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P. Craig Russell’s library of Opera Adaptations is a three volume collection of classic operas adapted into graphic novel form. The success of these adaptations is not just in their communication of classic operas into an accessible form, but as artworks in themselves. Russell’s characters are not a series of “talking heads” charged only with telling the story, but elements in what are true adaptations; transforming the operas into a completely different medium while remaining true to the spirit of the original works. Russell makes full use of the graphic novel form to capture the imaginative scope of the works he is adapting and makes artistic and interpretive decisions that bring out the drama and musicality of sequential art. His adaptations are written using English language translations of the original libretti.

VOLUME ONE

The Magic Flute

magic-fluteThe first volume contains a single work; Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Mozart’s original opera is a simple story of light versus dark; Sarastro representing the light and the Queen of the Night, the dark. The young hero Tamino is tricked by the Queen of the Night into believing that Sarastro is evil and has kidnapped the Queen of Night’s daughter, the beautiful Pamina. Along with the comedic Papageno, bird catcher to the Queen of the Night, Tamino sets off to rescue the girl. He is given a magic flute, and Papageno some magic bells to aid them in their quest. Russell’s adaptation follows the plot of the opera closely, and draws out its comedic and dramatic elements.

Like the opera, it opens with the overture of Tamino’s nightmare, represented through a series of traditional six panel pages, distinguished by the thick black guttering around them. These snapshot images capture the fragmented nature of Tamino’s dreaming and offer the opportunity for visual comedy in his rude awakening by Papageno, as the bird catcher interrupts the nightmarish dream panels with “Hey” and “Hey Buddy” (11, 12).

The opportunity for comedy in Tamino’s naïve chivalry and foolish nature is likewise capitalised on with great efficacy as the boy exclaims with one hand raised in the air, the other on his chest “I will rescue her though all of hell should conspire…” before being cut off by the Queen of the Night: “Indeed my son, indeed…” (18). Particularly effective here is use of the font to indicate both Tamino’s pomposity and the Queen of the Night’s interruption. Tamino’s speech, and through it his conformity to strict codes of conduct and high ideals, is represented in large, capitalised, uniform font inside a square speech bubble. The large, bold “Indeed” with which the Queen of the Night interrupts, forces the curve of its speech bubble out into a jagged edge, the font then decreasing into standard size.

As an adaptation of an opera, the representation of musical elements in this graphic novel is a particularly interesting and pertinent subject for consideration. With film and stage adaptations, the music is preserved regardless of how much the story may get manipulated; for the graphic novel, it is the music itself that has to be adapted into the purely visual/ textual stream. In Russell’s The Magic Flute, the music of the opera is experienced obliquely through the pacing and rhythm of the panels. While the panels do not represent an exact recreation of the tempo of the piece in visual form, it paints the piece in broad brushstrokes throughout. For readers familiar with the music of the opera before encountering the adaptation, it is often extremely evocative of the original music as you are reading, though this is dependent on an amount of foreknowledge.

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Overall, there is a great sensitivity to the thematic light and dark of Mozart’s opera in Russell’s adaptation which plays out beautifully in the visual art, and the setting is true to the original’s chivalric and magical underpinnings. It is a faithful telling of the story that offers a way in to the opera for new listeners and a beautiful companion for more seasoned opera lovers.

Find the full review: https://ahermitsprogress.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/the-p-craig-russell-library-of... ( )

I finally have a good idea what the plot is! Wonderful graphics, too. ( )