[shadowdaddy]

Saw a preview of Kenneth Branagh's new film version of Mozart's Magic Flute last night, with KB in attendance for Q&A afterwards.

It is a very imaginative version, and one I don't think fully works. While framed in a WW1 context, the conceit really doesn't play much into the telling of the tale itself. It doesn't get in the way, but it really only rarely actually enhances the story.

Branagh spoke at length on the 'infinite translatability' of the opera, and how he wanted to take advantage of the medium of film to explore things which could never be done in a staged production - bits of backstory, magical moments, vistas of grand scale, and so on. Unfortunately I found this translated to way more MTV-style camera movement and CGI than I wanted to see. Baz Luhrman's recent musicals have used these tricks with much more success. To be fair, Branagh's discussion of his approach made many of the choices much more palatable to me, but only in retrospect, which isn't really the way it should be.

The cast sounded terrific, and I found myself wishing I could see them in a 'real' production.

Branagh also spoke of making it accessible to new audiences, and to that end, Stephen Fry's new adaptation of the libretto was fantastic.

Having heard KB speak about it I think it was a great artistic experiment (as befitting many staged productions), though I'm not convinced it will fare too well in the cinemas. Opera fans should definitely see it, and it may serve as a very good introduction to the form for those who are intimidated by supertitles and standard opera ticket prices.

It opens in the UK on Nov 30th; I'll look forward to seeing the response it gets.

[Alexandra]

I saw this too, shadow. I agree with just about everything you said. But also I found it good fun, actually, with some out- loud laughs (like the soldiers dancing on the battlements).

I agreed with the woman who mentioned the "top shots" - there were tons of them! I liked the shot at the end where you could see little kidney shapes on the grass, and eventually the camera moved in and you realised you were seeing people's shoulders and the crowns of their heads. Kind of discombobulating and in keeping with the nutty story.

[Daniel]

I was really looking forward to this but it got a pretty poor review in The Times today. Nevertheless, I shall try to catch it this weekend - if nothing else I can enjoy the wonderful music.

[Daniel]

it got a pretty poor review in The Times today. Nevertheless, I shall try to catch it this weekend - if nothing else I can enjoy the wonderful music.

.......... and another poor review in the Sunday Times today. I went yesterday - at the Odeon Covent Garden, one of the few cinemas in London showing it & it was very poorly attended. I could see little point in the WW1 setting - & was particularly bemused by the soldiers in the trenches all wearing uniforms that looked as if they'd just been to the dry cleaners. Having said that, I adored every minute of it. There were some stunning visuals & the cast were excellent without exception. Particularly impressive was Rene Pape as Sarastro. The music was, of course, sublime.