The Magic Flute is a strange, albeit sometimes humorous, story with some Masonic underpinnings that my wife said took a leap of faith to follow coherently. In fact, my main quibble is with none of this but with the opera itself. I believe that Russell Patterson would have been elated to see this production, from the sets designed by Jun Kaneko, the singing and playing of the musicians of the Kansas City Symphony, and to the work of so many others that make a production like this possible. I was quite enthusiastic when my wife, Rita, and I went to a performance of The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on Wednesday, November 13 th, 2013 in Brandmeyer Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri. I find myself drawn to listen to it on the radio when I can, and I even have a collection of about 10 operas on my iPod. I do not attend many opera performances but, as I have gotten older, I enjoy the art form more and more. He allowed the current artistic director, Ward Holmquist, “to carry on with the company without his looking over our shoulders.” That is quite a tribute. He was a good-natured man with a passion for opera and, when he retired, he did not stand over his successors and micro-manage them. Russell was one of the founders of the Kansas City Lyric Opera in 1958 and he retired from his position as artistic director at the conclusion of the opera company’s 40 th season in the spring of 1998. I had not seen Russell for many years, but will always be indebted to him for giving me an opportunity to perform as a flutist in the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera, and the Kansas City Ballet. Russell Patterson, passed away at age 85.
Recently, a mentor and a friend of mine, Mr.
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