The Magic Flute (Impempe Yomlingo) – Melbourne Festival

 I feel like I should have enjoyed South African Asango’s Olivier Award-winning adaptation of The Magic Flute more than I did. There were many elements that delighted, but the acoustics of the State Theatre worked against the piece, leaving me exhausted at trying to catch the words of the singers. 


Melbourne International Arts Festival 2011 Asango EnsembleArts Projects Australia in association with Melbourne FestivalState Theatre, the Arts Centre Tuesday, 11 October 2011 
I feel like I should have enjoyed South African Asango’s Olivier Award-winning adaptation of The Magic Flute more than I did. There were many elements that delighted, but the acoustics of the State Theatre worked against the piece, leaving me exhausted at trying to catch the words of the singers. 
Asango Ensemble is made up of artists from the townships around Cape Town. Its productions seek to re-imagine and re-contextualise Western theatre classics within South African or township settings, thereby creating theatre relevant to the heritage of the nation. The original Magic Flute was created to be performed in a suburban theatre, not for the aristocracy, and Asango’s version too would be more powerful in a less formal setting than Melbourne’s Arts Centre. 
Grumbles aside, there is much to praise in this Magic Flute. 
Presented as a kind of Beggars Opera, the action is set in contemporary South Africa, with a set of corrugated iron and scaffolding that resembles a building site populated by the cast in modern day or traditional African costume. The magic begins with the overture played by the onstage band of marimbas – Mozart’s familiar tunes even more delightful in this simplified arrangement, especially the fugue. 
The action starts proper, when Tamino arrives through a trapdoor in the stage singing “first I was afraid I was petrified” – no it’s not Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive”, but a clever indication of the irreverence of the adaptation we are about to enjoy. Tamino’s first aria ends with a riotous African chorus, and dialogue is delivered in a mixture of English and Xhosa. When the “spirits” arrive they are a groovy midtown trio; Tamino’s magic flute is a jazz trumpet (played onstage by the engaging figure of co-musical director Mandisi Dyantis); Monostasis’s henchmen are a bunch of drunken drongos; and the Queen of the Night’s character is firmly placed in contemporary politics when she is described as a power hungry imperialist. 
Mozart’s story is for the most part adhered to, with the inherent sexism of the original ameliorated by Saratro’s edict that both Tamino and Pamina shall inherit his rule. The principals of Reason, Wisdom and Nature – intrinsic to Masonic message of the original – are reiterated here, and are appropriate to an optimistic vision of a new South Africa that, through courage and compassionate tolerance, can overcome the divisions and violence of the past. 
For me the best thing about the production is the inventive musical arrangements. The “orchestra” is the marimbas on either side of the stage supplemented with township style percussion, played vigorously by musicians who also double a singer characters. The orchestral parts are filled out at times by the chorus – sometimes true to Mozart’s score, or added to  with improvised voices (including ululations) , then at other times segueing into fully blown tribal songs with accompanying traditional dancing on stage. Truly beautiful moments are the beginning of Act II, when a hymn is simply sung by the chorus on the sound of Ya, accompanied gently by marimbas, decorated with plaintive improvised voices; and an unaccompanied men’s chorus sung in Xhosa. As well as showing how universal Mozart’s music is, it demonstrates how well this company has made this music its own, and that Western Classical music’s restrictive devotion to exactly replicating the  written notes of composers like Mozart is at last being swept aside.
Asango embraces artists at varying stages of creative development so individual performances are necessarily at different levels of technical proficiency. Special mention must be made though of the world class voice of Nobullumko Mngxekeza as Pamina  – what a pity her character’s best aria “Ach ich fuhls” was cut from this adaptation; and Mhlekazi Mosiea as Tamino, who when allowed to move downstage and be heard, could compete well with many working Australian tenors. As The Queen of the Night, Pauline Malefane didn’t have quite all the notes, but she had the ones that counted: those very top notes in her wrathful arias that we are all waiting for! And slowing down the tricky melismas in “Ich holle racht” was a masterstroke – turning a vocal limitation into a plus, injecting truly creepy venom into the famous aria. 
Standout for me though was the musician and singing “spirit”, whose name I can’t derive from the program, but whose drumming and marimba playing were so full of explosive energy I couldn’t keep my eyes from her. She deserves a curtain call all of her own. 
Asango’s The Magic Flute has travelled the world to much acclaim. I suggest that this remarkable production deserves greater attention from producers to the particular acoustics of large venues, so that even jaded reviewers such as myself can fully appreciate the generous offering of these inspiring working artists.  
Until 16 October, 2011