Mila Johansen has taken this operetta from two-thirds music and one-third dialogue to one-third music (If you are using music-The Schirmer Vocal Score) and two-thirds dialogue. It is written as a play and music can be easily added. The arias of Mozart are effectively done in abbreviated form in broadway musical style by casts of children.
The story of The Magic Flute begins with Prince Tamino, who is enchanted by the Three Ladies of the Night, who work for Nocturna, the Queen of the Night. They send him and his newfound friend, Papageno, on a mission to save Nocturna’s daughter, Pamina, from Sarastros. Papageno is a marvelously comical character who is half man-half bird.
But all is not as it seems. Sarastros turns out to work for the side of good against Nocturna who is collecting all the birds of the day to entertain her by night. The world cannot live without the songs of birds and will quickly perish as Pamina, Nocturna’s own daughter, soon realizes.
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One great twist is the addition of the three Greek Philosophers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, who have traveled through time to attend your performance of The Magic Flute. It is a beautiful production full of love, wisdom and magic.
