Harrow Opera, a company of professional, semi-professional and amateur singers, is set to present a new fully staged English-language production of Mozart’s comic opera The Magic Flute at the Compass Theatre in Ickenham, from 24-28 May.
The Magic Flute is a singspiel – a German-language form of opera that combines singing and spoken word. It tells the story of Prince Tamino in his quest to rescue Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, who has been kidnapped by High Priest Sarastro, a powerful sorcerer.
Tamino and Pamina undergo a series of trials, learning along the way that it is the queen, not the sorcerer, who is evil. The Queen of the Night is vanquished. Tamino is accompanied by the bird-catcher Papageno. He has his own trials, which he fails, but he is rewarded anyway with the hand of Papagena.
Mozart’s fantasy opera is tender, passionate and occasionally surreal. What might at casual glance pass as a simple and enchanting fairytale about a damsel in distress rescued by a handsome prince carries a deeper message of enlightenment and the quest for wisdom, as well as symbols of freemasonry.
The Magic Flute will be performed in English and features the same production team as Harrow Opera’s recent new version of Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat, 1874), with Jessica Dalton as stage director and Ezra Williams as music director.
British tenor Guido Smeets sings the role of Tamino, with British soprano Emma Davis as his beloved Pamina. British baritone Charles Naylor plays Papageno. Other roles are filled by non-professional singers.
Harrow Opera said in a statement: “Be transported for a night to a world of magic and mystery, where love becomes the centre of a battle for power and control. Harrow Opera presents the opportunity to be totally spellbound by the passion and vibrancy of Mozart’s astonishing music and the twists and turns of a truly incredible story.”
Performances of The Magic Flute take place on 24, 25, 26 and 27 May at 7.30pm, with matinees on 27 and 28 May at 2.30pm. The venue is the Compass Theatre in Ickenham. Tickets are on sale now from Hillingdon Theatres now and cost £22 or £16 for concessions.
Rehearsals for the production are well underway and photos can be seen on Harrow Opera’s Facebook page.
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Harrow Opera will present a new fully staged production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute at Compass Theatre, Ickenham, in May.