The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute marked 1927’s first opera, first large scale production and first time tackling a pre existing work – Mozart’s Magic Flute.  Co-conceived by 1927’s Co-Artistic Directors Paul Barritt and Suzanne Andrade in collaboration with Barrie Kosky, Artistic Director of The Komische Opera Berlin.  A celebration of true love conquering all, The Magic Flute transports the audience into an enchanted world where good faces the forces of darkness. The Magic Flute was co-directed by Suzanne Andrade and Barry Kosky, with full-scale animation, created by Paul Barritt.  The production premiered at the Komische Opera Berlin in November 2012 where it continues to play in repertoire, alongside new productions worldwide. 

The Magic Flute had its world premiere at Komische Opera Berlin on 25 November 2012.

Quotes & Awards

‘Has transformed the Magic Flute into a stunning live-action cartoon, so bewitching as to silence every criticism.’ Los Angeles Times

‘The British theatre group 1927 and Barrie Kosky have pulled off "a deliciously absurd blend of silent film and animation ‘ Berliner Morgenpost.

‘You are amazed by the perfection, you laugh in appreciation of the virtuoso design behind each of these scenes... Breath-taking!’ TAZ

‘this production points the way toward a freer, more experimental style of producing opera, even in a mainstream context.’ New York Times

Winner Opera World Award

forthcoming performances

San Antonio Opera, Texas, USA: 2-4 October 2025

Norwegian Opera, Oslo, Norway: 20 November 2025 - 18 January 2026

Teatr Wielki, Warsaw, Poland: 3 December 2025 - 4 January 2026

Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Germany: 10 Dec 2025 - 18 March 2026

Staatsoper Stuttgart, Germany: 4 January-28 June 2026

LA Opera, Los Angeles, USA: 30 May - 21 June 2026

Performance History

13 March 2024 onwards (running in rep): Staatsoper Stuttgart, Germany

11 December 2016 onwards (running in rep): Polish National Opera, Warsaw, Poland 

November 2013 onwards (running in rep):  Theater Duisburg, Germany

November 2013 onwards (running in rep): Opernhaus Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany 

November 2012 onwards (running in rep): Komische Opera Berlin, Berlin, Germany

February 2016 onwards running in rep): Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, Finland      

22 February - 9 March 2025: Seattle Opera, Seattle, USA

30 May - 30 June 2024: San Francisco Opera, USA

9 - 16 May 2023: Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina

30 March - 14 April 2023: Teatro Regio Torino, Italy

7-15 May 2022: Opéra de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

5-6 March 2022: Des Moines Metro Opera, Indianola, Iowa, USA

4-13 February 2022: Houston Grand Opera, Houston, Texas, USA

3-29 November 2021: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago, USA

4-15 November 2021: Israeli Opera, Tel Aviv, Israel

3 October - 28 November 2020: Stuttgart State Opera, Stuttgart, Germany

30 August 2020 - 9 June 2024: Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, Denmark

19 Jan - 24 Feb 2020: Teatro Real Madrid, Spain

16 November - 15 December 2019: LA Opera, Los Angeles, USA

11-13 October 2019: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Taiwan

4-6 October 2019: Macao International Music Festival

20-23 February 2019: Perth Festival, Perth, Australia 

1-3 March 2019: Adelaide Festival, Adelaide, Australia

8-10 March 2019: Auckland Festival, Auckland, New Zealand 

7-8 April 2018: Bunkamura Ochard Hall, Tokyo, Japan

11 April 2018: HBG Hall, Hiroshima, Japan

14-15 April 2018: Hyogo Performing Arts Centre, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan

31 March - 29 April 2018: Greek National Opera, Athens, Greece

7-17 October 2018: Teatro dell 'Opera di Roma, Rome, Italy

6-14 November 2017: Opera Comique, Paris, France

14 - 25 September 2017: Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA  

20-23 July 2017: Cincinatti Opera, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 

24-26 May 2017: Bolshoi Theatre, Chekhov International Festival, Moscow, Russia

8-13 July & 7-16 September 2016: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, spain                  

13 Feb - 6 Mar 2016:   LA Opera, LA, USA                                                        

16-30 January 2016:  Teatro Real Madrid, Madrid, Spain

24 - 25 Oct 2015:  Banlam Grand Theater, Xiamen, China

30 Oct – 2 Nov 2015:  Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China

14-21 Nov 2015:  Minnesota Opera, Minneapolis, USA                                 

30 Oct - 1 Nov 2015:  Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China         

24-25 Oct 2015:  Banlam Grand Theatre, Xiamen, China                  

10-12 September 2015:  Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai, China

27-30 August 2015:  Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh, UK 

27-28 Sep 2014:  Festspielhause, St Polten, Austria                        

7-21 Apr 2014:  Minnesota Opera, Minneapolis, USA                       

30 Nov – 15 Dec 2013:  LA Opera, Los Angeles, USA