This Flute at Orcas Center Will Be a Hoot

Sunday, December 13, 1 pm, Orcas Center

— from Artha Kass —

Nathan Gunn as Papageno in a scene from Act II of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte.” Photo: Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

This family-friendly performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute will be on screen at Orcas Center Sunday, December 13 at 1:00 pm. Directed by Tony Award winner Julie Taymor (The Lion King, Spiderman), this encore from The Met: Live in HD was the groundbreaking broadcast that launched the Met’s heralded Live in HD series seen in movie theaters around the world. Adults and children alike will be enchanted by the whimsical humor and breathtaking puppetry of Julie Taymor’s hit production, presented in a shortened English-language version.

So, why opera for kids? It is because of Julie Taymor’s family-friendly adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Featured are stunning giant-size puppets by Taymor. The costumes are colorful and elaborate, and there is a spectacular set. The characters are lively, silly, engaging and charming in this one and a half hour performance, sung in English. The HD filming makes you feel as if you are in the front row of the opera.

The New Yorker says, “The Magic Flute is half mystery play, half street comedy. The Met stage has never been so alive with movement, so charged with color, so brilliant to the eye. The outward effect is of a shimmering cultural kaleidoscope, with all manner of mystical and folk traditions blending together. ”

Tickets for The Magic Flute encore from The Met: Live in HD are $18 for adults, $13 for students, $2 off for Orcas Center members, and may be purchased at www.orcascenter.org or by calling 376-2281 ext. 1 or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from noon- 2 pm. $5 subsidized tickets are available at the Box Office. For more information about Orcas Center 2012 season events, please visit www.orcascenter.org.