OPERA REVIEW : ‘Magic Flute’ at UC Irvine Truly Magical : Stage: Music, drama and dance departments combine to inject new life into Mozart’s time-tested masterpiece.

IRVINE —  Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” is an imperishable masterpiece by any lights, but how many of us have sat through interminably draggy, supremely unmagical performances by major opera companies and gone home feeling it would be just fine never to see it again?

Surprise! The antidote to those secret “I-hate-the-’Flute’ ” blues is being produced right now at UC Irvine. This joint effort of the music, drama and dance departments opened Thursday night in Fine Arts Village Theater on the UCI campus and proved conclusively that you don’t need a huge budget or great voices to capture splendidly the essence of this spiritual-comic-serious-fantastic opera.

Stage director Robert Cohen, designers Douglas Scott-Goheen, Elizabeth Novak and Liz Stillwell, choreographer Janice Gudde Plastino and conductor Zelman Bokser see to it that all aspects of the work--musical, scenic and dramatic--are given proper weight.

Stunning, always apt, never inept effects abound. The chorus doesn’t clomp on and off in formation; panels on either side of the stage open from floor to ceiling to reveal the gold-robed figures in boxes stacked one on top of another, three stories high.

The Queen of the Night rises from the earth to a height of 20 feet in a metallic blue gown strung with penlights, while Sarastro enters in a chariot, drawn by dancing “lions.” The three beguiling Knaben fly in on a giant Masonic eye, later a crocodile, the three Ladies are blue, green and purple, and so it goes, imaginatively and wonderfully.

Dramatically, amalgamating the Speaker, 2nd Priest and 2nd Guard into one “High Priest” lends special continuity to Tamino’s scenes with those governing his initiation rites. Monostatos, less gross caricature than usual, actually has moments that evoke empathy, and at opera’s end, the Queen is forgiven by Sarastro--and it works.

Of course, some sing much better than others, but every cast member performs well in the occasionally awkward translation by Robert and Lorna Cohen.

Most adept are Donald Christensen (Papageno), Steve Dunham (Tamino), Laurel Boyd (Pamina) and Kerry O’Brien (Queen). The UCI Symphony provides scrappy moments and great spirit under Bokser’s sometimes hasty direction. Counting tonight, seven opportunities remain not to miss this charming production.

“The Magic Flute” continues through Nov. 18 in the Fine Arts Village Theater, UC Irvine, Campus Drive and Bridge Street, Irvine. Performances Saturday and Tuesday through Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. Matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $11 to $15. Information: (714) 856-5000.