Following the huge success of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, Sir Thomas Allen and Simon Higlett return to take on the fantastical charms of Mozart’s most inventive opera. Set in a spectacular visual world inspired by ‘steam punk’ Victoriana, this promises to be a stylish and imaginative telling of this much-loved piece.

A beguiling mix of comedy, fantasy and pantomime, The Magic Flute is also a profound story of the search for love, wisdom and truth. Mozart’s music effortlessly evokes the full gamut of emotions on stage – from heartfelt love songs and comic exchanges to explosive coloratura in the infamous Queen of the Night arias.

Opera Australia opens its 2012 Summer with Julie Taymor’s wildly imaginative, highly-acclaimed production of The Magic Flute. Taymor, who also created the award-winning Broadway musical The Lion King, was approached by New York’s Metropolitan Opera to create a new vision for Mozart’s final work for theatre in 2002. She took Mozart’s music and, using an idiomatic English translation by American poet J. D. McClatchy, George Tsypin’s amazing designs and her trademark skills in visual art, puppetry, mime and dance, fashioned a 100 minute show designed to appeal to audiences from 10 to 100!

This production is a showcase for the rising stars of Opera Australia, and includes European-based Suzanne Shakespeare in the role of the Queen of the Night.

The Magic Flute is created in the form of a Singspiel – written to be enjoyed and understood by the everyday person. Victorian Opera presents The Magic Flute with music sung in German, and spoken dialogue in English. A fantastical story and whimsical libretto, Mozart’s opera is regarded as one of the best in the repertoire.

This story of a chivalrous quest has an exciting ensemble cast including expatriate Suzanne Shakespeare singing the demanding role of the Queen of the Night.