Sometimes, opera imitates life.
Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” came to the Savannah Center on Monday in a delightfully whimsical performance by the Central Florida Lyric Opera. The two lead roles of a prince and princess – Andrew and Michelle Struhar – happen to be man and wife. And they brought their own little princess –4-month-old daughter Arden – to see the production.
The famed opera, directed by Molly Fillmore with music direction by Maestro Bill Doherty, tells the tale of a beautiful princess, handsome prince and evil queen. In the end, with some help from a magic flute, good triumphs over evil and the prince and princess live happily ever after.
So it is for Andrew and Michelle Struhar on and off stage, and little Arden was part of their special evening in the audience.
“She was very well behaved,” said mom Michelle, who played the role of Pamina, daughter of the queen. Her husband, Andrew, played the role of Tamino the prince. Both displayed vocal and acting prowess. These two truly do make beautiful music together.
They were married two years ago after meeting while performing with the CFLO.
“I guess you could say, it’s sort of like a fairy tale,” Michelle said. “We feel comfortable working together and this opera is so much fun.”
“The Magic Flute” is Mozart – with libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder – letting his hair down and delivering mystical laughs with enchanting music. Director Fillmore shortened the opera to about 90 minutes and it was performed in English. The stage set was minimalist but colorful costumes added a robust flair.
Fillmore – a Grammy Award-winning opera singer – made the performance accessible while staying true to the opera’s artistic integrity. Soprano Nini Marchese, as Queen of the Night, offered riveting vocals that captured the queen’s black-hearted wickedness. It wasn’t just her voice that made Marchese’s performance memorable – her pained facial expressions and ghostly gaze oozed with villainous rapture.
The “Three Ladies” in service to the queen were played by Ashley Thunder, Sway Chen and Amanda Caban. They kept the plot moving with some soaring vocals along the way. Thunder has a way of finding the spotlight, even in a smaller role, and did so on this night. Chen and Caban helped this trio become an integral part of telling the story.
Samuel Reynolds returned to a familiar role as Sarastro. He debuted with the local opera company in that role nearly three decades ago.
Reynolds showed that he has blossomed with age as Sarastro. The character at first is falsely portrayed as a villain. Sarastro is actually a wise, high priest who unifies the story. Reynolds, with his deep bass voice and imposing stature, embodied the character with spiritual tenacity.
Malcolm Payne Jr. was a hoot as Papageno, a bird catcher. Payne, who also performed at the Savannah Center on Nov. 18 as part of the Opera Club of The Villages’ “An Enchanted Evening,” was cavorting around the stage with comic grace and hitting all the right baritone notes while ringing some magic bells.
Alec Speers brought out some spooky and lustful moments as Monostatos, who bedevils the princess. Mariangel Cestari added some spice to the challenging role of Papagena, who starts out as an old lady infatuated with Papageno. He agrees to marry her and she turns into a young woman.
“The Magic Flute” wallows in that kind of unbridled fantasy – and that’s the just the way Mozart wanted it.
Tony Violanti is a veteran journalist and writes for Villages-News.com.
