James Platt in The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne (Image: PH ) When French-Canadian director-designers André Barbe and Renaud Doucet first produced their version of The Magic Flute at Glyndebourne five years ago, it aroused much controversy. The plot, in any case, is the least convincing of all Mozart's operas but Barbe & Doucet's treatment deliberately adds to the confusion. The delightful additions made this time increase the absurdity, enhancing the astonished joy felt by most of the audience.
First, the setting of the opera is changed from a mythical kingdom long, long ago to the kitchens of an early 20th century hotel. The story still sees Tamino, a Prince, trying to save Princess Pamina who is the kidnapped daughter of the Queen of the Night. Her captor, Sarastro, however, has been transformed from the leader of a Masonic brotherhood to the head chef of the hotel, and his followers are a team of pastry chefs.
The culinary theme is exploited to the full, with ovens and giants concocted from kitchen equipment playing their parts in the story, which becomes progressively more bizarre. Towards the end, when Tamino and Pamina must undergo ordeals by fire and water in order to join Sarastro's brotherhood, the trial by fire for Tamino looks rather like a simple skills test from Masterchef, while the trial by water seems nothing more than a test of Pamina's washing-up ability. Don't miss.
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