Die Zauberflote - Royal Opera House

Die Zauberflote

An extraordinary tale arrives on the stage of the Royal Opera House in 2011 with a brand new staging of Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Mozart. Mixing an array of themes and styles and telling an enchanting story filled with love, betrayal and the fight between good and evil, it is a production that has remained popular since it was first penned by the composer in the year of his death – 1791. So as opera tickets go on sale for this show it is likely that there will plenty of people out there willing to sit back and be taking on mystic journey as Die Zauberflöte – or The Magic Flute – makes its latest appearance onstage.

The story is told amongst a great rivalry felt between the evil Queen of the Night and good High Priest Sarastro. The latter has in his company the Queen’s daughter Pamina and as a result Prince Tamino is sent in to rescue her, having already fallen in love with her after viewing her portrait. Alongside Papageno, the bird catcher, they make their way to Sarastro’s temple to carry out their task. But when he arrives Tamino decides to join Sarastro, much to the horror of the Queen, and he and Pamina are ordered to carry out tests to prove their worth to the high priest.

The conductors of the production this time around are Colin Davis and David Syrus and they will be working with a cast that includes Joseph Kaiser as Tamino, Kate Royal and Pamina, Christopher Matlman as Papageno, Jessica Pratt as the Queen of the Night and Franz-Josef Selig as Sarastro. So London theatre audiences will have the opportunity to witness some great talents in the lead roles as Mozart’s tale comes to life, with extraordinary imagery appearing onstage alongside a compelling story.

The opera was penned in 1791 and was handed over and published by Nikolaus Simrock after Mozart’s death. It is noted for some demanding work required of its performers and for Masonic elements found in the text. As such it has proven to be hugely influential, with films and books based on the piece appearing over the last two centuries.

And it will be a welcome piece for the Royal Opera House in 2011, appearing around the same time of the production of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Anna Nicole as part of the season. It runs from Tuesday 1st February 2011 to Saturday 26th February 2011.