The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Opens New Exhibition Magical Designs for Mozart’s Magic Flute

In a new free exhibition, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and the Kent State University Museum explore how Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, which premiered in Vienna in 1791, has inspired countless teams of directors and designers to create imaginative productions beguiling audiences of all ages. Magical Designs for Mozart’s Magic Flute will be on display in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery, Shelby Cullom Davis Museum at The Library for the Performing Arts from March 31, through August 27, 2016.

"The Magic Flute has been a staple of opera houses around the world for centuries, but this exhibition also shows its power not just as a musical masterpiece, but as a seemingly endless source of inspiration for artists of all kinds," said Jacqueline Z. Davis, Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director of The Library for the Performing Arts. "Performing artists and visual artists alike have been drawn to Mozart's music and story, and visitors to the exhibition will see stunning examples of these creative productions, and better understand why The Magic Flute will surely captivate audiences and artists for centuries to come."

Magical Designs for Mozart's Magic Flute compares scenic and costume designs from a select group of 19th, 20th, and 21st century productions extolled for their remarkable visual achievement. Included are rare renderings from historic productions in the holdings of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Conceived and curated by acclaimed theatrical and opera designer Judy Levin and organized by the Kent State University Museum in partnership with the Library, it includes designs, set models, properties, and costumes.

The group of productions on display includes those emphasizing the Masonic themes, replete with Egyptian motifs, as well as re-envisioned and more abstract versions that set the scene in later times and places. Costumes from the Metropolitan Opera include the 1967 production designed by Marc Chagall and the 2004 production with costumes and direction by Julie Taymor and scenery by George Tsypin. Productions from the Salzburg Festival designed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Achim Freyer and Karel Appel are also on display. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' unique collections on view include 1869 designs by Josef Hoffmann, 1941 scenic designs by Richard Rychtarik, and a collage of drawings and snapshots by Rouben Ter-Arutunian of his designs for NBC's 1956 television broadcast. Designs by David Hockney, Maurice Sendak, Gerald Scarfe, Philip Prowse, Julie Taymor, William Kentridge, John Conklin, and Jun Kaneko, provide an unparalleled opportunity to examine the varying visual interpretations of this singular opera by exceptional theatre artists.

Highlights from the exhibition include:

• More than 50 original costumes ranging from opera star Marcella Sembrich's Queen of the Night (1900) to Jorge Jara's costumes for Karel Appel's Salzburg Festival production (2006) and  Julie Taymor's Metropolitan Opera (2004)
• Masks, props and other artifacts used in various productions
• Designs, photographs, and other materials from productions by celebrated visual artists such as Marc Chagall (Metropolitan Opera, 1967); David Hockney (Glyndebourne Opera, 1977); William Kentridge (Teatro Alla Scala, 2011); Maurice Sendak (Houston Grand Opera, 1981)
• Scripts and scores used by performers 
• Illustrations from early productions
• Model boxes of sets for productions by John Conklin (Boston Lyric Opera, 2013); Jun Kaneko (co-production by the San Francisco Opera Association, Washington National Opera, Opera Omaha, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Opera Carolina, 2012); and Roni Toren (Israel Philharmonic, 1991)

The Magic Flute is the tale of Prince Tamino and his efforts to rescue Pamina, the abducted daughter of the Queen of the Night. He is armed with a magic flute, accompanied by the Queen’s bird catcher, Papageno, with magic bells, and guided by three young boys. Tamino finds Pamina and after enduring tests and trials, finds enlightenment. The struggle between the Queen of the Night and Sarastro, representing the forces of light, and the eventual triumph of reason and virtue, set to Mozart’s sublime music, have delighted audiences worldwide for over two centuries.

A companion exhibition to Magical Designs for Mozart's Magic Flute, Mozart Forever: Fifty Years of the Mostly Mozart Festival, will open May 24 in the corridor near the Library's Lincoln Center entrance. Mozart Forever celebrates the festival that revolutionized New York City’s summertime music scene and renewed the world’s appreciation for one of Western music’s greatest creative minds. Through artwork, photographs, memorabilia, video interviews, concert excerpts, and more, this display traces Mostly Mozart’s history, illuminating the path from its all-Mozart roots to its current ambitious, visionary place in the cultural landscape. Mozart Forever will be on display through August 27, 2016.

In conjunction with the exhibitions, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will also present a series of free public programs. 

Magical Designs for Mozart's Magic Flute Public Programs 

**Unless otherwise noted, all programs and screenings listed below are free, intended for adults, and take place at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. Advance registration recommended online or in person at the Library's Welcome Desk. Visit nypl.org/events/exhibitions/magical-designs-mozarts-magic-flute for details.**

Friday, April 1 @ 7pm

Shakespeare vs. Mozart: A Library Debate

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival

For four hundred years, western culture has continuously looked to Shakespeare to share the truth of the human condition. On the other hand, the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart miraculously captures the sublime and expresses the inexpressible. As the Library presents concurrent exhibitions celebrating the work of Shakespeare and of Mozart, the question must be answered - who is the greatest genius? In one corner: Shakespeare experts Michael Sexton of The Shakespeare Society; and New Yorker magazine's Adam Gopnik. In the other corner: Peter Hoyt and Michael Beckerman, Mozart defenders from the Mostly Mozart Festival and New York University, and pianist Orli Shaham. Each side will battle with competing evidence, utilizing live performances and historic materials from the Library’s archives. Q2 Music’s Brothers Balliett moderate this epic clash of titans.

This program also relates to the Library's current exhibition Shakespeare's Star Turn in America.

Saturday, April 2 @ 2:30pm

The Magic Flute in Concert

As a preview of their upcoming presentation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the Juilliard School’s Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts offers a concert of highlight arias and scenes. Pulling from the Library’s extensive collection of scenic and costume designs, Juilliard students will perform in front of a changing digital backdrop of beautiful images from rarely seen historic productions, including The Metropolitan Opera’s premier version from 1900. Enjoy the talents of opera’s future stars and see a collage of Magic Flute visions from two centuries of designers. 

Advance registration not required. Admission is first come, first served.

Monday, April 11 @ 6pm

An Evening with Julie Taymor

During the 2015 holiday season, in movie theaters across the country, audiences marveled as The Magic Flute’s three spirits soared upon the back of a glistening, feathered bird puppet. At Theater for a New Audience last season, Shakespeare’s dream world came to life, as Puck and other sprites slid across gravity defying, giant silken sheets. In countless other brilliant projects, with puppetry, mime, light and shadows, Julie Taymor, award-winning director of theater and film, has made magic and myth seem real. As the Library celebrates both Shakespeare and Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Taymor sits down with SITI Artistic Director Anne Bogart for a conversation about designing and directing theater, opera, and film. 

This program also relates to the Library's current exhibition Shakespeare's Star Turn in America.

Saturday, April 23 @ 2:30pm

Not Mozart Quartet Fest: String Quartets in the Time of Mozart 

Diderot Quartet: Haydn and His Students II

Diderot Quartet proudly presents the second installment of its 'Haydn and his Students' series. This program includes music by Haydn (naturally) and by Anton Ferdinand Titz, who likely studied with Haydn before embarking upon an illustrious musical career in St. Petersburg and crafting some of his own extraordinary string quartets. The program closes with the deservedly famous 'Harp' quartet by Haydn's most renowned student, Beethoven. Have the disciples out-composed their mentor? You be the judge!

Advance registration not required. Admission is first come, first served.

Saturday, April 30 @ 2:30pm

Emergence Quartet: Opera by Four

In Mozart’s time the otherworldly sounds of The Magic Flute universe were created by violins with sheep gut strings and snakewood bows. The acclaimed Boston based period instrument ensemble, the Emergence Quartet, comes to the Library to perform music by composers of Mozart’s era on instruments Mozart would have recognized. Join us for a concert of works by Haydn and Richter, plus a fascinating compilation of Magic Flute arias, arranged to be played for home entertainment in 1800.

Advance registration not required. Admission is first come, first served.

Monday, May 16 @ 6pm

FILM - The Magic Flute

Enjoy Ingmar Bergman's 1975 film adaptation of the opera. In Swedish with English subtitles. 135 min.

Saturday, May 21 @ 2:30pm

An Afternoon of Opera and Songs

Presented by the Manhattan Opera Association featuring selections from Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Advance registration not required. Admission is first come, first served.

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Magical Designs for Mozart's Magic Flute is organized by the Kent State University Museum in partnership with The Library for the Performing Arts and curated by acclaimed theater designer Judy Levin. 

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. Additional support for exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam and Harold Steinberg Foundation. 

The Kent State University Museum is supported by a sustainability grant from the Ohio Arts Council and gratefully acknowledges the support of Moshe Amitay, Noach and Joan Amitay, Rena Amitay Berk, Eskin Family Foundation, Edna Erez, Elisa Mazen, Murray Newman, Anitra B. Webster, Connie Wimer, The Jun Kaneko Studio, The San Francisco Opera, and Thrive Integrated Physiotherapy.

Press Contact:

Nora Lyons, The New York Public Library | noralyons [at] nypl [dot] org

About The New York Public Library For The Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts houses one of the world’s most extensive combinations of circulating, reference, and rare archival collections in its field. These materials are available free of charge, along with a wide range of special programs, including exhibitions, seminars, and performances. An essential resource for everyone with an interest in the arts — whether professional or amateur — the Library is known particularly for its prodigious collections of non-book materials such as historic recordings, videotapes, autograph manuscripts, correspondence, sheet music, stage designs, press clippings, programs, posters and photographs. The Library is part of The New York Public Library system, which has 90 locations in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, and is a lead provider of free education for all.