Welsh National Opera gives us Mozart’s The Magic Flute on a sporadic basis at the Wales Millennium Centre, and though Dominic Cooke’s surreal production delighted us each time it played, new ideas have come into the fray. Daisy Evans, who has been making a name for herself with the company, gives us the second new production of this opera at this venue: a story of love, duty, faith and dragons, though anyone seeking the later here might be let down.

Tamino is on a quest to win over his childhood crush Pamina, yet she is assigned the killing of her father Sarastro by her mother, the Queen Of The Night. Along with Papagano and friends, the couple endure trials and tribulations, with their relationship tested at every turn. Sarastro leads the proceedings, and the idea of the villain is tested as the opera goes on. 

Given the amount of media and stage work with an 80s sheen I’ve seen recently, it appears enough time has gone by for it to again be considered aesthetically worthwhile. Here, cyberpunk mingles with Miami Vice and even Ready Player One. Whilst Daisy had a hit on her hands with her jab at Don Pasquale, and the injection of Welshness into the Flute got some laughs around the theatre, there were no big punches.

The eye for 1980s-specific detail is commendable – designer Loren Elstein can take credit here – and the younger audiences this seems to be aiming at might be taken with this unconventional take on one of the world’s most performed operas. The magic flute itself, for example, is more of a wand or lightsaber, while LED lights are used to humorous and stirring effect. Puppeteering, of floating orbs and birds, starts off as charming, then quickly becomes repetitive as the story goes on.

On the singing front, there are fine features. Prince Tamino is played by the straight-laced and handsome Trystan Llŷr Griffiths, here given at least three costumes for most of his adventure. Griffiths made his name in Wales and continues to impress (his stint in the company’s Don Giovanni is well remembered a year ago); his tenor has gusto and is lovely to hear. The Queen Of The Night, Julia Sitkovetsky, is afforded the best moment of the evening when her second aria mirrors the filtered light from the opera’s first production, as a halo of lights flashes and flutters around her. Though her acting in the spoken moment is less convincing, her heightened voice livens up after an unsure first act.

The famous bird-catcher Papageno is played with aplomb by Adam Ant lookalike Quirijn De Lang, whose Welsh accent held up as quite funny amidst all the strange goings on. Raven McMillon, as Pamina, has the strident musical chops in what usually seems a demanding role, a more serious counterweight to the tonal shifts of joy and frivolity in the rest of the show.

Jonathan Lemalu offers a cooler take on Sarastro, dubbed the villain but the eventual saviour for the young couples, and his more subtle approach to the role makes you think about the shift in how the character is perceived. The sublime contrasts with the ridiculous in Chuma Sijeqa’s Speaker beside Alun Rhys-Jenkins as Monostatos – almost unrecognisable visually, more like something from Dr Seuss – but, combined, offer insight and whimsy. 

Jenny Stafford’s Papagena is a brief role, but her voice remains a treat, and a supporting cast also delight on that front, though questionable costumes for the chorus cause some members to resemble Mickey Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Conductor Paul Daniel makes a rare but successful Cardiff appearance.

Attendees who have never previously seen The Magic Flute will encounter a version essentially unfaithful to the original – at least in the text – which could baffle. Traditional opera fans might also scoff at the liberties taken with an opera arguably in no need of updating, aside from some problematic elements. I note that Cooke’s previous staging, some of the set pieces of which remain fondly in the mind, prompted moments of applause not found here. The singing, as good as it is, barely saves Evans’ new version, which feels like a flight of fancy. The show comes off as jarring, uninspiring and arbitrary.

The Magic Flute, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, Sun 5 Mar

Also on Sat 11 and Wed 15-Fri 17 Mar. Tickets: £17-£74.50 / £5 under-16s. Info: here

In Venue Cymru, Llandudno from Wed 29-Fri 31 Mar. Info: here

words JAMES ELLIS