(The Magic Flute)

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Sponsored in part by:

Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Galichia                                    and Pulse, Inc.

February 11, 2006

7:30 PM, Century II Concert Hall

Synopsis

Cast and Bios

About the Composer

Magic is in the air when WGO celebrates Mozart’s 250^th birthday with the charming fairy tale The Magic Flute on February 11, 2006 at 7:30 PM.  An opera enjoyed by all ages, The Magic Flute has long been in the top 10 most popular operas in the modern repertoire.  This star-studded production will be sung in German with English surtitles, and promises to dazzle the senses with its fantastical sets and costumes.  Led by German conductor Ekhart Wycik, who is making his U.S. and WGO debut, he is conductor with the Kaiserslautern Opera in Germany and has made guest appearances as conductor in opera houses in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Germany.  American stage director Jonathan Field who has become one of America’s most versatile directors having directed over 75 productions in all four corners of the U.S., will be staging this WGO production.  He has directed for Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera and the Arizona Opera, among many others.  His stagings for Lyric Opera of Chicago were so successful that they were repeated at the Illinois Festival.  Starring in the production are Russian coloratura soprano Svetlana Trifonova from Mariinsky Theater, as Queen of the Night; Italian baritone Stefano de Peppo returning to WGO after his polarizing 2004 debut in the role of Leporello, as Papageno; Christina Martos from the Washington National Opera as Pamina; Amanda Squitieri, also from the Washington National Opera, singing Papagena, and Rodney Miller, WGO Resident Artist and Dean of Fine Arts at Wichita State University, as the Speaker.