Queen City Opera’s 'Super Flute' Blends the Worlds of Mozart and Mario

Isaac Selya has spent countless hours with Zelda, Mario, Big Boo, Luigi, Princess Peach, and all the other inhabitants of the Mario universe. So it makes sense that Selya’s Queen City Opera presents Super Flute, Mozart’s comic masterpiece reimagined as a video game from the Mario era. And though Selya is a gaming fan, as QCO’s artistic director, he had second thoughts about setting Mozart’s The Magic Flute in the Nintendo world.

“I was initially skeptical because, for me, Magic Flute is sacred, even though today you can’t present it straight up,” he said, referring to the opera’s in-your-face racism and misogyny.

The production originated with the Pacific Opera Project in Los Angeles.

“But when I saw this production, I saw that it does so much to open the door to opera,” he continued. “It’s funny, so well done and so appealing.”

It’s more than appealing: the concept is fabulous. Super Flute makes a seamless transition from Mozart’s original phantasmagoria of mythical realms, losing nothing but a few lines and cringe-worthy references.

The Magic Flute’s German libretto was by Mozart’s friend Emanuel Schikaneder, a producer, singer and actor who shared Mozart’s commitment to the ideals of Freemasonry. Super Flute’s English libretto is a witty adaptation by Pacific Opera Project’s artistic director Josh Shaw and bass-baritone E. Scott Levin that subtly aids the singers. They also happen to be avid gamers.

“Josh and Scott are singers, and they understand the challenge of singing English vowels and consonants,” Selya said. “They match Mozart’s use of emotion in every line, while they throw in references to Nintendo games. I love it!”

Judging from comments on the livestream available on YouTube, so did online viewers and audience members. 

All the backgrounds are projections, pixelated versions of classic Mario and Zelda challenge scenes. As the opera opens, the hero Tamino Linkman enters, pursued by a dragon.

“I’m down to one heart,” he sings plaintively. “Can I just restart?”

Three ladies working for the Queen of the Night (a female version of Ganondorf) slay the dragon and proclaim, “Here we are on level 2!”

The ladies recruit Tamino to rescue the Queen’s daughter Pamina Peach, a prisoner of Sarastro Kong, a cruel and scheming dictator, according to the Queen. Tamino’s companion is Papageno, “the plumber,” who looks a lot like Mario, collecting coins instead of the traditional birds.

Tamino finds Pamina and discovers Sarastro is a decent guy who heads a society based on Enlightenment ideals of liberty, equality and social justice. Tamino and Pamina agree to undergo trials to get to level 32. Or The Last Dance.

“It’s an easy jump to make, from one fantastical universe to the other,” Selya said, laughing.

Queen City Opera is also reaching a new level to meet the demands of the production’s technical sophistication. It’s the first time the company is performing in the Aronoff’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater and Selya is happy to have professional stagehands along with the cachet of the venue itself.

“I always assumed that the Aronoff would be above our league, either in terms of cost and capacity but after our last production, I knew we’d need a better space.

“When I looked at Aronoff’s physical space, I knew we could do something really special. We have a grant from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation that helps, and a lot of the stuff we’re used to doing will be covered by the Cincinnati Arts Association staff.”

Pacific Opera Project, which debuted Super Flute in 2019 and revived it last year, is noted for its innovative productions, many in updated English translations by Shaw and Scott. Selya conducted for them pre-pandemic and says the two companies share artistic and social values.

“They provide performance opportunities for emerging artists and their productions are more efficient, meaning there are judicious cuts along the way but they’re always in service to the music. Their niche is putting a lot of pop culture spins in opera.”

Shaw stages QCO’s production and Levin sings Papageno, a role he’s performed with the company since 2019.

“Scott is a veteran when it comes to Papageno, and he’s hilarious, so quick on his feet,” Selya said.

The rest of the cast and orchestra members make up a University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music showcase of students and alumni. Selya calls CCM “the world’s greatest pipeline for talent.”  

Tamino is sung by M. Andrew Jones, a frequent performer with QCO.

Soprano Erin Keesy is jumping from one Mozart level to another. Earlier this summer, she was a radiant Zerlina in Cincinnati Opera’s Don Giovanni and she transforms into Super Flute’s Pamina Peach. 

Bass Michael Hyatt inhabits Sarastro Kong. According to his bio, when he isn’t performing, he mains Ganondorf and Tanooki Mario.

Coloratura soprano Alea Vernon recently graduated from CCM with a staggering list of awards, scholarships and performance credits, including Queen of the Night. Josh Shaw worked with her while she was a high school student in Connecticut and was already impressed with her potential.

Other CCM talents include mezzos Junyue Gong and Lauren McAllister, sopranos Jackie Stevens and Claudia Neff, tenors Corbin DeSpain and Travis Pearce and baritone K. Michael Young.

The Magic Flute has long been a gateway opera for first timers and Mozart’s score is one of opera’s most accessible. It brims with romantic yearning, comic patter and dramatic, jaw-dropping flourishes, like the Queen of the Night’s bravura aria that reaches stratospheric heights.

And even in Mario world, the score is all there. 

Selya is unfazed by more traditional operagoers’ reluctance to accept the production. 

“It’s a calculated risk that we’re willing to take because people who were skeptical about opera came out and loved it. This is the spirit of the original and a fun, entertaining opera that you don’t need any background for. And I mean Mozart or Mario.”

Take it to The Last Dance!

Super Flute, presented by Queen City Opera, takes place on Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 3 and 4 at 3 p.m., at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, Downtown. More info: queencityopera.org.

This story is featured in CityBeat's July 24 print edition.