The Magic Piccolo: Follow-up

In today's New York Times, Anthony Tommasini offers a more thoughtful examination of the Met's proposed shortened 'Magic Flute'. He makes the strong point that Mozart was first and foremost a man of the theatre and would adapt his works to suit individual performers and productions. Having had a few days to contemplate my initial post, I think I was perhaps a bit too contentious. I still stand by my opinion that this production is primarily motivated by financial concerns (the paradox that "attracting audiences, while ensuring the future of the artform, also makes the company more money), but my cries of artistic heresy should be tempered somewhat. They are still using Julie Taymor's highly creative production, they will no doubt be using some of the finer Met singers (probably some of the younger ones), and Mozart's music will still be there, albeit in a shorter form. I am still worried for the future, but I am willing to give this production the benefit of the doubt, and to see what its impact on the future will be.

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