SC Wisconsin News

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will host performances of Mozart’s renowned opera, “The Magic Flute,” this April. The UW-Stevens Point Department of Music’s Opera Workshop will present the opera at Michelsen Hall in the Noel Fine Arts Center. Showings are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 13.

"The Magic Flute" tells the story of Prince Tamino's quest to rescue Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night. The opera will be sung in German with English supertitles, while dialogue will be presented in English. The UWSP Symphony Orchestra, led by Associate Professor Andres Moran, will provide musical accompaniment.

Jaden Richards, a UW-Stevens Point senior voice major portraying Tamino, said, “This is an opera that has a story for everyone. It offers fantastical elements and trials to overcome that mirror real life.”

Matthew Markham, professor of voice at UW-Stevens Point and the opera's director and producer, stated, “’The Magic Flute’ is performed more than any other opera in the world and is enjoyed by children and adults. It is equally enjoyable for the opera lover and for someone hearing it for the first time.”

The production includes a cast of 25 students and features sets and costumes that reflect a fantasy setting. There are challenging roles for students and familiar opera music for audiences.

Tickets are priced at $17 for the general public and can be purchased online or via phone.

A shorter version of “The Magic Flute,” with a smaller cast and piano accompaniment, will be offered to the community in English. This performance will occur at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, in Michelsen Hall and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 27, at the Point Opera House Annex. This will be the first performance in the renovated Opera House space. These events are free for the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Additionally, a modified version of the opera will be presented to more than 900 school children in Stevens Point, Wausau, Schofield, and Waupaca.

“We are always trying to share this art form with people of all ages,” Markham noted. “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.”