Julie Taymor's Family-Friendly THE MAGIC FLUTE to Kick Off The Metropolitan Opera Holiday Season

The Metropolitan Opera's annual holiday presentation of Mozart's The Magic Flute will return for nine performances, starting December 16. A holiday treat for audiences of all ages, this English-language adaptation runs under two hours, with special ticket prices starting from $35. Tony Award-winning theater artist Julie Taymor brings Mozart's music to life with an imaginative production that fills the Met stage with fantastical creatures.

Conductor Duncan Ward, chief conductor of the South Netherlands Philharmonic, makes his Met debut and leads stellar casts. Tenors Ben Bliss and David Portillo return to the role of Tamino, opposite sopranos Joélle Harvey and Sydney Mancasola as Pamina. Baritones Joshua Hopkins and Benjamin Taylor sing Papageno, and soprano Aleksandra Olczyk makes her company debut as the Queen of the Night. Basses Soloman Howard and Peixin Chen returns as Sarastro, baritone Alan Held and bass William Guanbo Su sing the Speaker, and tenors Rodell Rosel and Thomas Capobianco are Monostatos.

After two years of virtual open houses, the Met's immersive Holiday Open House returns in person on Sunday, December 18, at 1PM. This event is free to all same-day performance ticketholders. Children and their families are invited to experience festive behind-the-scenes demonstrations by members of the Met's backstage and artistic staff, including musicians, actors, dancers, and members of the Wig and Costume shops.

The Magic Flute Broadcasts on Radio and Online

The December 16 performance of The Magic Flute will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SiriusXM Channel 355. On December 24, a taped broadcast of the December 16 performance will also be aired on the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

Audio from the December 16 performance will be streamed live on the Met's website, metopera.org.

For More Information

For further details on The Magic Flute, please click here.

Photo credit: Richard Termine / Met Opera