The Magic Flute
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- 19,00 kr
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- 19,00 kr
Publisher Description
Premiering on September 30, 1791, Mozart’s The Magic Flute was first performed just two short months before the composer’s death in December 1791. An immediate success, the opera reached its 100th performance in November 1792. The play opens with Tamino, a young prince, being chased by a serpent. After a while, he faints from exhaustion. Three ladies find him and nurse him back to health. After seeing that the prince is very attractive, each of them tries to convince the others to leave. After some bickering, the three leave the prince alone. After Tamino recovers, he falls in love with a woman in a portrait. The Queen of the Night appears and tells the prince that the woman is her daughter, Pamina, and that she has been captured by the evil Sarastro. Tamino decides to rescue Pamina. He obtains a magic flute that can change men’s hearts and a chime that is said to protect him. Papageno, a man who claimed he had killed the serpent that had been chasing the prince, also accompanies him. After finding Sarastro’s temple and Pamina, Tamino finds himself captured. Sarastro tests Papageno and Tamino with a series of trials that require complete silence from both the men. Passing these tests, Tamino is finally reunited with Pamina after Sarastro sees that they are madly in love. Today, The Magic Flute has been adapted into films and plays in many countries and for audiences of different ages. Even over 200 years after its premiere, The Magic Flute is the fourth most frequently performed opera in the world.
This book was created from a scan of the original artifact, and as such the text of the book is not selectable or searchable.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mozart's most child-friendly opera receives the royal treatment in this elegant yet highly approachable picture book. Accompanied by the sweet strains of musical highlights (if readers wish, they can play the audio CD that is included with the book), Gatti's (Tales from the African Plains) lucid retelling beguiles young readers with the story of prince Tamino and his feathered sidekick, Papageno, who battle the forces of evil to save their respective true loves, Pamina and Papagena. There's plenty of bewitching material here, from monsters and the evil Queen of the Night, to an enchanted flying machine and the birdman Papageno's comic shenanigans; and the tale's heroics (Tamino's three trials of fire and water) are fine fodder for capturing young imaginations. The book works equally well as a stand-alone or when integrated with the audio experience (each spread is keyed to a corresponding musical selection). Malone's (The Secret Language of Dreams) luxurious paintings unfold as a series of courtly tableaux, with characters dressed in formal 18th-century costume, and there are numerous hints of the theatrical setting. Endpapers display floorboards and a backdrop, and many scenes appear to be lit as if by footlights. Beautifully executed from start to finish, the entire concept is as much a treat for the ear as it is for the eye, and succeeds admirably in promoting the glories of this magical opera. Ages 8-up. FYI: The 59-minute CD of musical highlights is conducted by Bernard Haitink and performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
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