This was a terrible version of this opera. Besides the fact that it is Mozart, and therefore amazing, I wouldn't recommend it to anybody unless there is no chance of you ever seeing it properly, even on video. I will say that the singers for Pamina and Sarastro were both incredible, and it was almost worth it for that alone. But otherwise it was a mess. The digital aspect was poorly done and did not have the desired effect. The inclusion of random dancers was bizarre and made little sense. The talking was in English and the singing in German, why? There isn't that much talking in this opera, surely the performers could have memorized it. But the absolute worst thing was the choice to suspend the Queen of the Night at the top of the stage, a la the film Amadeus. It would be a nice visual idea if her entirety but her feet were not obscured to anybody not sitting on the floor due to a screen, but in actuality is completely unfitting of the emotional affect of her scenes. I honestly cannot believe the director doesn't understand this. The Queen of the Night is a terrifying figure to be sure, but she is also Pamina's mother. There is a necessary intimacy to their interaction as the Queen torments her with her command. That scene loses its intensity by placing the Queen away from Pamina, makes her less Pamina's mother and more a vengeful spirit, rather than both. On top of the narrative consequence, because there was a screen obscuring the Queen, her voice carried at about half the volume of the other performers' voices. It was just a frankly unforgivable choice. (And I won't even mention the shaky aria...)
I regret wasting my time with this. It would have been more worthwhile watching the Royal Opera House version on YouTube.
