UW-Stevens Point to bring ‘The Magic Flute’ opera to various local stages

One of the most famous operas will be staged at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point as well as in the community this month.
 
Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” will be presented by the Department of Music’s Opera Workshop at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, at Michelsen Hall in the Noel Fine Arts Center, 1800 Portage St., Stevens Point.
 
The opera is a mythical fairy tale in which Prince Tamino takes on a quest to rescue Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night. For these performances, the music will be performed in German with English supertitles on a screen on stage and all dialogue in English. Musical accompaniment will be by the UWSP Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Associate Professor Andres Moran.
 
“This is an opera that has a story for everyone,” said UW-Stevens Point senior voice major Jaden Richards, Montello, who portrays Tamino.  “It offers fantastical elements and trials to overcome that mirror real life.”
 
“’The Magic Flute’ is performed more than any other opera in the world and is enjoyed by children and adults,” said director and producer Matthew Markham, professor of voice at UW-Stevens Point. “It is equally enjoyable for the opera lover and for someone hearing it for the first time.”
 
The performance includes a cast of 25 students and colorful sets and costumes that reflect a fantasy, dreamworld setting. The opera offers challenging voice roles for students and recognizable opera music for audiences, Markham said.
 
Tickets are $17 for the general public and may be purchased online at tickets.uwsp.edu or by calling 715-346-4100.
 
In addition, a shortened, modified version of “The Magic Flute” with a smaller cast will be offered for the community in English, with piano accompaniment, at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in UW-Stevens Point’s Michelsen Hall, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at the Point Opera House Annex, 1136 Main Street, Stevens Point. The Opera House performance will be the first offered in the newly renovated space. These performances are free and open to the public, first-come, first-served.
 
More than 900 area school children will also be offered the modified version of the opera as performers visit local schools in Stevens Point, Wausau, Schofield and Waupaca.
 
“We are always trying to share this artform with people of all ages,” said Markham. “This opera works well for that, as it is a fairy tale layered with the depth of life’s trials and tribulations. It’s a timeless story.”