An Afternoon at the Opera: "The Magic Flute"

Join us for An Afternoon at the Opera, a new film series celebrating the unforgettable productions of the Metropolitan Opera. Each screening will be introduced by local opera enthusiast Peter Eder, who will share insights and background to enrich your viewing experience. Settle in, savor the music, and enjoy world-class opera right here at the library.

Opera: The Magic Flute

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Premiere: Schikaneder’s Theatre: Vienna, Austria, September 30, 1791

First U.S. Performance: New York City Opera,1949 season

First New York Metropolitan Opera Performance: 1966 season

Performance Date of Recording: Dec 30, 2006

Conductor: James Levine

Run Time: 1 hour and 52 minutes 

Synopsis

A fairy tale-opera about Prince Tamino who is tasked by the Queen Of The Night to rescue her daughter Panina.  He is joined by the Bird Catcher Papageno and is given a magic flute, which leads them on a series of trials and adventures, ultimately focusing on themes of love and wisdom.

For the composer Mozart, Die Zauberflote was his twelfth and last opera. While he conducted the orchestra at its premiere, he died just two months later.  Reflecting Mozart’s involvement with Masonry, the opera story conveys Masonic ideals of brotherly love, truth, integrity and personal responsibility.

The Magic Flute was the first production of the Metropolitan Opera when it opened its Lincoln Center opera house location in 1966.

This Production

This production, which aired on December 30, 2006, was the first live High Definition (HD) transmission to remote locations by the Metropolitan Opera. The conductor is James Levine, and includes among the principal singers Ying Huang as Pamina, Erika Miklusa as Queen Of The Night and Matthew Polenzani as Tamino. The set was designed by Julie Taymor and includes the use of puppeteers, and the opera is performed in English.

Since this first live broadcast, the Metropolitan Opera has presented 105 additional HD transmitted operas.