The Magic Flute

The San Francisco Opera's revival of visual artist Jun Kaneko's eye-popping designs for Mozart's "The Magic Flute" opened last week at the War Memorial Opera House for a run of performances playing through Nov. 20. First seen in a new English translation by SFO General Director David Gockley during the 2012 summer season, director Harry Silverstein's good-natured staging, with unfussy and often amusing choreography by Lawrence Pech, remains a bright and cheerful entertainment.

It is hard to say enough time has passed between productions, but the return engagement is welcome enough, and seeing Kaneko's innovative graphic projections (the first all-digital SFO production) again with his fanciful costumes is still enjoyable. Opening night might have veered off-course due to last-minute substitutions, but replacing two ailing singers with a role cover and a standby from the ranks of SFO programs actually turned out to be an unexpected treat.

The scheduled Queen of the Night, Albina Shagimuratova, and the First Lady, Jacqueline Piccolino, should be back on the boards at this writing, but sopranos Kathryn Bowden (Merola alumna) and Julie Adams (first-year Adler Fellow) filled their respective shoes without missing a step.

Bowden got the biggest opportunity with her assignment of the Queen's fiercely difficult arias. If she started a little softly upon her first appearance, she quickly warmed up. By the time she faced those famous high Fs in the second act, she had taken full command of the stage. I was impressed by her performance in last summer's Merola production of Menotti's "The Medium," and it is gratifying to see SFO management took notice as well. She was rewarded with a great challenge, and responded with triumphant assurance.

Soprano Sarah Shafer is singing Pamina until Nadine Sierra steps back into the part next week after her own successful subbing assignment for Diana Damrau in the recent SFO "Lucia di Lammermoor." As good as we know Sierra is in the part, Shafer's strong, clear and expressive voice is also ideal, and she too is building a strong career at SFO. Her Rosetta in the world premiere of Tutino's "La Ciociara (Two Women") was especially memorable.

Mexican-American baritone Efrain Solis makes his role debut as the randy bird-catcher Papageno, and his firm, resonant and appealing voice surpasses the memory of Nathan Gunn's original interpretation in 2012. He makes the most of his lines and struts about the stage like a banty rooster. The broad humor and colloquialisms peppered throughout the translation work best in his earthy and endearing portrayal.

Greg Fedderly's burlesque clowning as the Moor Monostatos hasn't changed noticeably since his previous appearance in the premiere cast, but that is all to the good. With the help of director Silverstein he creates a humorous take on a borderline offensive character.

Second-year SFO Adler Fellow soprano Maria Valdes as Papagena is another who manages the vulgarities of the English re-fashioning with appealing sincerity. Her sunny voice and presence match the charming costume by Kaneko.

The more serious aspects of the plot are treated superficially in this embodiment of Mozart's allegory of love and mystical awakening. As if trying to add weight to the more philosophical moments, conductor Lawrence Foster (SFO debut) only slowed the pace. His beautiful fashioning of the Overture was a stand-alone pleasure, but it had little to do with the frivolity that followed.

Also making his SFO debut, American tenor Paul Appleby's Tamino grew in stature as the story unfolded, but his basically lightweight enactment was not helped by Foster's grave approach.

The Sarastro of bass-baritone (heavy on the bass) Alfred Reiter is more in keeping with the conductor's speeds. The character often leans a bit towards pomposity, and the German singer made a strong impression with his deep and sonorous tone. No laughs there, but they aren't in the text anyway.

The Three Boys - Pietro Juvara and Michael Sacco and Rafael Karpa-Wilson in their SFO debuts - deserve special mention for their exceptionally well-sung performances, and Ian Robertson's SFO Chorus, dazzling in Kaneko's finery, filled the stage with customary vocal richness.

Musical merits aside, the show is more about Kaneko's whimsical imagination. The designs recall everything from colorful David Hockneys to Milton Glaser graphics, Japanese drama and early Star Trek. They are captivating, brilliantly illuminated by lighting designer Paul Pyant. If you haven't experienced them before, they are certainly worth a visit. Hopefully more time will go by before the next viewing. How can we miss them if they won't go away?