Everything in Barrie Kosky’s production of The Magic Flute seems like a fairytale and each subsequent idea is a proof of the director’s enormous sense of humour: the composer must have had a lot of fun working with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s score. The red curtain opens to reveal nothing but a white screen where all the frolics will soon take place – the director will juggle elements of silent film, slapstick comedy and cartoon art. His collaborators, Suzanne Andrade and Paul Barritt, also known as “1927”, mixed film animation with live theatre. The effect is stunning. Papageno, the boisterous bumpkin portrayed here as a sad clown channelling Buster Keaton, gets drunk onstage in the company of pink elephants quaffing cocktails from flute glasses. The Queen of the Night is a huge spider, Monostatos appears as a pale vampire dressed as Count Dracula, while Pamina’s black wig with a fringe makes her look like Louise Brooks, the iconic silent film actress and dancer.

The Magic Flute

Teatr Wielki - Polish National Opera

What circumstances could push a mother to commit infanticide? The story of Medea has fascinated artists for centuries, including opera creators. The libretto of Luigi Cherubini's work, performed in Paris in 1797, condenses a story known from mythology. The beginnings of the relationship between Jason and Medea, the golden fleece and the Argonauts are only mentioned in it. We are thrown into the middle of a love conflict: Dircé, filled with anxiety, is preparing to marry Jason, who has abandoned his former lover for her. The celebration is interrupted by Medea trying to get her husband and children back. The rejected woman, deprived of all hope, plans revenge - she offers Dircé a crown and a dress soaked in poison, and she herself murders her sons.

Sylwia Salamońska

Events

Past events

Dec 29, 2024 - Feb 1, 2025

The Magic Flute · Polish National Opera

21 - 28 Jan, 2024

MEDEA · Polish National Opera

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