Lighting design puts modern day feel on Mozart's opera
Glacier Symphony and Chorale stage manager Derek Larson is designing the projection backgrounds for the group’s performance of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” (Daniel McKay/Whitefish Pilot)
When “The Magic Flute” takes the stage this weekend at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center, it will be Mozart re-imagined by Derek Larson.
Larson, stage manager for Glacier Symphony and Chorale, has been tasked with taking the 1791 opera into the present day.
“It’ll be Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ like you’ve never seen it before,” he said. “It brings a new element, something fresh that brings it into the now. I think it should be interesting. [Conductor] John Zoltek has got a really cool vision and it’s going to be fun.”
The opera is the two-show finale for the 10th annual Festival Amadeus, which takes place in Whitefish through Aug. 13.
“The Magic Flute” premiered in Vienna in September 1791, just months before Austrian composer Wolfgang Mozart’s death.
Mozart’s opera tells the story of Prince Tamino, who is tasked by the “Queen of the Night” to rescue her daughter Pamina from Sarastro, a high priest. Instead of completing the rescue, Prince Tamino seeks to join Sarastro. Tamino and Pamina complete several trials of initiation and join forces to defeat the Queen of the Night, while Tamino’s companion Papageno fails the trials.
With a shorter rehearsal time and smaller scale performance, GSC is swapping out the big set designs for a projection background created by Larson for the opera, as well as English subtitles for the non-German speakers in the audience for the Festival Amadeus performances.
To create this, Larson combined some of his own images with those of Daniel Williams and Call of the Wild Photography, layering different elements in colorful, creative ways to complement the music on the stage.
A musician himself, Larson studied music synthesis at Berklee College of Music in Boston and performs with his wife, Kristen, in their band William Ingrid.
He’s been working with GSC for seven years and is a Kalispell native.
Designing the images for the opera is similar to work he’s done for other bands in the area, he said, but the classical element gives it a fun twist.
“Usually I do this behind jazz or rock or electronic music, but in this scenario there’s much more subtleties and more cues that I have to deal with as well,” he said. “So besides just getting something up there that represents it either literally or abstract, you’ve got to learn the piece and know the story and follow along.”
Larson said putting the images together hasn’t been easy, but a little help from Zoltek made it easier to get started.
“It’s super fun to make all this stuff, just time consuming. John Zoltek gave me quite a bit of direction. It would’ve been hard to start without a few starting points from him, and then from there I just see what works and what doesn’t,” he added.
While not a classical musician himself, Larson said he enjoys Festival Amadeus and sees the importance of the week-long event.
In a town that loves music, he said, it’s good to keep traditions and culture alive.
“I enjoy being involved with something that I think is important for our community, which is keeping classical music alive,” he said.
“The Magic Flute” will have performances on Saturday and Sunday at the Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m.
Festival Amadeus runs through Sunday. Two chamber music nights will be held on Wednesday and Friday at the O’Shaughnessy Center at 7:30 p.m. One orchestra night remains for the festival on Thursday at the PAC at 7:30 p.m.
Festival passes are available for the series or individual tickets. Visit gscmusic.org for details and pricing or call the GSC Box Office, 406-407-7000.