• by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• In German with projected English translations.

• Approximate Running Time: 3 hours, 6 minutes

   

   

Bring the kids to this “sunny mid-winter treat.”
Chicago Sun-Times 

THE MAGIC FLUTE
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Look out for dancing bears and dinosaurs as into the enchanted forest we go! Lyric’s inspired production reflects the composer himself — seamlessly blending emotional profundity with slapstick humor that appeals to the kid in us all.

With a hapless and endearing birdcatcher as his sidekick, Prince Tamino is searching for the girl of his dreams. The mysterious Queen of the Night says her daughter’s the one — and just waiting to be rescued from the evil wizard, Sarastro. But it turns out he’s not the evil one at all!

A young couple’s journey to adulthood, the search for universal truths, Masonic rituals and religious allegory — Flute gives us much to ponder, and music that’s a wondrous joy!

“The performance was crowned by the passionate, womanly Pamina of Nicole Cabell...her vibrant lyric soprano floats exquisitely above the staff.” Opera News 

“Looking every inch the prince with charisma to spare, the extravagantly gifted Charles Castronovo gave a wonderful performance as Tamino.” San Francisco Chronicle 

Tenor Alek Shrader created major buzz in the opera world last summer as the star of Santa Fe Opera’s Albert Herring, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

Stéphane Degout’s Papageno is “funny, sexy and touching.” The Guardian 

Audrey Luna “brought down the house in her Cincinnati debut as Queen of the Night. She brilliantly attacked the coloratura fireworks of her Act I aria. She was an imposing presence...impressively nailing the pyrotechnics - including high 'f's - in her Revenge Aria.” Cincinnati Enquirer 

“With his marvelously rich sound, Austrian bass Günther Groissböck makes an impressive and sonorous Sarastro.” Los Angeles Times 

The I. A. O’Shaughnessy Foundation Production in memory of Mrs. Thomas B. Burke.

Revival generously made possible by Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin, Mr. & Mrs. Dietrich M. Gross, and The Negaunee Foundation.

On the Record

Roger Pines, dramaturg at Lyric Opera, recommends these recorded performances. 

On CD 

* = modern instruments
** = original instruments

*Rothenberger, Moser, Schreier, Berry, Moll; Chorus and Orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera, cond.  Sawallisch (EMI)

**Upshaw, Hoch, Rolfe Johnson, Schmidt, Hauptmann; London Classical Players, cond.  Norrington  (Virgin Classics)

**Petersen, Kaappola, Behle, Schmutzhard, M. Fink; RIAS Kammerchor, Akademie für alte Musik Berlin, cond. Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi)

**Bonney, Jo, Streit, Cachemaille, Sigmundsson; Chorus and Orchestra of the Drottningholm Court Theatre, cond.  Östman (Decca)

*Lorengar, Deutekom, Burrows, Prey, Fischer-Dieskau, Talvela; Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Solti (Decca)

**Oelze, Sieden, Schade, Finley, Peeters; English Baroque Soloists, cond. Gardiner (DG Archiv)

Of Special Historical Interest*Güden, Lipp, Simoneau, Berry, Böhme; Chorus of the Vienna Staatsoper, Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Böhm (Decca)

*Of Special Historical Interest
Lemnitz, Berger, Roswaenge, Hüsch, Strienz; Berlin State Opera Chorus, Berlin Philharmonic, cond. Beecham (Nimbus)

On DVD 

Live PerformanceBattle, Serra, Araiza, Hemm, Moll; Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, cond. Levine (DG)

Studio Film
Sung in SwedishUrrilla, Nordin, Köstlinger, Hågegård, Cold; Swedish Radio Chorus and Orchestra, cond. Eric Ericson, dir. Bergman (Criterion Collection)

Studio Film
Sung in EnglishCarson, Petrova, Kaiser, Davis, Pape; Chamber Orchestra of Europe, cond. Conlon, dir. Branagh (Revolver Entertainment)
Available only as an import in PAL format 

Live Performance
Sung in English
Kenny, Leahmann, Wilson, Fulford, Shanks; Chorus and Orchestra of The Australian Opera, cond. Bonynge, dir. Järvefelt (Kultur)

Magic Flutes & Enchanted Forests: The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater by David J. Buch, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2008. The cutting edge of scholarship on this subject, including fascinating new findings on The Magic Flute.

The Magic Flute, A Guide to the Opera by Peter Gammond, Barrie & Jenkins, Ltd., London, 1979. Concise, informative, includes libretto.

Mozart by Peter Gay, Viking Press, New York, 1999. Biography that pays special attention to the composer’s influence on opera during his lifetime.

Mozart: A Cultural Biography by Robert W. Gutman, Harcourt & Brace, New York, 1999. Biography that focuses more on Mozart’s personal life than his life as a composer.  

Mozart, the Golden Years: 1781-1791 by H. C. Robbins Landon, Schirmer Books, New York, 1989. Highly illustrated look at the events of Mozart’s final ten years.

Mozart: A Life by Maynard Solomon, Harper Collins, New York, 1995. Psychoanalytic approach to a biography of the composer’s life.

Mozart, The Man, The Musician by Arthur Hutchings, Schirmer Books, New York, 1976. Expansive exploration of Mozart and his time; many illustrations.

Papageno: Emanuel Schikaneder, Man of the Theater in Mozart’s Time by Kurt Honolka, Amadeus Press, Portland, 1990. A thorough portrait and assessment.

Die Zauberflöte by Peter Branscombe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991. Solid—part of the Cambridge Opera Handbook series.

QUICK – what popular entertainment features an attack dragon and a trial by fire, a quest for love and enlightenment, musical instruments that turn foes into dancing fools, and mysterious rituals to prove fearlessness and faithfulness? While it may sound like a Harry Potter plotline, all that and more is what you’re in for midseason at Lyric. We’re talking about The Magic Flute, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, with the beloved August Everding production directed by Matthew Lata. It’s a perfect blend of whimsy and wisdom, gift-wrapped in glorious music.

If you are now or have ever been a child, the wondrous imagination of Mozart’s final opera will surely charm and captivate you. Are there kids in your life who love a good story? (Who doesn’t?) They’ll be enchanted by the adventures and trials of Prince Tamino (tenors Charles Castonovo and Alek Shrader, both debuts), who enters pursued by said dragon – and promptly faints. Saved by three supernatural ladies (soprano Elizabeth Meister, debut; mezzos Cecelia Hall and Katherine Lerner), the prince is dispatched by the Queen of the Night (soprano to be announced) to find her daughter, Pamina (soprano Nicole Cabell), hostage of Sarastro (bass Günther Groissböck, debut), her father. The queen also sends her chatty regular-guy birdcatcher, Papageno (baritone Stéphane Degout, debut), on the search-and-rescue mission; he and Tamino receive magic bells and a magic flute to help them along the way – which they most definitely will need.

As in many good stories, things (and people) aren’t as they seem, especially when there’s a custody battle involved. Tamino, sagely advised by the Speaker (baritone Richard Stilwell), soon discovers that Sarastro and his followers form a noble brotherhood. In order to join their ranks and win Pamina’s hand, he must undergo several trials. Papageno, too, must be put to the test before finding his own special feathered friend, Papagena (soprano Jennifer Jakob). The birdcatcher saves Pamina from her loutish jailer, Monostatos (tenor Rodell Rosel), who has unwelcome designs on her. The queen appears on the scene with a dagger, ordering Pamina to kill her father. Further crises ensue, but in the end nobody dies, good triumphs over evil, and the two young couples find happiness after their ordeals.

In the late 1700s rescue operas were a big thing; Mozart’s earlier German opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, fits that category, as does Beethoven’s Fidelio. The Magic Flute’s patchwork plot drew on other pop-culture influences of its time. Librettist Emanuel Schikaneder borrowed liberally from the great Venetian playwright Carlo Gozzi, whose recurring protagonists were a witch and a wizard surrounded by commedia dell’arte characters in exotic settings (inspired by the Arabian Nights). A story called “Lulu, or the Magic Flute” prompted further flattering imitation (long before copyright or plagiarism laws were enforced, apparently). Schikaneder also imbued the Flute libretto with Masonic symbols and values; he and Mozart were both practicing Freemasons, the secret society committed to good deeds and mutual aid (its New-World members included the first three American presidents). The art and culture of ancient Egypt fascinated the Masons during the Age of Enlightenment, hence the recurring pyramid images in the opera (and also on American paper currency).

Mozart’s music and Schikaneder’s story strike a perfect balance, seesawing between solemnity and silliness, nobility and earthiness, portentous chords and scampering melodies, heartfelt arias and playful ensembles – and two famously hair-raising coloratura showpieces. Tamino, Pamina, and Sarastro sing with lustrous, introspective nobility, the Queen of the Night with blood-curdling passion, the Three Ladies with flirty  charm, Papageno with endearing candor.

“You have this serious, philosophical, spiritual music that comes from the Masonic side of the piece, and then you have this almost slapstick comedy as well – even very young children don’t get bored with the music,” notes Sir Andrew. “The fact that it switches from one to the other is one of the magical things about it.”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) was a man-child of miraculous talents. Throughout his life he composed superbly in all musical forms and played piano, organ, and violin brilliantly. He was also a whiz-bang conductor. “There was literally nothing in music he could not do better than anybody else,” wrote Harold C. Schonberg in The Lives of the Great Composers. He noted that “what always sets Mozart’s music apart is its proportion and rightness – its taste, if you will. That, and an inexhaustible fund of melody joined to an extremely daring harmonic sense….Mozart’s constant and unexpected deviations from the textbook help make his music so entrancing and ever fresh.”

Mozart’s ability to connect with audiences of all social classes and ages may stem in part from his arrested development. An extraordinary child prodigy, he had a far-from-normal upbringing; his impresario papa Leopold paraded the talented tyke through the royal courts of Europe when Wolfgang was between the tender ages of six and ten (not unlike a little boy in the 20^th century named Michael Jackson, whose dad fast-tracked him into endless concert and recording gigs). Ultimately, Mozart spent almost half his life away from home. Not that he minded; as he wrote to his father from Paris, “A fellow of mediocre talent will remain a mediocrity whether he travels or not; but one of superior talent (which without impiety I cannot deny I possess) will go to seed if he always remains in the same place.” His travels exposed him to countless musical styles and cultural influences that emerged in fresh new forms in his own compositions.

Salzburg’s boy wonder rebelled against his father as part of his own journey to manhood, but Wolfgang never outgrew his sense of childish glee and appetite for juvenile mischief of delightfully dubious taste. He also reveled in entertaining “regular folk” at least as much as royalty. In the final months of his life he did so sublimely with The Magic Flute, the original and ultimate all-ages show, which has remained his most popular opera ever since it premiered 220 years ago. Mozart’s collaborator Schikaneder was a singing actor and theatrical jack-of-all-trades who ran a small theater near Vienna. That’s where they unveiled this delightful and moving Singspiel (spoken and sung entertainment, much like a contemporary musical) – with Schikaneder himself playing the comedic sidekick Papageno and giving himself lots of laugh lines.

“Mozart was the first to make comic opera transcend mere entertainment,” Schonberg observed. “He was able to do so because he himself liked people, because he himself had a gay, bubbling, irrepressible streak within him, and because he tried to make his music explain mood, situation, and character. He was the first psychologist of opera.” And opera was his greatest joy — what he wanted to compose more than anything.

What wondrous creations might have followed the triumph of The Magic Flute, Mozart’s tenth and last opera, had he not died just a few months later, only 36 years old? And how is it that, even beset by illness and poverty, he could muster the high spirits and soaring spirituality required to create something so sublime? Poignant, unanswerable questions – which, once the lights come down and the curtain goes up, won’t matter a whit to your inner child, or to the children you introduce to the enduring delights of The Magic Flute.

When this writer’s son was in grade school he came to Lyric to see the Everding production and was enthralled. It being a long opera and a school night, a departure at the second intermission was suggested. “No!” the youngster implored. “We have to stay to the end to see what happens!”

Just as Mozart would have wanted.

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