Die Zauberflöte

Armed with a magic flute, a prince is sent out by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter from the clutches of cruel Sarastro. But during his mission, the prince discovers the world is not exactly as he was led to believe. What started as a rescue mission turns into a musical purification ritual for young people who are preparing to take over control from the old guard. Die Zauberflöte is an opera with many different layers. It is both comic and profound, humanistic and magical, complex and accessible.

Paper sheets transform into birds before your very eyes, a set of empty glasses becomes a glockenspiel, and a mobile platform functions first as a mountain, then a prison and then suddenly becomes a meeting table. Using such basic elements to trigger the audience’s imagination, McBurney demonstrates the magical power of theatre. The versatile conductor Riccardo Minasi is in charge of the musical direction. With DNO, he previously conducted Handel’s Rodelinda and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro to great acclaim.

The cast

The Dutch baritone Thomas Oliemans will return as the comic and disarming Papageno, one of his signature roles. He will share the stage with soprano Ying Fang (Pamina), who has become a favourite with DNO audiences after her roles in Le nozze di Figaro and Der Freischütz. Young up-and-coming tenor Mingjie Lei takes on the challenging role of Prince Tamino, while celebrated bass Christof Fischesser performs the role of the high priest Sarastro.