Following their acclaimed partnership in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in the 2021-22 season, soprano Golda Schultz and tenor Ben Bliss reunite as the noble Pamina and Tamino in Mozart’s timeless fable Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), a duo who must rely on each other to make it through a daunting series of trials. The pair recently spoke with the Met’s Jay Goodwin about the enduring power of the story, the fresh perspective offered by Simon McBurney’s innovative production, and what both can teach us about the value of human relationships.
Die Zauberflöte, with its unique combination of slapstick comedy, intricate symbolism, mystical philosophizing, and straightforward fairy-tale adventure, is a difficult opera to pin down. Which aspects of the piece resonate the most with each of you?
Golda Schultz: What I take away from this opera is what we owe to each other as people. How do we relate to each other? How do we listen to one another? How do we grow together? There are so many interconnected relationships. Pamina and Tamino meet each other for the first time, and they have to trust one another—two wonderful yet flawed people finding each other and coming to a space of equanimity and trying to build something new.
Ben Bliss: It’s similar to spiritual texts in that you can draw on it to find meaning in a lot of different situations. It’s allegorical and abstract, so it leaves a lot more room for you to breathe your own insights into it. There’s no bottom to the rabbit hole. It’s also the very first opera I ever sang, so for me it’s like a journal, or a tattoo, where I always remember who I was and what I was doing at that time, and I can see how far I’ve come. And of course, it has some of the most beautiful music in all of opera.
What makes Die Zauberflöte stand out from Mozart’s other operas?
Schultz: The soundscape that Mozart created through the spoken dialogue is magnificent. He plays with the natural lyricism of the German language, and he recognized the importance of showcasing the vernacular on stage. For Mozart, this is music for the people.
Bliss: Yes, the dialogue makes a huge difference. Whenever I work with young singers, one thing I always say is that my favorite artists are the ones who speak with their singing, who make opera feel less like showing off how loud or high or low they can sing, and more like an amazing tool to tell a story, to sit by a campfire and weave a yarn. The spoken sections make this a lot easier.
Simon McBurney’s production was widely celebrated at its 2023 Met premiere. What makes his staging special?
Bliss: I love that it derails the ritual. It doesn’t say, “Okay, the lights are going down, be quiet, the show is about to begin.” We’re just a bunch of people in a room together. The lights are still up when the music starts. I love that feeling of community. I also love that he has a visual artist and a Foley artist creating backdrops and sound effects in real time and in full view, as well as having the pit raised so that the audience can see the orchestra play. You’re seeing a really great opera, and you’re also seeing how the sausage is made.
Schultz: There’s something very democratic about it. It really drives home that this is for all of us, that we are all here together sharing this experience.
Let’s talk about your roles. What does this production reveal about Pamina and Tamino?
Schultz: One thing I really love is that when you meet Pamina, she’s not a pretty princess just waiting to be saved. She is an extremely active person, already working to save herself. In other productions, I’ve had to fight in rehearsal to give her more cunning, to show that she’s strong. Simon’s approach is more true to the character. Pamina ultimately proves her mettle by passing through Sarastro’s trials, by understanding her own worth, by respecting herself and respecting other people.
Bliss: For me, one thing that Simon keeps coming back to is that Tamino has no idea what’s going on, and he’s freaking out. He’s impetuous and looking for something, anything to get behind. It takes a complementary relationship with Pamina, where we build on each other’s strength, for him to be successful. The partnership is greater than the sum of its parts. And you don’t gain trust with a partner by sitting on the beach together. You learn more from losing than you do from winning, and our trust is tested right away.
Schultz: These are two traumatized people. He’s been chased by a giant snake, and she’s being pursued through a dark dungeon by a horrible man. Then, they’re thrust together and forced to deal with this very challenging, threatening situation with no prior knowledge of each other. They do their best, but the events of the show make them question whether things are actually the way that they appear. They have to wonder if the other will be what they hope them to be, what they expect them to be. So this production shows you how trauma can influence how we see the things around us. It takes us out of the fairy-tale realm and puts us where we are right now as human beings. Like Pamina and Tamino, it seems like the two of you have become a strong team through shared challenge.
Bliss: Golda and I have been singing quite a bit together around the world for the last few years. As we’ve learned more about each other, we’ve built trust, and all of a sudden, we’re close friends. We’ve made some spectacular music together and hope to do so for years to come.
