Lucia Popp (above) only sang 26 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. Her debut role there was the Queen of the Night in ZAUBERFLOETE in the Marc Chagall production in 1967. She returned to the Met for more Queen of Nights in 1970, and also sang two Sophies in ROSENKAVALIER at that time. She was then absent from the Met until 1981, when she appeared as Pamina. I attended one of the performances, and I must say that it greatly enhanced my appreciation for the Mozart opera, which - til then - had never really captured my heart.
My reservations about the opera were partly due to the spoken dialogue; I found it tedious, and always wanted the characters stop talking and sing! Also, for me, the comic characters often tended to annoy.
I had seen the Chagall ZAUBERFLOETE a couple of times in previous seasons; at the time, I preferred the New York City Opera's lovely settings by Beni Montresor. The 1981 performance opened my eyes to the richness of the Chagall.
Here's what I wrote in my opera diary the morning after the performance:
"I really enjoyed this performance, during which I became fully engaged by the Chagall settings and by the wonderful singing. The second act still has its longueurs for me, but I found them less tedious than in the past, thanks to our marvelous Papageno of the afternoon, Dale Duesing.
Lawrence Foster gave a light, airy - fast-paced but never rushed - reading of the score, and the orchestra played beautifully. The cast, down to the smallest roles, was simply superb. Betsy Norden was a pert and perky Papagena, and Donald McIntyre an imposing Speaker. James Atherton's Monastatos was vividly drawn, and his singing full of subtleties.
As Sarastro, John Macurdy started a bit roughly, but quickly began to sound like his wonderful self. His singing perhaps lacks a certain spiritual quality, such as Kurt Moll brings to this music on the Sawallisch and Lombard sets, but overall he anchored the performance to fine effect.
Zdzislawa Donat is a Queen of Night in the Erika Köth/Roberta Peters manner rather than the more dramatic-coloratura vein of Cristina Deutekom or Edda Moser. As such, the pure, bell-like tones of Ms. Donat did not make a truly malevolent impact in the second aria, but as sheer vocalism, it was very pleasing to hear her voice cascading through the roulades and staccati with dazzling accuracy. Brava!
David Kuebler's slender, princely Tamino was sung with clarity and poise. The voice is not large but carries perfectly in the House, and he phrased well without ever seeming precious. A very fine young tenor.
The Three Ladies were captivating: Patricia Craig (a passionate Butterfly at NYCO) here produced Mozartean singing of ravishing quality, skillfully topping but not dominating her colleagues. Dear Ariel Bybee was a brightly lyrical 2nd Lady, and Isola Jones showed off her inimitably earthy low tones as the 3rd. Together, they made a charming trio.
Dale Duesing's Papageno was perfect: masculine, handsome, funny without being silly. He's an openly warm Papageno, endearing us with his natural approach. His singing was very appealing, with a darkish timbre. In sum, a delightful interpretation.
Lucia Popp's splendid Pamina gave the performance a particular lustre. To her endearing facial expressions and sincere, unfussy acting, the soprano added vocalism that combined Viennese cream with a radiant silverly quality. She sang sublimely, and made Pamina a real person...so delighted to be saved from her fate by the three genii. Such a lovely - indeed, perfect - portrayal, flawlessly sung.
Ms. Popp, her colleagues, the conductor, the orchestra and chorus - and Marc Chagall - all combined to put this opera, sometimes problematic for me in the past, firmly in the favorites column at long last.
In all, quite a spectacular afternoon."
Above: the final tableau of the Chagall ZAUBERFLOETE.
~ Oberon