A spirited revival of The Magic Flute at Covent Garden

By Mark Pullinger, 15 September 2017

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“an Everyman who shares our flaws and our frustrations”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 14 September 2017

Mozart, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

The Royal Opera

Julia Jones, Conductor

Sir David McVicar, Director

John Macfarlane, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Siobhan Stagg, Pamina

Mauro Peter, Tamino

Roderick Williams, Papageno

Mika Kares, Sarastro

Sabine Devieilhe, Queen of the Night

Christina Gansch, Papagena

Rebecca Evans, First Lady

Angela Simkin, Second Lady

Susan Platts, Third Lady

Peter Bronder, Monostatos

Darren Jeffery, The Speaker (Der Sprecher)

Andrew Macnair, First Armoured Man

Simon Shibambu, Second Armoured Man

Harry Nicoll, First Priest

Donald Maxwell, Second Priest

Royal Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Roderick Williams’ charming birdcatcher leads a spirited revival of The Magic Flute at Covent Garden