The Magic Flute, Royal Opera House review: an ideal if imperfect Christmas prelude

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It has just brought back David McVicar’s production of Die Zauberflöte for its seventh revival, and, although not perfect this time round, this show still makes an ideal prelude to Christmas. I doubt whether revival-director Barbara Lluch devoted much time to getting her to imagine her way into her role; as a result there’s a gaping hole where the story’s heart should be. Meanwhile conductor Leo Hussain too needs lessons, including one about keeping time with his soloists; at present his coarse-grained approach to the score is obliterating Mozart’s loveliest instrumental effects. It would take a heart of stone not to appreciate the gentle humour of this production, whose magic is charmingly abetted by John Macfarlane’s painterly sets and by Paule Constable’s chiaroscuro lighting.