Mozart's DIE ZAUBERFLOTE Opens 10/6 at the Met

Mozart's final opera, Die Zauberflöte, returns to the Met October 6 for its first full-length performances in German in five seasons. Julie Taymor's imaginative production will be conducted by Adam Fischer and star English tenor Toby Spence as the hero Tamino; South African soprano Pretty Yende as the princess Pamina in her first Met performances since her star-making 2013 company debut; Macedonian soprano Ana Durlovski in her Met debut as Pamina's mother, the terrifying Queen of the Night; Austrian baritone Markus Werba as Papageno, the hapless birdcatcher who is caught up in Tamino's quest; American bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the mysterious Speaker of the Temple; and German bass René Pape as the Queen of the Night's nemesis, Sarastro.

Later performances of the opera will feature Swedish soprano Miah Persson as Pamina, American soprano Kathryn Lewek as Queen of the Night, and German bass Tobias Kehrer as Sarastro.

Pretty Yende made a surprise Met debut in January 2013, when she replaced an ailing colleague and sang her first-ever performances of Countess Adèle in Rossini's Le Comte Ory. Her other engagements this season include Countess Adèle at La Scala, Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Norwegian National Opera, the title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Susanna in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at Los Angeles Opera, and a solo recital at Carnegie Hall.

Ana Durlovski has sung the Queen of the Night with numerous leading opera companies, including the Bregenz Festival, Leipzig Opera, Stuttgart Opera, and Frankfurt Opera; later this season, she will sing the role at the Bavarian State Opera. She sings frequently with Stuttgart Opera, where her recent roles have included Amina in Bellini's La Sonnambula, Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, and Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata.

Toby Spence made his Met debut in 2010 as Laërte in a new production of Thomas's Hamlet and returned in 2012 to sing Antonio in the company premiere of Thomas Adès's The Tempest. Also this season, he will sing Henry in Strauss's Die Schweigsame Frau at the Bavarian State Opera and Tamino at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Markus Werba made his Met debut in 2010 as the Harlequin in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. He has sung Papageno with Rome Opera, Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Teatro di Regio in Torino, and Teatro Lirico in Cagliari; later this season, he sings the role with both Vienna State Opera and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Ryan McKinny made his Met debut in 2012 as Lieutenant Ratcliffe in Britten's Billy Budd. Last season, he sang Theseus in a revival of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. His upcoming engagements include the title role in Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer with Hawaii Opera Theater, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with Los Angeles Opera, and Jochanaan in Strauss's Salome with Santa Fe Opera.

René Pape has sung 22 roles at the Met in the years following his 1995 debut as the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte. He sang Sarastro in the Met's 2006-07 season. Also this fall, he sings Banquo in Verdi's Macbeth and recently became the first-ever bass to give a solo recital on the Met stage. In recent Met seasons, he starred as Gurnemanz in a new production of Wagner's Parsifal and Méphistophélès in a new production of Gounod's Faust.

Miah Persson has been seen at the Met as Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, and Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte. She recently sang Fiordiligi with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Aspasia in Mozart's Mitridate, re di Ponto at Stockholm's Drottningholms Slottsteater; later this season, she will sing the title role in Montevideo's L'incoronazione di Poppea at La Scala.

Kathryn Lewek sang the Queen of the Night last season in the Met's abridged, English-language presentation of the opera. She has also sung the role with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Kansas City Opera, Washington National Opera, and Bregenz Festival. Later this season, she will sing it with Houston Grand Opera and Vienna State Opera.

Tobias Kehrer has also sung Sarastro at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where his other roles in recent seasons have also included Colline in Puccini's La Bohème, Zuniga in Bizet's Carmen, Titurel in Wagner's Parsifal, Sparafucile in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Narbal in Berlioz's Les Troyens. He sings often at the Salzburg Festival, where his roles have included the Police Commissioner in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier and the Nightwatchman in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Adam Fischer has conducted five operas at the Met in past seasons, including the company's most recent full-length German performances of Die Zauberflöte in 2010, as well as performances of Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 1995 and Verdi's Aida in 1997. Last season, he conducted a new production of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus.

The October 6 opening performance will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on October 21 and November 3. The October 6 and 21 and November 3 performances will also be streamed live on the Met's Web site, www.metopera.org.

On February 28, an archived performance from the fall run will be broadcast over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.