
The Magic Flute was written in 1791 by one of the world’s best known classical composers of all time, Amadaus Wolfgang Mozart. He wrote it just a few months before his premature death aged 35. The opera premiered in Vienna in September 1791 and was a success from the off. It is a magical tale that can be enjoyed on many levels; on the one hand, it’s full of magical instruments, sorcerers and wild animals embuing a fairytale world you can fully succumb to, yet there’s a deeper level to experience too. One which strongly references the secret world of freemasonry and the views held by the movement at that time which in turn, subtly criticises the religion and politics of the era.
Our production, which is sung in English, has been reimagined in 1950. Here, Hollywood glamour is epitomised by the Queen of the Night, who is modelled on the period’s leading ladies. By stark contrast Pamina is a meek and bookish London teenager and Papageno is a tweedy game-keeper, the latter representing the older working class holding on to a past way of life. The magical kingdom we’ve created represents many realities from our own world yet still has aspects of the strange and the mystical.
Synopsis
Tamino is a young man, the personification of the American teenager, and a loner. He takes solace in stories, and as he reads voraciously, he is drawn into the fantasy kingdom ruled by Day and Night, The Queen of the Night and Sarastro respectively. Gripped by the magic of the story, he becomes lost in his own adventure and accepts the Queen’s quest to save her beautiful daughter, Pamina, who has been kidnapped by Monostatos, a mean and greedy servant working for Sarastro. Tamino gladly takes on the role of leading man. Guided by Three Boys and accompanied by the bird-catcher Papageno, Tamino sets out on a journey in search of love, truth and honour.
Synopsis
Pamina has been brought up by her glamorous but emotionally distant mother. Like Tamino she is lonely and fills her time reading and day-dreaming about being saved by a ‘handsome prince’. At its heart, The Magic Flute is a coming-of-age story; although Tamino initially takes on the Queen’s quest for adventure, he soon realises that life is much more complicated and he aspires to a greater quest: to join Sarastro’s Brotherhood and find enlightenment. He discovers that life is not simply a choice of right or wrong, day or night, and that love is the strongest power of all. With Pamina at his side they can face any trial together.
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