Zauberflöte

Mozart reloaded

Award-winning composer Frank Nimsgern has teamed up with director Benjamin Sahler and Aino Laos to create a thrilling musical. Following its acclaimed premiere in 2024 on our stage, The Magic Flute now returns there. With magnificent modern songs and clever references to the famous opera, this revised production once again bridges the gap between eras and connects people of all ages.

Known to young and old throughout the country

With The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart created a masterpiece in 1791, shortly before his death. The Queen of the Night’s aria and the Bird Catcher’s song are familiar even to those who have never seen the opera. It tells the story of the young prince Tamino, who is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the mysterious Sarastro. Together with the bird catcher Papageno, he sets off and soon has to face three difficult trials.

Frank Nimsgern has clothed this story in a modern musical garb, combining a grand symphonic score with a wealth of new songs in a wide variety of styles, from rock to pop to Latin. These are repeatedly interwoven with cleverly incorporated quotations from the famous opera. In Nimsgern’s songs, the harpsichord meets the electric guitar, ballads meet rock songs, and Viennese classical music meets the 21st century.

A deep bow to Mozart

The passionate love story surprises with unexpected twists and turns, and the familiar characters appear in a contemporary context. Issues such as emancipation, racism, and patriarchy are questioned, and the boundaries between good and evil become blurred. In addition to the music, opulent stage sets, colorful costumes, and rousing choreography guide the audience through an enchanting labyrinth of love, betrayal, and adventure.

Frank Nimsgern still has vivid memories of his first visit to The Magic Flute. The composer had long wanted to approach Mozart’s masterpiece. He says: “The basis is the original, from which my cinematic, kaleidoscopic expanded mental cinema develops. I have given each scene and each archaic character in this composition a new musical color and its own musical style spectrum. And when I quote Mozart now and then, I do so with a deep bow.”

Fotos © Michael Böhmländer