The Magic Flute at Komische Oper Berlin

The most performed German opera in a startling interpretation. Barrie Kosky will produce The Magic Flute in combination with the British theatre group “1927”, whose humorous shows have thrilled audiences all over the world with their interaction between film animation and live-performing actors: “A perfect mixture of all the things worth loving: silent films, the cabaret of the Weimar Republic, David Lynch, and the brothers Grimm [The Guardian]

“Help, help, else I am lost!” – Tamino’s rescue at the very last second from the threatening giant snake is the beginning of a journey of adventure to undiscovered regions in search of love. For Tamino, this love initially materialises only in a picture: one of Pamina. Is this love real? Or must it first become real?
Papageno, Tamino’s jaunty companion, is also following the (dream) image of a loving partner at his side, who should be just like him if possible. Is Papagena reality, or does she ultimately remain a dream?
Mother and father figures, nearly monstrous-seeming, as if escaped from some nightmare, battle against the Queen of the Night and Sarastro for influence over Tamino and Pamina. Is the queen a loving mother or a revenge-seeking adversary? Is Sarastro a self-centred despot or a paternally caring ruler?

The Magic Flute seems to throw up more questions and mysteries than it provides answers. By the end, all logic and reason fail before the immeasurable fantasy of this magic opera. Its secret lies in deeper layers of fundamental human experience, for which fairytales seem to be just the right form of expression, and for which only music provides the appropriate language. After all, the “eponymous hero” of the opera is an instrument, or to put it plainly: music.