Where the princes are

Young Chang

Prince Tamino, one of the main characters in Mozart’s musical fairy

tale “The Magic Flute,” is patient, brave and silent.

The actor who portrays him, tenor David Miller, has some similar

qualities.

He is patient. He started as a member of the chorus years ago and

worked his way up the cast hierarchy to a small part, then an understudy,

and now the Prince. He has played Tamino in about half of the seven or

eight “Magic Flute” productions he has been in.

He is brave. He started singing when everyone thought he would follow

in his father’s footsteps as an aerospace engineer. When Miller was a

student at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, his parents advised

that he graduate with a music education degree as well, in case singing

didn’t work out.

He told them, “I’m not even entertaining the idea.”

“If you split your goals, you run the risk of accomplishing nothing,”

Miller, 27, said.

Today, the tenor who has performed with the Washington Opera, the

Michigan Opera Theatre, the Portland Opera Theatre and the Pittsburgh

Opera says he has accomplished his goals.

His most recent run with “The Magic Flute” concludes Sunday at the

Orange County Performing Arts Center. Part of the Eclectic Orange

Festival and produced by Opera Pacific, it will be a memorable production

for Miller.

Maurice Sendak, of “Where the Wild Things Are” fame, designed the set,

with trees, castles, flowers, a hot-air balloon, a nighttime sky and

costumes for characters that resemble pieces of a pop-up book.

Conductor Carl St.Clair, director of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra,

makes his Opera Pacific debut on the podium for the production.

Miller plays a prince trying to save a captured princess. In the

process, Prince Tamino overcomes obstacles and plays a magic flute to

survive.

“It’s always interesting to come back to this show, because there are

100 different ways character-wise you can jump into this,” Miller said.

“Maurice Sendak’s set is very much like the illustrations in his books.

They’re more fanciful. You’re afforded a little more leeway in presenting

the character kind of cartoon-y.”

Director Dorothy Danner likes the world Sendak has created. “He can be

darkly sinister and yet charming,” Danner said. “It’s a combination of

ancient Egypt and the 18th century world of the Freemasons and those

wonderful creatures that are in all of his books that sort of overlook

the production.”

She calls the piece “tricky,” with many ways of dealing with the text.

“There’s a real balance between the comedy and the deep spirituality

of the piece. That’s what I’m striving for,” said Danner, who is the

sister of actress Blythe Danner.

For Miller, playing Tamino again means striving to break out of his

comfort zone.

“I have gotten comfortable,” he said. “Being comfortable is a major

drawback when it comes to art. It doesn’t compel you. I’m gonna try to

take it to the next step. That’s when it gets scary.”

“The Magic Flute” appeals to him as an opera because it’s

approachable..

“A lot of times, opera is a little bit lofty,” Miller said. “It was

written for the aristocracy for many years. But ‘Magic Flute’ is for the

everyday guy. It’s good to bring first-time opera-goers.”

FYI

WHAT: “The Magic Flute”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. today, 2 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive,

Costa Mesa

COST: $29 to $107.

CALL: (714) 740-7878.