Pamina Sings Poem by gershon hepner

“Ach ich fuhl’s, ” Pamina sings,
because Tamino doesn’t love her,
she thinks. He’s waiting in the wings,
and silence will not give him cover.
Until he has completed his
ordeal Pamina has to suffer,
forbidden by a priest to quiz
the man she fears is not her lover,
but someone who obeys the Queen,
whose rules, we know, are even tougher
than those made by Sarastro––mean,
but ultimately just a bluffer!
Meanwhile we smile, because although
Tamino must for the nonce rebuff her,
once the curtain falls, we know
that he’ll steal off with her, and stuff her.

Inspired by Vivien Schweitzer’s review (“Fairy-Tale Flute Returns, Escorted by Flamingos” NYT, September 29,2009) of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Bernard Labadie. Schweitzer says that Matthias Klink was an uneven Tamino, but Susanna Phillips “offered a charming portrayal of Pamina, singing with a clear, bright and elegant soprano and affecting sadness in the aria “Ach, ich fühl’s” when she worries that Tamino doesn’t love her”. Erika Miklos “made an arresting spectacle” as the Queen of the Night, and “nimbly scaled the heights of her daunting arias, casting menacing glances and brandishing her long talons”. Schweitzer adds that Georg Zeppenfeld was a dignified Sarastro, singing with a rich, mellifluous voice.


9/25/09