Die Zauberflöte to be performed for first time

The Mikhailovsky Theatre is set to stage its first ever performance of Mozart’s renowned opera Die Zauberflöte. The opera company’s history goes back just shy of a century, yet Mozart’s best known opera has never been performed on our stage. In fact, the number of performances of Mozart’s oeuvre as a whole can be counted on the fingers of one hand. During the interwar years, the theatre put on productions of Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1925) and Le nozze di Figaro (1936). These were followed by Don Giovanni (1977 and 1997), with a concert performance of the opera during the 2012/13 season. The upcoming première of Die Zauberflöte is therefore all the more significant. It will be a joint production with the Opéra de Lausanne, which presented Pet Halmen’s staging in 2010. The première performances will take place on 22, 23, and 26 March.

Vladimir Kekhman, Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre: “It seems paradoxical that at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, with its splendid interiors and enchanting atmosphere, a theatre which you could even say seems to have been created especially for the music of Mozart, there has never been a performance of Die Zauberflöte, and performances of Mozart’s works in general have been so few and far between — it’s inexcusable. We intend to plug this embarrassing gap in our repertoire with this staging of Die Zauberflöte, and in doing so we will also bring one of the best European opera productions of our time to Russia, one that has been praised as cerebral, original, and poetic. Last but by no means least, Die Zauberflöte will provide a great excuse for a trip to the theatre for the whole family.”