“...the only music which might be put into the mouth of God without blasphemy.”
- George Bernard Shaw — on The Magic Flute

This spectacular modern reworking of Mozart’s breakthrough 18th century opera tells the story of a young classical singer, Tom Henderson, who is cast— against his better judgment— as the lead in a 2006 staging of The Magic Flute in Salzburg.

Mozart started his career as a composer at the age of four, when he began composing piano pieces. At the age of five he was composing minuets and by age nine he had composed his first symphony. He wrote 20 complete operas, his final and most spectacular being The Magic Flute, which he wrote in the last year of his life at age 35. Mozart was a combination of the revolutionary compositional brilliance of modern day composers such as John Lennon and Paul McCartney with the groundbreaking performance individuality of an Elvis Presley—all rolled into one. He was the ultimate iconic pop-star of the 18th century who traveled across Europe on tour, each one more outstanding than the next. Fortunately for a modern audience his genius has never faded. In celebration of his 250th birthday I wanted to capture some of his most joyous work on film, and decided that a contemporary movie version of The Magic Flute might be workable if told as the backdrop to a modern love story, conveyed on a fantastical scale.

The Magic Flute is an unparalleled masterpiece of music, and this film might be considered an epic in terms of the scope of production. Not only does the film weave between time periods, reality and the imagination, it is also Kevin Sullivan’s first significant movie to incorporate computer generated imagery with live action.

After four decades of theatre and film directing, 86-year-old legend Peter Brooks has perhaps directed his most radical opera yet – a slimmed down, bare bones production of Mozart’s Magic Flute.

Many music lovers are of the opinion that Rebecca Black – singer of the world-ridiculed song “Friday” – has become a phenomenon simply because she released the song in the age of YouTube and viral videos.  But long before Rebecca, there were other “singers” whose fame was derived from singing badly.

For the first time in music history, all of Mozart’s stage works will be performed in a row by a single opera house.  At the annual Mozart Festival in Warsaw, Poland, the city’s chamber orchestra will be performing all of the famous musician’s theatrical creations, starting with The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi Fan Tutte and The Abduction from the Seraglio.

Enjoy the following excerpt from the libretto of The Magic Flute, as adapted by Kevin Sullivan in his film Mozart's Magic Flute Diaries.  The full version of the opera’s libretto can be found in Mozart’s The Magic Flute Diaries Official Movie Companion.

In keeping with Kevin Sullivan’s vision of transporting the world of opera to the big screen with his film Mozart’s Magic Flute Diaries, it seems the Metropolitan Opera has also made great lengths in promoting the visual world of opera, according to Variety.

Mozart’s connection to the Freemasons - a fraternity dedicated to spreading enlightenment values and intellectual liberalism - apparently ran deeper than politics.  His appreciation for this brotherhood can also be found in his music.

Have you ever wondered what happens after an actor’s big role in a high performance film? Mireille Asselin, who played one of the leading roles in Mozar'ts Magic Flute Diaries, has taken on a few major roles since that production.