Pacific Symphony presents a special version of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall with life-size puppets designed by Robin Walsh, and a cast consisting of Chapman University singers and guests on Jan. 12. Pacific Symphony’s Assistant Conductor and Music Director of Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, Roger Kalia conducts the concert, with performances at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Writing and directing this production is Professor and Director of Operatic Studies at Chapman University Peter Atherton, along with co-writer Susan Miller Kotses, Vice President of Education and Community Engagement Susan Miller Kotses with Pacific Symphony.
A Musical Carnival will be held at each concert that encourages children to test drive instruments, interact with members of Pacific Symphony and Pacific Youth Orchestra Ensembles and participate in themed crafts. Activities start at 9 a.m. for 10 a.m. concertgoers, and 12:15 p.m. for 11:30 a.m. concertgoers. Tickets for “The Magic Flute – Opera For Kids!” start at $15. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799 or visit www.PacificSymphony.org. This concert is a part of the 2018-19 “Family Musical Mornings” series that consists of five, 45-minute concerts, designed for children ages 5-11, which are sponsored by Farmers & Merchants Bank. These “Opera for Kids” performances are generously underwritten by The Honorable H. Warren and Janet Siegel. Education and Community Engagement programs are supported in part by the Pacific Symphony League.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to present ‘Magic Flute for Kids!’ again to our Family Concert audiences,” says Susan Miller Kotses. “Mozart’s music has a purity and a playfulness to it that is particularly appealing to children, and the fantastical story featuring colorful characters provides a lively and engaging introduction to opera for children of all ages!”
“The Magic Flute” is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work was premiered on September 30, 1791, at Schikaneder’s theater, the Freihaustheater auf der Wieden in Vienna, just two months before the composer’s premature death. In this opera, the Queen of the Night persuades Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter Pamina from captivity under the high priest Sarastro; instead, he learns the high ideals of Sarastro’s community and seeks to join it. Separately, then together, Tamino and Pamina undergo severe trials of initiation, which end in triumph, with the Queen and her cohorts vanquished. The earthy birdcatcher Papageno, who accompanies Tamino on his quest, fails the trials completely but is rewarded anyway with the hand of his ideal female companion, Papagena.
Bass-baritone Peter L. Atherton (writer and director) has had the joy of performing over forty-five roles ranging from Seneca in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea to Frederick in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. His operatic credits include performances with Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Baltimore Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland and the Operafestival of Rome and Verona. He has performed with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Lucas Foss, James Conlon, and Myung-Whun Chung.
Artists, programs, prices, and dates are subject to change.
