Cheap The Magic Flute (Video) (W.A. Mozart) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Magic Flute

Delightful performance sung in English
The performance of the Magic Flute you are considering here is from the Australian Opera, performed at the Sydney Opera House. It is a live performance, which is the only very minor deficiency about it. When they make a movie the microphone is close to the performer, just out of the frame. They couldn't do that here, so the sound isn't perfect. They used multiple cameras, so there are plenty of close-ups, etc.

All that aside, when you listen closely this story brings joy to your heart and tears to your eyes. Being able to follow the plot in English adds a lot. The performers are all excellent. The Queen of the night sings an aria, der holle rache kocht in meinem herzen (holy vengeance is boiling in my heart), that has tortured the vocal cords of sopranos and at the same time brought down the house for two hundred years. The bird catcher, Papagino, has several tender love songs. The prince and Papagino both find their true loves and virtue triumphs over evil. It's great stuff.

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Musically rich but visually dull
My children wanted to see and hear the entire production of "The Magic Flute" after seeing the enticing snippets of this opera that were included in the wonderful film, "Amadeus." What is especially attractive about "The Magic Flute" is the element of fantasy and whimsy that Mozart included in this work in order to make it popular with the common people of Vienna. Consequently, one expects elaborate and colorful costumes and sets that will help to create an atmosphere of fantasy.

In this regard, this Australian production of the opera falls considerably short of expectations. The sets are dull and drab, and the costumes are about as low-budget and boring as one could imagine. Whereas in the "Amadeus" clips of the opera Papageno is portrayed as bedecked with green "feathers," in this production he has a silly hat that looks like a crow, period. His soulmate Papagena has no apparent visual affinity with his 'bird-ness' at all. Overall, whereas the musical direction and singing are fine, the visual aspects of the opera are stilted and lifeless--so what was the point of making it into a video at all?

One reason we purchased this particular version of the opera is that it is sung in English, thus theoretically making it possible for English-speaking viewers to understand the words. Unfortunately, a combination of mediocre microphone methods and the nature of operatic singing itself render it nearly impossible to decipher the words, so if you get this video you had better have handy a booklet that provides the libretto in English.

Despite these problems, this is a video that is worth watching and listening to if one loves the music of Mozart. As always, the aria performed by the Queen of the Night is incredible and is the highlight of the entire opera.

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Delightful
This was really a good performance. Well filmed and well sung. My four year old actually sat through the entire performance and enjoyed the set, costumes and (of course) music. English dialog makes it very accessible and though she had heard the music before, the visuals really brought The Magic Flute to life for her. A princess movie that actually enriches young girls, this is an anti-Disney!