While fleeing from a fearsome serpent, Prince Tamino gets lost in the realm of the star-blazing Queen of the Night. Three women rescue the prince who has fainted and are enchanted by the beautiful young man. The birdman Papageno approaches the action to receive the ladies’ reward for the latest bird he has caught. But instead they put a lock on his mouth - as punishment, because Papageno pretended to Tamino that he had conquered the serpent. The prince, on the other hand, receives a picture of Pamina. On seeing the picture, he immediately falls in love with her and promises to do everything in his power to free Pamina from Sarastro’s grasp. Papageno accompanies Tamino, and together they set off on a journey where only a magic flute and a glockenspiel can help them pass the three tests ...
Since its premiere in Vienna in 1791, “The Magic Flute” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been performed around the entire world. Mozart’s masterpiece inspires with its combination of folksong-like and serious elements, of fairy-tale places and a learned, ordered world. Papageno and Tamino’s search for love thus becomes a journey culminating in the hope for a self-determined and shared future.