The Magic Flute

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

The Magic Flute—Holiday Presentation

Dec 10 - Jan 5

This production is in the past.

The Met’s abridged, English-language version of Mozart’s magical fairy tale is a classic holiday treat for audiences of all ages. A cast of standouts comes together to bring the charming story and enchanting music to life, led by tenor Matthew Polenzani as the courageous Tamino and soprano Hera Hyesang Park as the virtuous Pamina. Rolando Villazón makes an exciting role debut as the lovable lout Papageno, alongside Kathryn Lewek as the fearsome Queen of the Night and Morris Robinson as her nemesis, the wise Sarastro. Jane Glover and Patrick Furrer share conducting duties.

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Holiday Family Festival: Explore illustrated synopses, coloring pages and activity sheets, and in-depth opera guides.


English adaptation by J. D. McClatchy

Abridged production of The Magic Flute a gift of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Bill Rollnick and Nancy Ellison Rollnick

Original production of Die Zauberflöte a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Kravis

Additional funding from John Van Meter, The Annenberg Foundation, Karen and Kevin Kennedy, Bill Rollnick and Nancy Ellison Rollnick, Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller, Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman, and Mr. and Mrs. Ezra K. Zilkha

Revival a gift of Rolex

Read Synopsis Read Program

Sung In

English

Met Titles In

  • English
  • German
  • Spanish

Estimated Run Time

1 hrs 55 mins

  • House Opens

  • 115 mins

  • Opera Ends

Cast

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Performing

Performed

All Dates

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The Magic Flute

World Premiere: Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden, Vienna, 1791. A sublime fairy tale that moves freely between earthy comedy and noble mysticism, The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte in the original German) was written for a theater located just outside Vienna with the clear intention of appealing to audiences from all walks of life. The story is told in a singspiel (“song-play”) format characterized by separate musical numbers connected by dialogue and stage activity, an excellent structure for navigating the diverse moods, ranging from solemn to lighthearted, of the story and score.

Creators

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) was the son of a Salzburg court musician who exhibited him as a musical prodigy throughout Europe. His achievements in opera, in terms of beauty, vocal challenge, and dramatic insight, remain unsurpassed. He died three months after the premiere of Die Zauberflöte, his last produced work for the stage. The remarkable Emanuel Schikaneder (1751–1812) was an actor, singer, theater manager, and friend of Mozart who wrote the opera’s libretto, staged the work, and sang the role of Papageno in the initial run.

PRODUCTION

Julie Taymor

Set DESIGNER

George Tsypin

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Donald Holder

PUPPET DESIGNERS

Julie Taymor and Michael Curry

CHOREOGRAPHER

Mark Dendy

ENGLISH ADAPTATION

J. D. McClatchy

Costume Designer

Julie Taymor

Headshot of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Composer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Setting

The Magic Flute

The libretto specifies Egypt as the location of the action. That country was traditionally regarded as the legendary birthplace of the Masonic fraternity, whose symbols and rituals populate this opera. Some productions include Egyptian motifs as an exotic nod to this idea, but most opt for a more generalized mythic ambience to convey the otherworldliness that the score and overall tone of the work call for. 

Music

Mozart and his librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder, created The Magic Flute with an eye toward a popular audience, but the varied tone of the work requires singers who can specialize in several different musical genres. The baritone Papageno represents the comic and earthy, the tenor Tamino and the soprano Pamina display true love in its noblest forms, the bass Sarastro expresses the solemn and the transcendental, and the Queen of the Night provides explosive vocal fireworks.

The Magic Flute