Tanglewood? Glimmerglass? More like Tangled-what? Glimmer-who? Mom’s operas in our back field, staged amidst barnyard animals and apple orchards provided a symphony of nature, music, and drama coming together in perfect harmony. Or perhaps hee-haw-harmony to be exact. To be honest, if you have not seen the Magic Flute performed with real live farm animals, I am not sure you have truly witnessed Mozart’s magical woods.
We named our animals after the opera's characters, of course, so when we staged Palmina with Tamino, our beloved Morgan horse Palmina would gallop-up, nicker for a treat, and wait for a good rub behind the ears. When mom would try to shoo her away her eyes would sing Palmina’s lament "Ach, ich fühl's" (Oh, I feel it — ie I’ve been abandoned) with her eyes. Sally and Porkchop, the pigs, always keeping it light, couldn’t help, but send-out a snort of laughter. “looks like we’ve got some equine romance going on around here” Sally would chuckle.
One performance was so romantic it would make even Romeo and Juliet swoon! As Mom and Henry Chapin were stringing-up the flags between the apple trees to delineate the stage, they looked over and found Pappageno kissing Pappagana behind a crab apple tree. The onstage romance had kindled a real life love affair!
The actors were so committed to their roles that they didn't even flinch when Bitsy the goat wandered up and started nibbling on Pappagena's feathers. And speaking of feathers, the rooster pranced around Pappageno, dodging the comedic bird catcher, giving the sense that Mozart must have written his classic opera with an actual part for a ravishing rooster!
When Tamino sang "Oh help me," the sheep always scattered as they saw he was being chased by a giant serpent. But Rosa and Jose, our two Sicilian burros, always protective of the sheep, came in on cue with the Three Ladies. Who needs the high Cs and coloratura of the Queen of the Night when you've got the hee-haw chorus showing off their full range of three octaves?
Mom always cast Dad as Sarastro. His deep base voice glued the show together with his manner of a gentle storyteller/country doctor. Decked-out in purple pagan robes Sarastro introduces us to the idea of spiritual enlightenment and personal transformation sending our hero Tamino on a journey of self-discovery and transformation on his quest for true love. Always with a sense of humor and twinkle Mozart would have loved this barnyard version.
In this era where the stakes are much higher and we are experiencing extreme trials of fire and water and hurting each other; we need to embrace Mozart’s message of love, compassion and unity more than ever. The trials of fire and water and the transformational healing power of love and compassion could not be more apropos to today's times. Mozart's music and message can inspire us to bring our highest and most evolved selves to these epic times and create a whole new body of possibilities and interpretations for the human experience.
“Until we meet again….”
~ The Celinas
Love these images of animals and music together in a field. There’s a rescue horse sanctuary in Delaware County where a man plays his guitar to the horses in the field and if you watch horses dancing in dressage competitions you can imagine they feel music the way we do. Maybe a Mozart at the farm event is in the future? We’d love to attend :)
Having grown-up in a suburban New York City suburb in Westchester, I never got to experience anything like rural barnyard living. I also never got the kind of indoctrination into wonderful classical music and song that your mom and dad provided. Your life is immeasurably enhanced by both.
I did, however, have a unique experience on July 31, 2016 when the Bridgehampton, NY Chamber Music Festival featured a wonderful evening with actor Alan Alda (a long time summer resident who is otherwise a New Jersey native) exploring the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart through his music and letters as he studied and composed all over Europe, starting at the very young age.
For several hours we sat transfixed by the incredible beauty of the music, being performed by a large orchestra, and the angelic voices of the soloists. Mr. Alda has long been one of my favorites actors, and on this particular evening in the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church he did not disappoint. He would periodically rise from his seat, put on his reading glasses, and proceed to portray Mozart himself through the letters that he was writing to his beloved Papa.
You got your Magic Flute. I got one magical evening. We both won!