The Magic Flute

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (THE MAGIC FLUTE)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder

Opera in two acts
Sung in German

From the Bregenz Festival
Recorded July 2013

Running Time: 149 min
ACT I: 1h 11min | ACT II: 1h 18min
*This production has no intermission.

CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor Patrick Summers
Director David Pountney
Set Designer Johan Engels
Costume and Puppet Designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca
Lighting Designer Fabrice Kebour
Chorus Prague Philharmonic Chorus
Orchestra Vienna Symphony Orchestra

ARTISTIC TEAM
Sarastro Alfred Reiter
Tamino Norman Reinhardt
Königin der Nacht Ana Durlovski
Pamina Bernarda Bobro
Papageno Daniel Schmutzhard
Papagena Dénise BeckBREGENZ FESTIVAL

Founded in 1946, Bregenz Festival is a performing arts festival held every July and August. The main stage, named Seebühne (or floating stage) sits over the water on the shores of Lake Constance and has 7,000 seats. In this extravagant location, the lake often becomes an extension of the stage, leading to some of the world’s most unique and innovative opera productions. David Pountney has been the artistic director of the festival since December 2003.

PRESENTATION

Three enormous, 27-metre-high fire-spewing "dragon dogs", a Queen of the Night costume to break all records, three mythical creatures for the three ladies operated by puppeteers, and dozens of stunt artists rushing around the stage: in his staging for the Bregenz Festival, David Pountney offers "a spectacle of the highest caliber" (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), while providing new answers to the eternal questions surrounding The Magic Flute. The Kurier newspaper called it "a visually mind-blowing fairy tale", with Die Welt adding "a colorful as well as smart Magic Flute.”

The vocal ensemble leaves nothing to be desired either: Ana Durlovski (voted Singer of the Year by Opernwelt magazine) is captivating as the Queen of the Night with her "flawless coloraturas" (Der Standard), while Norman Reinhardt sings an "outstanding Tamino" (Deutschlandradio) and Eike Wilm Schulte is a deluxe casting as Second Knight. Patrick Summers conducts Mozart's score with the impeccable Vienna Symphony Orchestra.