No Magic Flutes for a while… then three come at once

I’ve never thought of operas like buses before, but Irish fans of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte will be excited – or exasperated – to learn that October brings not just one but three productions of this quirky singspiel.  Bad planning? Coincidence? Sheer bloodymindedness? Or are we witnessing some bizarre freemasonic-inspired conspiracy?

Dublin Institute of Technology’s Conservatory of Music and Drama, (an institution desparately in need of a shorter name) is first up with what promises to be a no-expenses-spared topflight student production, with the main roles taken by some of Ireland’s most competitive young talent both onstage and off.  Details here.

Next we’ve a lively adaptation from South Africa (adapted and directed by Mark Dornford-May, words and music by Mandisi Dyantyis, Mbali Kgosidintsi, Pauline Malefane and Nolufefe Mtshabe) coming to the Gaiety Theatre, courtesy of the Dublin Theatre Festival.  It got great notices when it played in London last Christmas (as well as winning an Olivier award for best musical), with the critics falling over themselves with phrases like “explosion of joy from the townships” [Daily Telegraph], so it should get good crowds.

Finally, pulling up the rear, is poor old Lyric Opera, pimping out the National Concert Hall for their one-off performance of The Magic Flute (in English) on October 11, coinciding with the end of both of the other two seasons.  Did no-one bother to tell them?  It also doesn’t help that I’ve sadly yet to see the name of their Pamina spelt correctly in any of their ads (for the record, it’s Rebekah Coffey, last seen in Dublin as the khaki-clad Marzelline in OTC’s Fidelio).

Interestingly, there is a strange Dublin connection with the writing of The Magic Flute, though I doubt it will feature in any of these productions: the story of Karl Ludwig Giesecke…