer arias to keep the kids occupied, or to stroke the furry fantasies of the kid-less adults.

After the show, we overheard a conversation between flutist Stephanie McNab, who had played those flute themes beautifully through the performance, and a little one leaning over the railing above the pit. She, like everybody there, was doing everything for the kids to have a good time, and was engaging in small talk with the boy. "Did you like it?" "Yeah". "Who do you prefer," she asked? "Spiderman."

The Magic Flute for Families
One more show on Saturday, but it's sold out!