Die Zauberflöte - The opera but not the opera

Music and love can heal the world - that is the message of "The Magic Flute". A small variety theatre troupe now takes on the audacious plan of bringing this masterpiece to their stage: with little money and few performers, but plenty of imagination, playfulness and musicality.

The ensemble anarchically and cheekily strips the opera's characters of false pathos. What remains are people with today's longings and struggles: the good-natured, haplessly muddled Prince Tamino and his impulsive bird-catcher friend Papageno, the passionately loving and emotionally confused Pamina, the vain and self-admiring Prince Sarastro, and the deeply wounded Queen of the Night, who wages her power struggles at the expense of the younger generation. Inwardly lonely and driven by longing, these figures search a mysteriously threatening world for forces of good - and manage, carried by deeply moving music, to walk the line between comedy and tragedy.

First created in 2024 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, the production recharges Mozart's famous opera with wit, esprit and contemporary relevance without surrendering its magic. The classic melodies are newly arranged and enter into a surprising dialogue with pop classics of our time.

Director: Yvonne Kespohl
Musical direction: Fabian Kuss
Set & costumes: Mariam Haas, Lydia Huller