Betsy's View

On Saturday, March 20th and Tuesday, March 23rd [Ogden], The Utah Symphony presents the Mini Magic Flute. The concert, designed for the Lollipops Series, is geared towards children with the goal of introducing them to the symphony, the instruments and opera.

As I arrived at Salt Lake City’s Abravanel Hall and watched hundreds of children stream through the doors, I wondered why there aren’t more of these types of concerts. How exciting it was to see so many kids at the Symphony!

The Utah Symphony | Utah Opera organization is really on the ball. They have a fantastic marketing team that actively participates in the most popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, getting the word out about the the symphony, the opera and the summer-time Deer Valley Music Festival events. And their offering the Lollipops Series and other educational programs shows that reaching out to our little ones early is the key to fostering a lifelong love for the Arts.

As part of the mid-morning concert at Abravanel Hall, the program included a pre-concert ‘instrument petting zoo'. In the lobby were tables of instruments, with lines of children waiting to touch, feel and try out an instrument, guided by zoo volunteers that included symphony members and fellow elementary school children! I was most impressed by the kid volunteers who greeted their peers and showed them an instrument.  Having a 7 year old show another 7 year old an instrument as intriguing as a violin creates a connection unlike any other.

Mozart’s The Magic Flute was adapted by Tara Faircloth to make this opera more relatable to children.  Titled “Mini Magic Flute”, the opera was sung in English, included child performers, was filled with humor and encouraged audience participation.

Brent Reilly Turner played the main role of Papageno.  When he came out on stage laughing and singing, I thought of Davy Crockett as he told stories and talked about his bird catching! He was jolly and funny, and he was great with the kids.

Megan Cash, Valerie Nelson and Melissa Treinkman, the three Ladies, were fabulous.  They, too, made me laugh, their voices were fantastic, their costumes were beautiful and I loved their sparkly hair!

Aaron Blake played the role of Prince Tamino…swoon. Loved his voice!  His character was a riot, quite tentative and oh so cowardly.  But like every handsome prince, Tamino falls in love with the Princess, and love in the end does conquer all…mostly.

Pamina, performed by Chanel Wood, played her role like a spunky, spoiled teenager.  Having been imprisoned and needing to be rescued, like all good princesses she waits for her prince to come save her from doom.  She sings of being rescued one day, but whines like a brat for having to endure day after day in her solitude.  Her feet stomping, sighs and apparent exasperation were hilarious, and in all of her drama was her incredible and beautiful voice.

Rachel Morris was the Queen of the Night (and Papagena).  When the Queen came out and commanded Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter Princess Pamina, she sang one of the most recognizable arias.

Tara Faircloth’s adaptation of this aria was brilliant.  Each of the characters sat on the stage, swaying in unison at some points, and plugging their ears when the Queen screeched out her high notes.  Of course, Morris was on pitch and sounded wonderful, but the acting and getting the kids involved was priceless!  It showed them that while it doesn’t always sound beautiful to all ears, there’s still a great story to be shared.

The Mini Magic Flute lasted about an hour and through this production, children (and adults!) were told the story of Mozart’s famous Magic Flute.

Utah Symphony Conductor David Cho led the symphony through The Magic Flute. The Symphony performers looked like they were really enjoying the production as well!  When they weren’t playing their instruments, they watched and laughed along with the rest of us.

The presentation of the Mini Magic Flute is clearly geared towards children, but it’s a wonderful performance for adults as well.  For less than the cost of a night at the movies, I had the opportunity to hear a wonderful Mozart piece, I heard some fabulous singers, I laughed a lot, and I reveled at how many children were being exposed to all that I was, but at such an early age!

If I had two wishes of the Utah Symphony, it would be to have some great photos from this event posted so others can see how much fun it was and be encouraged to attend the next performance, and I would ask the USUO to add more of these performances to the season!  It’s wonderful that they had this one performance at Abravanel Hall and are offering a second performance in Ogden, but it was easy to see how successful this event was and I heard a lot of people talk about wanting others just like it!  More please!

To the adults reading this…this Lollipops Series production of the Mini Magic Flute wasn’t just for kids.  I had so much fun too!

Update: Thanks to the USUO, here's a link to some photos on Utah Symphony |Utah Opera's Facebook page: Mini Magic Flute Photos

Mini Magic Flute cast photos courtesy Melissa Treinkman. David Cho Photo courtesy Utah Symphony | Utah Opera.