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Television Credits

GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “The Magic Flute”

Directed by
Gary Halvorson

Conductor
James Levine

Production
Julie Taymor

Set Design
George Tsypin

Costume Design
Julie Taymor

Lighting Design
Donald Holder

Puppet Design
Julie Taymor
Michael Curry

Choreographer
Mark Dendy

English Adaptation
J. D. McClatchy

Characters in Order of Vocal Appearance
Tamino
Matthew Polenzani

First Lady
Wendy Bryn Harmer

Second Lady
Kate Lindsey

Third Lady
Tamara Mumford

Papageno
Nathan Gunn

Queen of the Night
Erika Miklósa

First Slave
Stephen Paynter

Second Slave
Kenneth Floyd

Third Slave
Gregory Cross

Monostatos
Greg Fedderly

Pamina
Ying Huang

First Spirit
Bennett Kosma

Second Spirit
Jesse Burnside Murray

Third Spirit
Jacob A. Wade

Speaker
David Pittsinger

Sarastro
René Pape

First Priest
Brian Davis

Second Priest
Tony Stevenson

Papagena
Jennifer Aylmer

First Guard
Michael Myers

Second Guard
Robert Lloyd

Solo Dancer
Rachel Schuette

Flute Solo
Michael Parloff

Chorus Master
Raymond Hughes

Musical Preparation
Jane Klaviter
Robert Morrison
Joshua Greene
Jens Georg Bachmann
Milos Repicky

Assistant Stage Directors
David Kneuss
J. Knighten Smit
Kathleen Smith Belcher

Libretto Consultant
Paul Cremo

Prompter
Jane Klaviter

Met Titles
Michael Panayos

English Diction Coach
Linda Gates

Children’s Chorus Director
Elena Doria

Projection Designer
Caterina Bertolotto

Makeup Designer
Reiko Kruk

Associate Set Designer
Iosef Yusupov

Associate Costume Designer
Mary Peterson

A Metropolitan Opera High-Definition Production
Supervising Producers
Mia Bongiovanni
Elena Park

Producers
Louisa Briccetti
Victoria Warivonchik

Audio Producer
Jay David Saks

Associate Director
Christine Clark Bradley

Engineer-in-Charge
Mark Schubin

Technical Supervisor
Ron Washburn

Technical Director
Emmett Loughran

Audio Supervisor
Bill King

Television Lighting
Wayne Chouinard

Writers
William Berger
Ellen Keel

Camera
Miguel Armstrong
Hank Geving
Manny Gutierrez
Charlie Huntley
John Kosmaczewski
Jay Millard
Alain Onesto
David Smith
Larry Solomon
Ron Washburn
Mark Whitman

Video
Billy Steinberg
Matty Randazzo
Paul Ranieri

Audio
Mel Becker
Chris Callus
Paul Cohen
Michael Shoskes
Shawn Walsh

Videotape
Alan Buchner
Steven Joyce

Television Stage Managers
Terence Benson
Karen Mclaughlin

English Subtitles Adapted by
Sonya Friedman

Broadcast Graphics
Deborah Cavanaugh

Score Reader
John Geller

Opening Segment
Director
Pat Jaffe

Lighting
Mitchell Bogard

Editor
Ernie Fritz

Post Production
Video Editor
Gary Bradley

Additional Video Editing
Eric Singer
Laura Young

Audio Editor
John Bowen

Post-Production Audio Mix
Ken Hahn

Production Secretary
Yolanda S. Williams

Production Assistants
Michael Griebel
Alyse Horn
Allegra Lucas
Enzo E. Martinez
Vanessa Palo
Harriet Snyder

Metropolitan Opera Association
General Manager
Peter Gelb

Music Director
James Levine

Assistant Managers
Sarah Billinghurst
Joseph Clark
Elena Park
Stewart Pearce
Bill Thomas
Coralie Toevs

Director of Media & Presentations
Mia Bongiovanni

Artistic Administrator
Jonathan Friend

General Counsel
Sharon E. Grubin

Senior Artistic Advisor
Eva Wagner-Pasquier

Director of Human Resources & Labor Relations
Ann Marie Hackett

Director of Music Administration
Craig Rutenberg

House Manager
James Naples

Chief Financial Officer
Marvin Suchoff

Press Director
Sommer Hixson

Director, New Business Development
Laura Mitgang

Marketing Director
Julie Borchard-Young

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Orchestra Manager
Robert Sirinek

Concertmaster
David Chan

Librarian
Robert Sutherland

Metropolitan Opera Chorus

Metropolitan Opera Ballet
Ballet Mistress
Diana Levy

Stage Managers
Thomas H. Connell, III
Raymond Menard
Scott Moon
Theresa Ganley
Margo Maier

Stage Operations
Master Carpenter
Stephen A. Diaz

Master Electrician
Paul Donahue

Properties Master
James R. Blumenfeld

Wig and Hair Stylist
Tom Watson

Makeup Artist
Victor Callegari

Wardrobe Supervisor
William Malloy

Costume Shop Head
Lesley Weston

Resident Costume Designer
Sylvia Nolan

Production Facilities
All Mobile Video Inc.
Dolby Laboratories

Remote Recording
Tandberg Television

Media Counsel
Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo, P.C.

This abridged production of “The Magic Flute” is made possible by generous gifts from Bill Rollnick and Nancy Ellison Rollnick and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

The original production of “Die Zauberflöte” was made possible by a generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Henry R. Kravis

Additional generous stage production funding was received from
John van Meter
The Annenberg Foundation
Karen and Kevin Kennedy
Bill Rollnick and Nancy Ellison Rollnick
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Miller
Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman
and
Mr. and Mrs. Ezra K. Zilkha

For GREAT PERFORMANCES
David Horn
Series Producer

Bill O’Donnell
Director, Program Development

Barry Schulman
Executive Producer

A Metropolitan Opera production in association with PBS/Thirteen WNET New York

Executive Producer
Peter Gelb

Copyright 2006

The contents of these GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages are copyrighted under United States and other copyright laws. You may not download, reproduce, transmit, display, distribute or make derivative works from the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Web pages other than for personal use without the advance written permission of the copyright owner. Any unauthorized use of any of the contents of the GREAT PERFORMANCES Online Web pages may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

Ken Howard/The Metropolitan Opera

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Librettists: Emanuel Schikaneder; English translation by J.D. McClatchy

Production: Julie Taymor

Conductor: James Levine

Performers: Ying Huang (Pamina), Matthew Polenzani (Tamino), Nathan Gunn (Papageno), Erika Miklósa (The Queen of the Night), and René Pape (Sarastro)

Synopsis:
Three ladies in the service of the Queen of the Night save the fainting Prince Tamino from a serpent (”A serpent! A monster!”). When they leave to tell the queen, the bird catcher Papageno bounces in and boasts to Tamino that it was he who killed the creature (”I’m Papageno”). The ladies return to give Tamino a portrait of the queen’s daughter, Pamina, who they say is enslaved by the evil Sarastro, and they padlock Papageno’s mouth for lying. Tamino falls in love with Pamina’s face in the portrait (”This portrait’s beauty”). The queen, appearing in a burst of thunder, is grieving the loss of her daughter; she charges Tamino with Pamina’s rescue (”My fate is grief”). The ladies give a magic flute to Tamino and silver bells to Papageno to ensure their safety, appointing three spirits to guide them (”Hm! hm! hm! hm!”).

Sarastro’s slave Monostatos pursues Pamina (”You will not dare escape”), but is frightened away by the feather-covered Papageno, who tells Pamina that Tamino loves her and intends to save her. Led by the three spirits to the Temple of Sarastro, Tamino is advised by a high priest that it is the queen, not Sarastro, who is evil. Hearing that Pamina is safe, Tamino charms the animals with his flute, then rushes to follow the sound of Papageno’s pipes. Monostatos and his cohorts chase Papageno and Pamina, but are left helpless by Papageno’s magic bells. Sarastro, entering in great ceremony (”Long life to Sarastro”), promises Pamina eventual freedom and punishes Monostatos. Pamina is enchanted by a glimpse of Tamino, who is led into the temple with Papageno.

Sarastro tells his priests that Tamino will undergo initiation rites (”O Isis and Osiris”). Monostatos tries to kiss the sleeping Pamina (”Men were born to be great lovers”); he is discovered by the Queen of the Night, who dismisses him. She gives her daughter a dagger with which to murder Sarastro (”Here in my heart, Hell’s bitterness”).

The weeping Pamina is confronted and consoled by Sarastro (”Within our sacred temple”). Tamino and Papageno are told by a priest that they must remain silent and refrain from eating, a vow that Papageno immediately breaks when he takes a glass of water from a flirtatious old lady. The old lady vanishes when he asks her name. The three spirits appear to guide Tamino through the rest of his journey and to tell Papageno to be quiet. Tamino remains silent even when Pamina appears, which breaks her heart since she cannot understand his reticence (”Now my heart is filled with sadness”).

The priests inform Tamino that he has only two more trials to complete his initiation (”Why, beloved, must we part?”). Papageno longs for a cuddly wife, but settles for the old lady. When he promises to be faithful, she turns into a young Papagena but soon disappears.

After many dangers, Pamina and Tamino are reunited and face the ordeals of water and fire protected by the magic flute.

Papageno is saved from attempting suicide by the spirits who remind him that if he uses his magic bells he will find true happiness. When he does, Papagena reappears and the two plan for the future and move into a bird’s nest (”Pa-pa-pa …”). The Queen of the Night, her three ladies, and Monostatos attack the temple, but are defeated and banished. Sarastro joins Pamina and Tamino as the people hail Isis, Osiris, and the triumph of courage, virtue, and wisdom.

Opera synopsis courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera.

Funding for GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET: “The Magic Flute” has been provided by Toll Brothers, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation, the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation, Miami, Florida, and PBS.

Related Web Sites

• PBS.org: Broadway: The American Musical: Julie Taymor
• Sony Classical: James Levine
  
• Nathan Gunn
• Ying Huang
• Erika Miklósa
• René Pape
• Matthew Polenzani