Opera Queensland's production of The Magic Flute will be enjoyed by audiences this Saturday night when the company stages a performance at the Cairns Civic Theatre

Cairns will be the final stop for the production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in Opera Queensland’s eight-centre tour of the state.

The creative collaboration of singer-turned-director Christine Douglas and set and costume designer Simone Romaniuk places this new interpretation of The Magic Flute under the big top of a 1930s travelling circus where the story’s champion, Tamino, embarks on his quest for love and enlightenment.

This new production by Opera Queensland fl oats in time, speaks of make-believe and lives outside the ordinary.

Scheming divas, an innocent clown, a ringmaster and a strongman come together to tell this tale of the supernatural.

A wonderful cast will present this new production to regional Queensland audiences led by Rockhampton-born tenor Christopher Saunders as Tamino and Brisbane soprano Sarah Crane as Pamina.

The assorted troupe of circus folk include Jason Barry-Smith and Sara Carvalho as the cheeky clowns Papageno and Papagena respectively, Gennadi Dubinsky as the ringmaster, Sarastro, Judit Lorincz as the knife-wielding superstar, Queen of Night, Virgilio Marino as the strongman, Monostatos, and Andrew Collis as the Speaker.

Richard Lewis conducts the Opera Queensland Ensemble and the Queensland Orchestra.

“The Magic Flute boasts some of the best-loved music in the repertoire,” Lewis says. “It will appeal to children and adults alike.

“Conducting this production is enormous fun.”

The Magic Flute was Mozart’s final masterpiece and features some of the composer’s greatest music including Pamina’s, Ah, I Feel It, It Is Gone and the Queen of Night’s, Oh, Tremble Not, My Beloved Son.

The opera premiered in Vienna, Austria, on September 30, 1791 at the Freihaus Theater auf der Wieden with Mozart himself conducting the orchestra.

It was a tremendous success and by November of the following year, celebrated its 100th performance.

Unfortunately, the composer didn’t live to witness this milestone, having died three months after the opera’s debut.

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