Garden State Singers modernize Mozart with a mystical new take on ‘The Magic Flute’

Garden State Singers will present “The Magic Flute” in Plainfield, Aug. 22 and 24.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)” is loved for its thrilling music, imaginative story and fairy-tale quality. To modern audiences, however, Emanuel Schikaneder’s libretto can also raise eyebrows and inspire debate with its outdated themes, characterizations and cultural values.

Garden State Singers will take a revisionary crack at it with a new adaptation by Maximilian Del Rosario, Aug. 22 and 24 at the duCret Center of Art in Plainfield. The classic story is transposed into a mystical, modern world of magic inhabited by sorcerers and magicians, with the inclusion of new English texts alongside the original German Singspiel songs and recitatives.

Conducted by music director Leonardo L. Leuci, this will be the first opera mounted by the performing arts nonprofit founded in 2024 in Jersey City. The organization — headed by Leuci (president), Cruz Roger Romero (vice president, who will sing Papageno) and Del Rosario (treasurer) — is committed to making music of all genres accessible in New Jersey and giving young artists a platform to tell their stories.

Del Rosario, who is nonbinary and goes by them/they, couldn’t have picked a better ally for their mainstage debut than Mozart, with his forever-young spirit and sensitive heart. “I’ve always loved ‘The Magic Flute’ because to Mozart and Schikaneder, it was such a personal piece,” they say. “They put all of their heart and soul into it and so many of their beliefs are wrapped up in it.”

Lots of mythology surrounds the work, which premiered in 1791 at the Vienna theater that Schikaneder ran. He sang the role of the bird-catcher Papageno and Mozart conducted, only two months before his death. It was an instant hit, and centuries later it is still one of the world’s most beloved and performed operas.

The story is full of Masonic allegories and themes; Mozart and Schikaneder both had ties to this society. Prince Tamino is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the priest Sarastro. With the help of a magic flute and Papageno, Tamino enters Sarastro’s realm, where Pamina is being watched over by the servant Monostatos. Tamino learns that Sarastro leads a brotherhood, and he and Pamina undergo trials to join it. Papageno eventually finds a partner, Papagena, and the Queen of the Night’s attempt to overthrow Sarastro fails.

MAXIMILIAN DEL ROSARIO

Most productions feature giant serpents and fairy-tale enchantments, but artistic director Del Rosario wanted something more modern. “A lot of productions stick to that classical staging and look very similar,” they say. “While I appreciate that, I always thought that with the fantastical world Schikaneder created, there are so many different places you could take it. Especially now, we’re in an era with a lot of urban fantasy storytelling and modernized operas, and I wanted to see where I could go with that framework.”

Yes, there will be modern technology; props include cellphones.

Back when the idea was coming together, Del Rosario had been reading “One for My Enemy” (2019) by Olivie Blake, an urban fantasy novel that updates “Romeo and Juliet” to modern New York and is centered around two witch families fighting to maintain control of their criminal empires. Some of those urban fantasy tropes will blend with dark academia, a popular genre with a Gothic flavor whose stories are often set in elite universities or cloistered schools and explore the allure and dangers of intellectual life.

“Max makes it relevant to the world right now, to what people are watching and reading,” Leuci says. “I think it makes it a little more accessible for the audience because this opera is following a similar genre that they might like, so it opens them up to explore classical music and opera. Opera is in a bit of a crisis right now to remain relevant, and I think this is one way to help it get one foot forward and start building some momentum.”

Del Rosario wrote a new text setting (in English) for the speaking parts of the libretto, attempting to neutralize the opera’s Freemasonry themes and allegories, which can feel racist, sexist, elitist and paternalistic to modern audiences.

LEONARDO L. LEUCI

“There were some elements that haven’t entirely aged well just because in a couple hundred years, things change, climates change and society changes,” Leuci says. “So Max took some of those more problematic elements and either rewrote the plot in the way that it wasn’t as necessary to mention those things, or wrapped it up in subtle ways that are a little bit more appropriate for now.”

In the original libretto, Sarastro runs a secret society in the Temple of Wisdom with strict rules, rituals and initiations. In the second act, Tamino and Papageno are inducted through Masonic trials. In Del Rosario’s adaptation, the Temple becomes an academy of teaching and education under Sarastro (Daniel Rotshteyn) that is open to everyone. The Three Priests were changed into the Three Sages (Isaiah James, Jae Garraway, Paulo Acevedo), who help everyone in the pursuit of knowledge.

Beginning with the audition process, Leuci and Del Rosario wondered how the cast would react to the 21st century take on an 18th century work, especially because most of them had sung the opera in traditional settings many times before.

“I remember a lot of people coming in at that first rehearsal and being like, ‘I’ve done “Magic Flute” before but I’ve never done it like this, and I’m so interested to see how it all comes together,’ ” Leuci says. “Even during the audition process, I had people emailing me, saying that even if they didn’t get in, they were really interested to see what the opera would turn into.”

Del Rosario also had positive feedback. “On the audition form, we did not hide what we were doing at all. We were clear in saying that we were changing the theme and the text to this new meaning that changes the plot. I kind of love that, because once we set up the first rehearsal, a lot of them came up to me and were like, ‘Your ideas!’ ”

Many of those ideas addressed the libretto’s glaring gender biases. There are several lines that state that women are weak, and prone to deceit. Their emotions are contrasted against the enlightenment and wisdom of the brotherhood.

In the Queen of the Night’s famous aria “Der Hölle Rache,” she appears in a flash of lightning and thunder and tells Pamina that she must murder Sarastro — and if she doesn’t, she will disown her. Despite this thrilling aria, plus a tenderhearted song in the first act that inspires Tamino to set off on his quest for Pamina, she is often demonized as hysterical, manipulative and vengeful, reinforcing negative stereotypes about powerful women, especially when stacked up against Sarastro, who is a benevolent father figure to Tamino.

SUZANNAH WADDINGTON

Del Rosario’s update fleshes out the Queen as a villainess with true motives. They say they had a long discussion with Suzannah Waddington, who is playing this character, “about how the Queen of the Night is usually portrayed. And I walked out of it thinking, not only did she understand her character but she understands the world I’m trying to build and how she fits into it.”

The Queen’s Three Ladies (Franchesca Solís, Laura Isabella, Tomoko Nago) give Tamino and Papageno three spirits to guide them on their arduous journey to Sarastro’s temple. Traditionally the spirits are sung by males but here they will be sung by females and called the Three Teens (Ally Christiansen, Sarah Elizabeth Drake, Jenna Sims).

Pamina, too, was given more dimensionality. Though she is central to the story, her role is mainly reactive, and she is manipulated, threatened and tested by the male authority figures around her. “I thought, if we’re putting this in a modern setting, she should have more agency,” Del Rosario says. “At her core, she’s just a teenager in a really bad situation who still has some optimism.”

Kristina Marie Terwilliger’s Pamina will be more realistic than the dainty maiden of the libretto. She will fight back with Monostatos to lessen the coercive dynamic of their relationship, and will join Sarastro’s group of her own accord instead of being kidnapped by him.

MARK ANTHONY MARTINEZ II

Monostatos (Mark Anthony Martinez II) was most in need of modernization. The opera was written during a time of fascination with exotic settings and rituals, but what once was seen as fantastical mysticism can now look like cultural appropriation and caricature. In the libretto he is a Turkish Moor, depicted as villainous and lustful, and the traits are tied directly to his ethno-racial identity. His skin color is mentioned repeatedly, and his desire for Pamina is framed as unnatural because of his race.

Most modern productions minimize or erase the racial content and turn him into a ridiculous buffa character or a fantastical ghoul, but Del Rosario dug deeper. “Even if we removed the racial element of it, I still think he represents a subset of men who feel entitled to the love of a woman for one reason or another, and they come up with a million excuses as to why they don’t get it. For Monostatos, that excuse is the color of his skin. I felt we could replace that with literally anything else, and he still would come across as this figure of toxic masculinity … So there was still a lot to explore, even just taking out the color of his skin.”

Another character that strays into toxic territory by today’s yardstick is Tamino (David Smolokoff), an Egyptian prince. Del Rosario wanted him to be more grounded, which started by removing references to him being “a prince from a foreign land. In the original dialogue and in most productions, he’s very haughty. He’s like, ‘I’m very powerful and I’m doing this because it’s my birthright.’ But then also in the first scene, he gets his butt kicked by a snake! So I thought that it would be far more interesting to see him as someone who gets caught up in this situation and then eventually ends up finding himself in the process.”

Cruz Roger Romero will sing Papageno.

The comic role of Papageno also benefited from subtle tweaks. He is often stereotyped as simplistic and foolish; his only aspiration in life is to catch a pretty little wife, which he does by the end with Lauryn Boyle’s Papagena.

Del Rosario wanted to give the role more dimension while keeping the comedic aspects intact. “Papageno is a silly character. He was Schikaneder’s self-insert and he’s there as pure comic relief. He comes in and sings a silly song, and moves the plot around by not knowing what’s happening. Cruz obviously knows what is happening around him, but he plays the character as this sort of aloof dude who is in this world where everyone else is serious and dark.”

Del Rosario, Leuci and Romero met as students at New Jersey City University in Jersey City. Leuci was pursuing a degree in music education, and Del Rosario and Romero were classical voice majors. Their circle of friends also included Emily Niemeyer, who will be the stage manager of this production.

“It’s a small program so you really get to know everyone,” Del Rosario says. “We were always talking to each other about how much we wanted to put on shows after we graduated.” And that’s exactly what they did. They decided to put their plans into action after realizing that there weren’t many opera companies in Jersey City and its surrounding communities.

“There were a lot of musical theater opportunities, which is great,” Leuci says. “But for whatever reason, most of the performance opportunities for opera are happening far away from where we are in Jersey City. Every time my husband (Romero) is performing in an opera, it’s like an hour away in some direction, so we started thinking about how we could do opera performances with people who live around here.”

Their debut performance was at duCret in September 2024, with a concert of works by Mozart, Verdi, Brahms and others. Next up is a concert of new pieces by living composers, Sept. 20 in Ridgefield Park.

David Smolokoff will sing Prince Tamino.

Expanding into Union County is part of their mission to bring the performing arts to New Jersey communities that don’t have strong ties to musical culture. “We are doing the opera in Plainfield, where a lot of opera typically doesn’t happen,” Leuci says. “It’s a way to give that community a chance to see opera without having to leave the state and go all the way into New York City.”

Another goal is to give emerging artists paid opportunities to perform around the state. “The Magic Flute” will include a chorus of young singers from both high school and college levels. “For some of them, this is their first opera ever, and seeing the effort they have put in is inspiring,” Del Rosario says. “I feel like it really represents something that we want for the company, which is to show younger people in the area that they can do opera, that it will always be there for them, and that they can do it even if they have never done it before.”

Outside the organization, Leuci is a high school teacher in Hudson County and organizes his school’s musicals. He is also a pianist and accompanist. “The Magic Flute” will mark his operatic conducting debut; he has conducted musicals and classical recitals, but never a full opera. He will lead a reduced orchestration featuring a string quartet and a woodwind trio of flute (naturally), oboe and bass clarinet.

“I think having a small ensemble adds that extra element of a real opera performance,” Leuci says. “I’ve done track shows and there’s nothing wrong with that, but from the audience perspective, I think live music adds an extra layer of artistry.”

As far as Garden State Singers’ future … Del Rosario’s progressive ideas have caught on like wildfire. “Every person on the production team right now has their own idea of an opera they want to do,” Leuci says. “We’re toying around with different ideas.”

One is Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” set as a Spanish telenovela. In Garden State Singers’ courageous hands, one can only imagine what it will become.

Garden State Singers will present “Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)” at The duCret Center of Art in Plainfield, Aug. 22 and 24 at 7 p.m. Visit gardenstatesingers.ludus.com or sites.google.com/view/gardenstatesingers.

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