Mozart’s fanciful The Magic Flute is on now for a limited run at the London Coliseum with a spectacularly staged production from the English National Opera.
I had the pleasure of attending a performance last week and very much enjoyed the experience. did a bang up job following his chin and clowning around as Papageno.
For me, however, the stars of this show were the set and costumes. Set designer Michael Levine’s innovative approach to bringing a Classical era fairy tale to the 21st century stage was a delight with minimal pomp but lots of chalk (see the show to know what I mean) and restrained effective use of prerecorded material. Similar accolades could be given to costume designer Nicky Gillibrand for her costumes. In particular, I loved the eerie look and atmospheric feel of the scenes featuring the creepily clad spirit boys.
Only 12 performances of The Magic Flute will run until 19 March 2016 at the London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, WC2N 4ES. Find out more at eno.org.
