Dans La Flûte enchantée, se rencontrent le prince d’un pays lointain à la recherche d’une princesse emprisonnée, un serpent géant, un oiseleur fanfaron, une Reine de la nuit et un Grand Prêtre imposant d’étranges rites de passage. Comment appréhender le dernier opéra de Mozart, créé à Vienne en 1791, deux mois avant sa mort ? Comme un merveilleux conte pour enfants, comme le reflet de l’appartenance de Mozart et de son librettiste Schikaneder à la franc‑maçonnerie, ou comme la plus ardente méditation sur l’existence humaine ? Le metteur en scène Robert Carsen tente de dépasser le manichéisme du livret – l’opposition entre le Bien, représenté par Sarastro, et le Mal, représenté par la Reine de la nuit – en considérant que chacun d’entre eux guide les jeunes Tamino et Pamina sur le chemin de la sagesse. Une lecture optimiste qui n’évacue pas l’idée de la mort, décrite par Mozart dans une lettre à son père comme « notre meilleure amie ».

La Flûte enchantée (saison 22/23) - Huw Montague Rendall (Ein Madchen Oder Weibchen)

La Flûte enchantée (saison 22/23) - Ouverture

La Flûte enchantée (saison 22/23) -  Mauro Peter (Wie Stark Ist Nicht Dein Zauberton)

J.S.Bach Goldberg Variatio 25

A long soundscape across Dawn in the Queets River Valley rainforest of the Olympic National Park. Starting in Astronomical Twilight, a small herd of Roosevelt Elk walks in from a distance, though a small forest glade, an away towards the Queets River bed.

Early Autumn rainfall and dropping Maple Leaves are the dominant sounds to begin, their pak-pak-spaks are a reminder that time passes, even in the still quiet of a moss-covered forest.

Highway 101 in less than 12 miles away, and distant traffic is funneled up the Valley, showing the difficulty of escaping human-generated sound. This has been mitigated somewhat with light processing, but close listening and inspection will make remnants evident. There are no other edits or processes committed.

I love the crisp cold air of the rainforests in the fall. Sounds, natural and human generated, carry into the distant. Tucked into my sleeping bag, I lay back in my small tent, listening to the forest awaken. Where once there was just the soft distant wash of the river, the elk are joined by the local birds. Steller's Jays shriek their song with grating-yet-amusing "CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAs". A Northern Saw-whet toots in the forest canopy. Young Varied Thrush practice their songs, not quite reaching the beautiful and haunting signature fluting of their predecessors, instead emitting a silly buzzer-bell-like noise. Pacific Wren singing at the end of their season and the occasional Kingfisher make an appearance as well. Noe of these complete with the sheer vibrance of the elk.

Roosevelt Elk or Roosevelt's Wapiti or Rainforest Elk are the largest remaining elk species in North America and thrive in shadowy silences of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rainforests. Bull's bugles and roars echo through the trees, becoming one of the signature sounds of the Olympic Mountains. The cows mew and squeal in return, listening for one another to not wander far astray.

The small herd is a tight-nit family group, a with one, maybe two, dominant bulls, five or six cows in their harem, and a handful of young. The dominant bull leads the group on a daily hike, down from the upper valley to the river and back again. Their bugles urge the group, both signaling the direction to go and scolding those that dawdle. As they pass through the glade, their heavy footfall on the vegetative floor thump-thump-thumps their presence as much as the vocalizations and the continued crushing of vegetation as they push by.

I can't get enough of their energy. They pull back frequently. No matter how many times I encounter them, Elk never cease to awe me.

Click through the comments below for some highlights!

Northwest Soundscapes

Queets River Valley Rainforest Dawn with Roosevelt Elk

Excerpt from live gig 2023 for Piano Day 2023

Cave (Live Excerpt 2023)

Summer Terrace Jazz

A Cup of Happiness

2023-07-16

A Landscape Of Memories

Reminiscence VI

La Flûte enchantée (saison 22/23) - Mauro Peter (Wie Stark Ist Nicht Dein Zauberton)

Opéra national de Paris