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Two young singers from the Peninsula are lending their voices to one of Mozart’s masterpieces being staged in the South Bay. Augustus Solomon, 12, of Menlo Park and Evan Kronstadt, 12, of Mountain View, are performing in Opera San Jose’s staging of Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute.” The production, which opened earlier this month, runs through Sept. 29 at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose.
Augustus and Evan are among a small group of youth participating in the production through a partnership with Cantabile Youth Singers, a Los Altos-based youth choir.
“Community collaboration is something we feel really passionately about, and Cantabile seemed like the perfect partner for this ‘Magic Flute,'” said Shawna Lucey, Opera San Jose general director and CEO.
She said that the company regularly partners with a number of area performing arts and visual arts organizations in its productions.
“It’s always great to have kids on stage because they just liven the storytelling. In this staging in particular, we have the singers of Cantabile, but we have a group of young Indian dancers (from Antara Asthaayi Dance) who are also child characters in the production. And all of that serves to tell the story of ‘The Magic Flute.’ Having them as key storytellers, as guides through the piece, I think, is an exciting way to approach Mozart’s masterpiece, but also really invites audience members and families,” she said.
Lucey mentioned that the company is offering $10 tickets for youth ages 18 and under at Sunday performances to enable greater access for families to the production.
Conducting Opera San Jose’s “The Magic Flute” is 19-year-old musical prodigy Alma Deutscher, a composer, violinist, pianist and conductor. In 2022, she conducted Opera San Jose’s revival of her opera “Cinderella.” Opera San Jose staged the opera’s U.S. premiere in 2017.
The story of “The Magic Flute” weaves a multilayered fairytale, complete with a princess held captive, heroes’ trials to secure her release, plus comic misunderstandings, forgiveness — and of course, love at first sight.
Augustus and Evan are part of a group of six young singers performing the roles of the Three Spirits, who help the main characters on their quest, and even save their lives. The singers rotate in the roles, with two alternating casts of three singers each.
Both Augustus and Evan are new to Cantabile Youth Singers, but say that the group has helped them prepare for their roles in “The Magic Flute.”
So how did each singer find his way to the operatic stage?
“I’ve pretty much been singing as long as I can remember, like when I was really little, I always sang, but I got more interested last school year because I did two musical theater productions,” Evan said. He performed in “Elf the Musical” in 2023 and “Seussical” earlier this year with Peninsula Youth Theatre.
Like his castmate, Augustus also has experience in musical theater.
“I’ve always loved to talk, and that sort of led to singing. And I would sing from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to sleep. And when I was four or three, I wrote a song called ‘Walk in the Woods.’ It consisted of 10 seconds of (singing) ‘walking in the woods,'” Augustus said, noting that he had sung with Ragazzi Boys Chorus until the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“Then two years ago, I really discovered musical theater and became obsessed when I did ‘Matilda’ as a school play.” Augustus played Miss Trunchbull, a comically mean school headmistress.
Singing in an opera required learning some additional skills, which Cantabile’s Artistic and Managing Director Elena Sharkova and Associate Conductor Jessica Carlson worked with the singers to develop.
“They helped me change my tone and style to be operatic,” Augustus said.
“The Magic Flute” has offered a wealth of new experiences for the singers.
“It’s really cool performing in a professional production. I’ve never really worked with adults, and it’s also really cool to be working with famous composer and conductor Alma Deutscher,” Evan said.
“There were tons of great moments, and I just want to say this has been an incredible opportunity to get to work with all these professionals, and also getting to work with Alma Deutscher. At first, I think me and a lot of the other kids were all sort of intimidated and scared by her, because she’s a prodigy, but she’s really nice,” Augustus said.
“I think I also really enjoy having a live orchestra, which I’ve never had before. And it’s crazy that it sounds so beautiful. It sounds like what you listen to on Apple Music. And the California Theatre is also beautiful.
“I’ve always just loved to perform on stage. And that’s my favorite part,” he added.
Another new experience for both performers was singing in German, the language in which the opera’s libretto is written.
“The most difficult part of being in this opera is the music, because it’s at a much higher level than anything I’d ever sung before, and it’s also in German, which I had never spoken. So that was really hard,” Evan said.
“Singing in German is, I found, really hard, because at first you have to learn the German, then you have to pronounce it correctly, and then you have to actually sing in it. It’s really hard, because of all the consonants and not as many vowels,” Augustus said. “Then also (there were) just a lot of late night rehearsals that got me really tired. And I’ve also missed a lot of school stuff, so I missed a school camping trip and other activities.”
Casting young performers in the company’s productions brings advantages for young and adult singers alike, Lucey said. As it is, the company has long focused on nurturing the careers of up-and-coming artists, she said, which makes it a unique opportunity for these young guest performers.
“Children remind the adults how to play and be present and to be risky and try things. Sometimes, if you’re a professional artist, you can lose track of that (as you’re) memorizing your music and thinking about all of your responsibilities. It’s wonderful for the adult performers to be in rehearsal with the children,” Lucey said.
“Then for the children, I think it’s a wonderful thing for the kids to see these incredible artists right on the verge of taking their next step as professionals and to be taken really seriously in the rehearsal room. They’re an important part of the show, and they feel that responsibility, and I think it really does add to their maturation, as community members, as artists, and feeling confident in how they express themselves, on stage, in the classroom, in their interactions with their friends.”
Performing in “The Magic Flute” has broadened Augustus’ horizons musically, he said.
“I learned that I like opera more than I thought and I’m opening (up) to exploring other genres of music, beyond musical theater, which is what I really did most,” he said.
Evan mentioned how the experience has given him a new perspective on his abilities — and opera itself.
“I learned a lot about how I can do things I didn’t really expect I could do at first. And I’ve learned a lot about the professional industry of theater. On top of that, I’ve also learned that opera, it’s not as boring as I used to think it was.”
Closing weekend performances for “The Magic Flute” take place Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m., and Sept. 29, 2 p.m., at the California Theatre, 345 S. First St., San Jose. (The Sept. 29 performance will be conducted by Johannes Löhner.) Tickets are $57.50-$222.50 ($10 tickets for audiences 18 and under on Sundays). operasj.org.
