DVD: Sir Colin Davis/Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra with Damrau, Keenlyside, and others: Mozart: The Magic Flute (Naxos)




Why does it take me so long to catch up with things? First there was last week's blunder with the Terezin/Theresienstadt CD, which, as I had forgotten, is listed on Byron, Olsson's computer system, as The Theresienstadt Project. Apologies all round to any staff or clientele who met with brick walls when trying to find the disc. Here's a tip: Check under Anne Sophie von Otter in the classical female vocalists' section.

Speaking of female vocalists, it's time to start catching up with all the opera gossip. For starters, why didn't anyone tell me Anna Netrebko was pregnant, or that the German soprano Diana Damrau was pinch-hitting for her in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Metropolitan Opera? I must have skipped the paper that day.

But I didn't forget to turn on WETA FM during its Saturday opera broadcast and fortunately caught a snippet of an interview with said Ms. Damrau, who rather charmingly discussed her repertoire, which by now ranges ranges from damsels in distress to, well, an array of completely unhinged women, of which there are many in opera. Remember EMI's Opera Goes Nuts CD, or a similar anthology disc with a tabloid's take on Tosca?

Getting back to Ms. Damrau, anyone who wants a sense of what she's capable of should check out her portrayal of one angry mother, the Queen of the Night, on the Naxos DVD of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Yes, I know it's all very sexist, but it is fun to see Damrau put those wiles to work, first as a grieving parent and then as a vengeful, power-obsessed fury. Dorothea Roeschmann (Pamina) actually looks shaken when Damrau comes at her with "Der Hoelle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen."

Best of all, you get to experience what an amazing instrument Damrau has in that voice of hers. It's insinuating one minute, authoritative the next. But of course Damrau can pull off delicacy and hostility. After all, both the sweet Pamina and her scary mother are part of her repertoire!

If the Queen of the Night leaves you in need of a little therapy, you can take refuge in Arie di Bravura or Lieder, two of Damrau's recital discs. She can also be heard on an upcoming Metropolitan Opera broadcast, singing more Mozart.

By the way, I would be remiss if I didn't mention a local opportunity to enjoy The Magic Flute: AFI's screening of the wonderful Ingmar Bergman film. Drop in at the Silver Theatre and find out just how much fun you can have at a Bergman movie. Of course it's all in Swedish, both spoken and sung, but of course there are subtitles, which you need with a singspiel anyway. In fact, at the time the movie was made, surtitles at the opera were not yet in vogue, and it was something of a revelation to me, as a teenager, that I'd be attending an opera -- albeit a filmed one -- without having to memorize the plot beforehand. It was nice to catch all of Papageno's quips, too.

Actually, thanks to the AFI screening of Bergman's Magic Flute and Naxos's DVD of the Covent Garden production, opera fans could have something of a Papageno smackdown going here. In the former, the young Hakan Hagegard possesses a pleasing voice, a face the camera loves, and a sense of humor that could light up those long Scandinavian nights. On the other hand, Simon Keenlyside shows a real talent for clowning in the Covent Garden staging. He has a winning blend of physicality and innocence, and of course his singing is marvelous. The man gets bonus points from me for his German, too.

So in the battle of the Brit versus the Swede, I can't make a call. My best advice is to see and hear them both! Besides, every life needs a little more Mozart.