The Mozart Project: Die Zauberflöte

Mozart’s final opera continues to thrill audiences and befuddle theater directors.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Christopher Maltman as Papageno in the Metropolitan Opera production of Die Zauberflöte.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2016 The Metropolitan Opera.

The first question one should ask when staging or attending a performance of Die Zauberflöte is this: Is Mozart’s final opera a coded Masonic message, a serious opera, or a knockabout comedy meant for the audience of an 18th century music hall?

The answer is, yes, it’s all three.

Opera Review: Between Sun and Moon

The Manhattan School of Music mounts Die Zauberflöte.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Queen of the Night by Erté.
Image by Erté © the estate of the artist.

Mozart's Die Zauberflöte is one of the most popular operas in the repertory, but staging  successful performance of it remains elusive. This Wednesday night, it was the Manhattan School of Music that accepted the challenge of staging the singspiel in a new production by director and dramaturge Jay Lesenger, imported to the conservatory following successful performances in the Midwest.

Opera Review: The Magic Piccolo

The Met presents its "family-friendly" Flute.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Twitter feed: Ashley Emerson (left) and Nathan Gunn as Papagena and Papageno in The Magic Flute.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2013 The Metropolitan Opera.

With its mix of popular Viennese music hall song, classical-style arias and spoken dialogue, Mozart's Die Zauberflöte has suffered cuts and alterations ever since the original Papageno (Emanuel Schickenader) pranced upon the stage of the Theater auf der Wieden in 1791. On Monday night, the Metropolitan Opera opened its one-act, 95-minute Flute as this year's holiday offering, geared towards exposing New York's next generation to the magic of Mozart's final opera.