‘The Magic Flute returns to The Met next month’

    

The Met

The new issue of my lodge’s monthly magazine reminds me that it’s almost time for The Magic Flute, Mozart’s Masonic opera, to return to The Met for its annual run. From the publicity:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s

The Magic Flute

The Metropolitan Opera

December 8-30

Tickets (from $37!) here

The Met’s family-friendly production of Mozart’s dazzling fairy tale returns, sung in English and running under two hours. Patrick Furrer and Gareth Morrell share conducting duties, leading a standout cast in Julie Taymor’s magical staging. Tenors Piotr Buszewski and Joshua Blue share the role of Tamino, the brave prince on a quest to win the clever princess Pamina, sung by sopranos Janai Brugger and Liv Redpath. The cast also features famed tenor Rolando Villazón reprising his uproarious portrayal as the luckless bird catcher Papageno, alternating with baritone Alexander Birch Elliott, and soprano Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, alongside basses Brindley Sherratt and James Creswell as Sarastro.

Prior to the December 10 performance, children and families are welcome to join our Holiday Open House. The Open House is free to all ticketholders for the December 10 performance.

The Met

World Premiere: Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden, Vienna, 1791. A sublime fairy tale that moves freely between earthy comedy and noble mysticism, The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte in the original German) was written for a theater located just outside Vienna with the clear intention of appealing to audiences from all walks of life. The story is told in a singspiel (“song-play”) format characterized by separate musical numbers connected by dialogue and stage activity, an excellent structure for navigating the diverse moods, ranging from solemn to lighthearted, of the story and score.

The Met

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) was the son of a Salzburg court musician who exhibited him as a musical prodigy throughout Europe. His achievements in opera, in terms of beauty, vocal challenge, and dramatic insight, remain unsurpassed. He died three months after the premiere of Die Zauberflöte, his last produced work for the stage. The remarkable Emanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812) was an actor, singer, theater manager, and friend of Mozart who wrote the opera’s libretto, staged the work, and sang the role of Papageno in the initial run.

The libretto specifies Egypt as the location of the action. That country was traditionally regarded as the legendary birthplace of the Masonic fraternity, whose symbols and rituals populate this opera. Some productions include Egyptian motifs as an exotic nod to this idea, but most opt for a more generalized mythic ambience to convey the otherworldliness that the score and overall tone of the work call for.

The Met

Mozart and his librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder, created The Magic Flute with an eye toward a popular audience, but the varied tone of the work requires singers who can specialize in several different musical genres. The baritone Papageno represents the comic and earthy, the tenor Tamino and the soprano Pamina display true love in its noblest forms, the bass Sarastro expresses the solemn and the transcendental, and the Queen of the Night provides explosive vocal fireworks.

     

‘Mozart’s Masonic opera at The Met’

   

The Met

It’s halfway through its three-week run already, but there still is plenty of opportunity to take in the Metropolitan Opera’s new staging of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Masonic opera” The Magic Flute. Actually, this is Die Zauberflöte, as it is a German-language production of more than three hours, as opposed to The Met’s annual Christmastime production of Julie Taymor’s English-language suitable-for-children confection.

Tickets, starting at $39.50, can be booked here. And this will be part of The Met’s Live in HD series in movie theaters. From the publicity:

One of opera’s most beloved works receives its first new Met staging in 19 years—a daring vision by renowned English director Simon McBurney that The Wall Street Journal declared “the best production I’ve ever witnessed of Mozart’s opera.” Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the Met Orchestra, with the pit raised to make the musicians visible to the audience and allow interaction with the cast. In his Met-debut staging, McBurney lets loose a volley of theatrical flourishes, incorporating projections, sound effects, and acrobatics to match the spectacle and drama of Mozart’s fable.

Kathryn Lewek

The brilliant cast includes soprano Erin Morley as Pamina, tenor Lawrence Brownlee as Tamino, baritone Thomas Oliemans in his Met debut as Papageno, soprano Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, and bass Stephen Milling as Sarastro.

Creators

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) was the son of a Salzburg court musician who exhibited him as a musical prodigy throughout Europe. His achievements in opera, in terms of beauty, vocal challenge, and dramatic insight, remain unsurpassed. He died three months after the premiere of Die Zauberflöte, his last produced work for the stage. The remarkable Emanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812) was an actor, singer, theater manager, a friend of Mozart who wrote the opera’s libretto, staged the work, and sang the role of Papageno in the initial run.

The Met

World premiere: Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden, Vienna, 1791.

Die Zauberflöte—a sublime fairy tale that moves freely between earthy comedy and noble mysticism—was written for a theater located just outside Vienna with the clear intention of appealing to audiences from all walks of life. The story is told in a singspiel (“song-play”) format characterized by separate musical numbers connected by dialogue and stage activity, an excellent structure for navigating the diverse moods, ranging from solemn to lighthearted, of the story and score. The composer and the librettist were both Freemasons—the fraternal order whose membership is held together by shared moral and metaphysical ideals—and Masonic imagery is used throughout the work. The story, however, is as universal as any fairy tale.

The Met

The libretto specifies Egypt as the location of the action. Egypt was traditionally regarded as the legendary birthplace of the Masonic fraternity, whose symbols and rituals populate this opera. Some productions include Egyptian motifs as an exotic nod to this idea, but many more opt for a more generalized mythic ambience to convey the otherworldliness that the score and overall tone of the work call for.

Music

Die Zauberflöte was written with an eye toward a popular audience, but the varied tone of the work requires singers who can specialize in several different musical genres. The comic and earthy are represented by the baritone, Papageno, while true love in its noblest forms is conveyed by the tenor, Tamino, and the soprano, Pamina. The bass, Sarastro, expresses the solemn and the transcendental. The use of the chorus is spare but hauntingly beautiful, and fireworks are provided by the coloratura Queen of the Night.

Please note that video cameras will be in operation during the May 31 and June 3 performances as part of the Met’s Live in HD series of cinema transmissions.

     

‘Magic Flute at The Met’

    

The Met Opera

Bro. Mozart’s The Magic Flute will return to the Metropolitan Opera next month for its annual yuletide run. This, Mozart’s final opera, has its 230th anniversary this year, and The Met again is staging the popular Julie Taymor production (in English, less than two hours, puppets!).

I never understood how it became a Christmas thing, although it is child-friendly.

The Met Opera

You know the story is rife with Masonic symbols and themes. If you’ve never been, maybe plan a group outing for the lodge and families. Tickets start at $30.

The Met Opera

Exactly six months ago, BBC Music Magazine published a guide to its favorite recordings of the beloved work. Click here.

     

     

‘Philadelphia Opera’s Magic Flute’

     
You know it’s a small world when a Freemason in Florida alerts a New York City Mason to a Magic Flute production in Philadelphia, but here we are. (Thanks, Scott.)

Only two performances remaining at the Academy of Music, tomorrow and Sunday.

From the publicity:

In Mozart’s masterful comedy about love, truth, and the pursuit of enlightenment, Prince Tamino sets off to rescue Pamina, the beautiful daughter of the Queen of the Night, from the mysterious Sarastro. But, with the help of the bird-catcher Papageno and three Spirits as their guide, Tamino discovers an even bigger adventure, and is united with his love along the way. Celebrated co-directors Suzanne Andrade and Barrie Kosky present The Magic Flute in a playfully subversive, crowd-pleasing production that evokes a meeting between 1920s silent movies and David Lynch, with the singers performing amidst fanciful animated projections. Created by the British theater group 1927, the L.A. Times calls this Magic Flute “a stunning live-action cartoon. It is fun for the whole family.”

Full synopsis here.

Tonight at seven, there will be screenings of silent short films that inspired this Magic Flute staging. Click here.
     

‘Die Zauberflöte AND The Magic Flute at The Met this fall’

     
The Met is serving a double-shot of Mozart’s Masonic opera The Magic Flute this season. The annual holiday crowd-pleaser production, in English (less than two hours), will come in November, but Die Zauberflöte, the German staging (more than three hours), will open in about a week and a half with tickets starting at 25 bucks. From the publicity:

The Metropolitan Opera

Die Zauberflöte

September 27 through October 14

Tickets here

Courtesy The Met

Music Director Emeritus James Levine conducts the full-length German version of Mozart’s magical fable, seen in Julie Taymor’s spectacular production, which captures both the opera’s earthy comedy and its noble mysticism.

Die Zauberflöte—a sublime fairy tale that moves freely between earthy comedy and noble mysticism—was written for a theater located just outside Vienna with the clear intention of appealing to audiences from all walks of life. The story is told in a Singspiel (“song-play”) format characterized by separate musical numbers connected by dialogue and stage activity, an excellent structure for navigating the diverse moods, ranging from solemn to lighthearted, of the story and score. The composer and the librettist were both Freemasons—the fraternal order whose membership is held together by shared moral and metaphysical ideals—and Masonic imagery is used throughout the work. The story, however, is as universal as any fairy tale.

Courtesy The Met

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) died prematurely three months after the premiere of Die Zauberflöte. It was his last produced work for the stage. (The court opera La Clemenza di Tito had its premiere three weeks before Die Zauberflöte, on September 6, 1791, though its score was completed later.) The remarkable Emanuel Schikaneder (1751-1812) was an actor, singer, theater manager, and friend of Mozart. He suggested the idea of Die Zauberflöte, wrote the libretto, staged the work, sang the role of Papageno in the initial run and even recruited his three young sons to join the roster.

The libretto specifies Egypt as the location of the action. Egypt was traditionally regarded as the legendary birthplace of the Masonic fraternity, whose symbols and rituals populate this opera. Some productions include Egyptian motifs as an exotic nod to this idea, but many more opt for a more generalized mythic ambience to convey the otherworldliness that the score and overall tone of the work call for.

Courtesy The Met

Die Zauberflöte was written with an eye toward a popular audience, but the varied tone of the work requires singers who can specialize in several different musical genres. The comic and earthy are represented by the baritone, Papageno, while true love in its noblest forms is conveyed by the tenor, Tamino, and the soprano, Pamina. The bass, Sarastro, expresses the solemn and the transcendental. The use of the chorus is spare but hauntingly beautiful, and fireworks are provided by the coloratura Queen of the Night.
     

‘Masonic Hall centenary’

    

This edition of The Magpie Mason is the first in an attempt to rectify past negligence in blogging (a Class C misdemeanor in several states). There are 10 or maybe more events from 2010 that I never got around to sharing with you – lectures, ceremonies, etc. – and before we get too far into 2011, I’ll try to catch up on last year’s happenings. No lengthy accounts, but some good photos.

The Mgmt.

In the name of Freemasonry, Virtue, and Universal Benevolence, Most Worshipful Vincent Libone, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York, rededicated Masonic Hall December 5, 2010, in a public ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the GLNY’s current headquarters in New York City.

The ceremonial representation of the lodge.

The blade of the ceremonial trowel used
for the cornerstone-laying in 1908.

Proclamations from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York City Council, and Gov. David Paterson were presented. Bro. Dick Gottfried, who represents the 75th District (Masonic Hall’s neighborhood) in the State Assembly, offered remarks as well.

Secretary Lenny Kagan and
Worshipful Master Michael Daniels
of Shakespeare Lodge No. 750.

Grand Post, of Masonic War Veterans,
presents the colors.

Grand Master Vincent Libone
inspects the ritual working tools.

MW Libone applies the ritual
elements of consecration.

The Grand Honors.

Mr. Peter Chiofolo, the gentleman responsible for keeping Masonic Hall well lighted, heated or cooled, and otherwise operational was among those saluted by the brethren. He admitted he would rather have been anywhere else but in the spotlight, but he earned a robust round of applause.

I do not know whose idea it was to add opera singers to the program as the event’s entertainment, but it was a great choice. Brilliant. W. Bro. Valentin Peytchinov, Past Master of King Solomon-Beethoven Lodge No. 232, with a soprano whose name I didn’t catch, absolutely thrilled everyone in the room. The Grand Lodge Room is enormous, taking two stories of the building itself, which is good because a smaller room would have been blown apart by their voices, and you don’t want to trash the place whose hundredth birthday you’re celebrating!

Performing a scene from Mozart’s

The Marriage of Figaro.

The duo also sang selections from The Barber of Seville by Rossini; Die Fledermaus by Johan Strauss; and Don Giovanni, also by Mozart. In addition, the young soprano sang “Hallelujah” from Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate, accompanied by the Grand Organist.

From a handbill distributed at the ceremony:

Masonic Hall, the historic landmark building on West 24th Street and Avenue of the Americas, and its connected twin structure on West 23rd Street, were constructed on this location in 1910 and 1912 respectively – the second building known as Masonic Hall to stand at this site. The buildings were designed and constructed by architect H.P. Knowles. Today marks the centennial of the West 24th Street building.

Freemasonry in New York dates back to 1757. From 1827 until 1856, the first Masonic Hall in the City of New York was located further downtown, between Duane and Pearl streets. On this site in 1875, the second Masonic Hall, a classic five-story building designed by the noted American architect Napoleon LeBrun, was built.

The present Masonic Hall is home to the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, and houses the offices of the Grand Secretary and the Trustees of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund. It also is the meeting place of many local Masonic lodges and affiliated organizations. Masonic Hall also is home of the renowned Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library.

The building has been restored through the years to reflect the inspired architecture and beauty of the original structure, often hailed as one of the most magnificent Masonic buildings in the world. The most recent renovation, conducted in the 1980s and ’90s, demonstrates the work of Felix Chavez.

    

‘A Night at the Opera’

On Saturday, April 25, St. John’s Lodge No. 1, AYM in New York City will host its second annual Opera Night, taking in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” at the Metropolitan Opera House. Last year, the brethren attended Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”

Riccardo Frizza makes his Met debut this season. Here he conducts Tenor Marco Berti in the title role of the heroic troubadour and Baritone Željko Lučić as his powerful rival. Soprano Hasmik Papian stars as the noble Leonora and Luciana D’Intino returns to this opera as the gypsy woman fixated on past crimes and vengeance.

Sung in Italian with “Met titles” in English from the libretto by Salvadore Cammarano.

John W. Freeman of “Opera News” summarizes the story:

ACT I. (The Duel) Outside the guardroom of Aliaferia Palace in Aragon, Count di Luna's soldiers are waiting to apprehend Manrico, a troubadour, who rivals the count for the favors of the Lady Leonora. Ferrando, captain of the guard, keeps his men awake by telling them of a Gypsy woman burned at the stake years ago for bewitching Di Luna's younger brother. The Gypsy's daughter sought vengeance by kidnaping the child and, so the story goes, burning him at the very stake where her mother died. Di Luna, though, still hopes his brother lives.

In the palace gardens, Leonora confides to Inez how at a tournament she placed the victory wreath on the brow of an unknown knight in black armor; she saw him no more until he came to serenade her. Though Inez has misgivings, Leonora declares her love for the handsome stranger. No sooner do the women reenter the palace than Di Luna arrives to court Leonora. Simultaneously Manrico's song is heard in the distance, and Leonora rushes to greet him. The jealous count challenges Manrico to a duel, and they hurry away.

ACT II. (The Gypsy) As dawn breaks in the Biscay mountains, Gypsies sing at work with hammer and anvil. Azucena - the Gypsy's daughter described by Ferrando - relives her mother's fiery execution, recalling the dying woman's plea for vengeance. Manrico asks to hear her full story, becoming confused when Azucena, overwhelmed with memories, blurts out that by mistake she hurled her own son into the flames. Assuring him of a mother's love, Azucena makes Manrico swear revenge, but he says a strange power stayed his hand when he could have killed Di Luna in the duel. A messenger brings news that Leonora, thinking Manrico dead, plans to enter a convent. Despite Azucena's pleas, Manrico rushes away.

Di Luna, burning with passion for Leonora, waits by the cloister to kidnap her. When she enters with the nuns, he strides forward, only to be halted by Manrico, who suddenly appears with his men. As the forces struggle, the lovers escape.

ACT III. (The Gypsy's Son) Di Luna has pitched camp near the bastion of Castellor, where Manrico has taken Leonora. After soldiers sing of their eagerness for victory, Ferrando leads in Azucena, who was found nearby. The Gypsy describes her poor, lonely life and says she is only searching for her son. Di Luna reveals his identity, at which Azucena recoils and is recognized by Ferrando as the supposed murderer of Di Luna's baby brother. The count orders her burned at the stake.

Inside the castle, Manrico assures Leonora her love makes him invincible. As the couple prepares to go to the wedding chapel, Manrico's aide Ruiz bursts in to say that Azucena has been seized and tied to a stake. Manrico stares in horror at the distant pyre, which has been lit. He runs to his mother's rescue, vowing vengeance.

ACT IV. (The Torture) Ruiz brings Leonora to the foot of the captured Manrico's prison tower, where she voices her undying love and prays for his release. Monks are heard intoning a doleful Miserere for the soul of the condemned, while Manrico sings farewell from inside the bastion. Leonora resolves to save him. When Di Luna appears, Leonora agrees to yield to him but secretly swallows poison.

In their cell, Manrico comforts Azucena, who longs for their home in the mountains. No sooner does the old Gypsy fall asleep than Leonora rushes in to tell her lover he is saved, urging him to flee. Manrico comprehends the price of his freedom and denounces her, but the poison begins to take effect. He takes her in his arms as she dies. Furious at being cheated of his prize, Di Luna sends Manrico to the executioner's block, while Azucena staggers to her feet to see the ax fall. She cries out that her mother is avenged: Di Luna has killed his own brother.

After the performance, the brethren will dine at O’Neals Restaurant, directly across from Lincoln Center.

The Met celebrates its 125th anniversary this season.