The Magic Flute

I took T to his very first opera a couple of weeks ago.  We went to see the season opener at Opera Theater of St. Louis, Mozart's classic but goofy The Magic Flute.

It is the tale of the daughter of the Queen of the Night, Pamina, who has been captured by Sarastro, the evil sorcerer.  The three attendants of the Queen of the Night send the lost prince Tomino on the trail of Pamina, along with his sidekick Papageno.  Trials and tribulations ensue.

The performance at OTSL was designed, directed, and produced by Isaac Mizrahi.  He is a fashion designer by training -- and it shows.  The set and costumes were colorful and fanciful, almost to the point of being a child's fairy tale.  Probably the only truly serious character in the entire show is the Queen, who also happens to have one of my favorite arias of all time.  You can listen to a version of it here, although it appears to be from a much darker performance of the show put on by the Royal Opera in London, and it's not in English.  (All performances at OTSL are translated into English.)

It was a bright and enjoyable kick-off to the season.