American music and opera director Julie Taymor's breathtaking production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's masterpiece The Magic Flute will be shown in high-definition video at 91ÑÇÉ«'s Keele campus on Sunday, April 1 at 2pm. The film will be screened in the Price Family Cinema, Accolade East Building.
Filmed before a live audience at the Metropolitan Opera in New 91ÑÇÉ« City, this video presentation is part of the  and is part of the Metropolitan Opera's 2010-2011 season.
Scenes from Julie Taymor's production of "The Magic Flute"
Presented in an abridged, English version, Taymor's production stars the world-renowned baritone Nathan Gunn in the role of the irrepressible bird-catcher Papageno.
Special guest Professor Guillaume Bernardi of the Drama Studies Program at Glendon College will introduce the film. Bernardi is a Toronto-based stage director and teacher whose work covers a wide range of genres from theatre and opera to movement pieces.
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts, composed in 1791 by Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a singspiel, a popular style that includes both singing and spoken dialogue. The opera is set in a mythical land between the sun and the moon. Three ladies in the service of the Queen of the Night save a lost (and very handsome) Prince Tamino from a serpent. The queen, appearing in a burst of thunder, tells Tamino about the abduction of her daughter, Pamina. Tamino, who has fallen in love with a portrait of Pamina, agrees to rescue her. The ladies give a magic flute to Tamino and silver bells to his friend Papageno, the bird-catcher, to ensure their safety on the journey, and appoint three spirits to guide them. What follows is a quest that tests both Tamino and Papageno as they search for Pamina.
The event is organized by 91ÑÇÉ« Circle, a program that offers parents and families of 91ÑÇÉ« students, alumni, staff and members of the public an opportunity to hear leading 91ÑÇÉ« faculty speak about their ideas and their research. The 91ÑÇÉ« Circle’s series showcases world-class concerts, theatre and opera, presented in high-definition video, with introductions by some of these professors. The 91ÑÇÉ« Circle is supported in part by 91ÑÇɫ’s Alumni Office and print media sponsor Toronto Community News.
General admission tickets are $15.95 plus HST. Tickets for 91ÑÇÉ« Circle members and students are $12.95 plus HST. Tickets for children 12 years of age and younger are $9.95 plus HST. Tickets can be purchased .