Genevieve Murphy

“The Scottish composer Genevieve Murphy shook Mozart’s music considerably and added all kinds of harmonies and instruments. The result is a totally innovative mixture of classical, modern, hip-hop and electronic music, in which also the well-known arias resound.” Trouw

“Based on the idea that Mozart himself also loved innovation – in his own Magic Flute he paired classical arias and choral strings with folk melodies – his opera was thoroughly dusted. Pop music crept into the composition and Papageno suddenly turned out to be able to beatbox a nice game. At the same time, the famous arias of Pamina and Nacht were preserved, beautifully interpreted by the sopranos Meneka Senn and Viola Cheung. No less than amazing is the way the choir makes itself heard – a find I will not reveal here. The fact is that the audience is immersed in a sound bath of well-known and new melodies for 45 minutes; a wonderful introduction for debuting opera visitors.” Het Parool

About:

The Magic Flute is an exiting fairy-tale opera. What’s more, it’s probably the most famous opera in the world – everyone knows the Queen of the Night’s aria, even if they’ve never seen or heard the whole piece. It was in 1791 that Mozart wrote his opera about Prince Tamino, who sets out to rescue Princess Pamina with the aid of a mysterious magic flute. 

Silbersee and De Toneelmakerij are now making a new version for anyone aged seven or above. This Magic Flute is set against the backdrop of an intergalactic battle between the Night and the Sun. The young astronaut Tamino crashes his rocket in a forgotten corner of the Milky Way. There he meets the star-catcher Papageno, and together they set off on an adventure to rescue the princess. Their mission is a success, and the astronaut falls head over heels in love with the self-assured princess. And she falls in love with him. And sure enough –because that’s what happens in fairy tales – they live happily ever after. Unless… maybe it’s not that simple. 

Music theatre company Silbersee and De Toneelmakerij are joining forces to produce a totally contemporary version of Mozart’s masterpiece, in which classical music, rap, dance and theatre blend to create magical musical theatre for all the family

concept De Toneelmakerij en Silbersee
direction Paul Knieriem
musical direction Romain Bischoff
composition Genevieve Murphy & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
libretto Daniël van Klaveren
dramaturgy Paulien Geerlings
scenography Morgana Machado Marques
costumes Jorine van Beek
lighting design Gé Wegman
sound design Maurits van Thiel

with performers Nadia Amin, Viola Cheung, Arnoud Lems, Genevieve Murphy, Michaela Riener, Meneka Senn, Guus van der Steen & Georgi Sztojanov

Special thanks to Abdelhadi Baaddi, Carlos de Vries, Stichting Dioraphte, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, Stichting Melanie & Fonds21