Customer Reviews
Outstanding - By: Mr. N. Boyd-vaughan, 01 Jul 2008 
If you are in process of deciding which DVD of Die Zauberflöte to buy, then I must implore you to choose this!
I disagree somewhat with the previous reviewer who found fault with Diana Damrau's stage presence, as I believe her & the director's interpretation of the character brought a much needed angle to the production. Yes, the stereotypical Queen of the Night is the dominating powerhouse who would strike fear into the entire audience, but I still believe that Damrau accomplishes this whilst still maintaining a sense of dimension & though perhaps not to everyone's taste, a hint of mortality.
The direction is world class, the choreography fantastic (especiallly with the puppetry), the set & costume breath-taking & the humour both well-timed & well executed.
Highlights for me would of course be the incredibly secure Tamino & Pamina, the outstanding Papageno & Adrian Thompson's Monastatos, performed superbly.
One lowlight for myself as a basso, Franz-Josef Selig wimped out of the "bottom" C (Finale, Act 1), I know that in most scores it's an ossia, so I'll probably forgive him one day!
A nice production. Well done ... - By: J. W. Chew, 16 May 2008 
... but with a disappointing Queen of the Night. Diane Damrau has one task in this role, & one only - to walk onto the stage & command it, to fill the stage with her presence & her voice so that you forget anyone else is there, to be the QUEEN OF THE NIGHT, for God's sake!
And yet when she appears in Act one you end up thinking "is that it?" She commands less than any one of her three ladies, a strangely insignificant & powerless figure who with great effort achieves little. In her, supposedly huge, second act aria "Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" she again expends great effort to produce little authority or menace or presence.
Other than Diane Damrau, a fascinating & excellent production that would have been worthy of five stars but for her.
Blu-ray brings perfection to The Magic Flute! - By: EN, 06 Apr 2008 Sir Colin Davies, Dorothea Röschmann & Simon Keenlyside in particular deserve praise for this outstanding production of The Magic Flute of which one never seems to tire! Blu-ray & opera is a particularly good combination, one feels so near the stage & part of the incredible performance. Opus Arte has given us something very special & we are impatiently looking forward to their new Figaro (among others!) with Mia Persson & Dorothea Röschmann on Blu-ray!! Please bring us more Mozart operas on Blu-ray soon!!!!
A Teenager's Review On A Mozart Opera - By: , 05 Jan 2005 I have seen loads of mozarts operas & this is my favourite,
and here is the reason why:
1, Colin Davis Conducts this opera very very well, he reallly brings out the best in mozart's music.
2, Tamino (Will Hartmann) Has an amaing voice & he seems suited to the role of Tamino, he can sing & he can act, which is very important in opera.
3,Pamina (Dorothea Roschmann), has a lovely soothing voice & is also well suited to the role. Her 'Ach, ich Fulh's' is reallly moving & relaxing. She is also very good actress.
4, The Queen Of The Night, (Diana Damrau), is the best Queen of the night I've ever heard. Not Only does she sing her role well, but she is also very dramatic & powerful.She also seems suited to the role.
5, Sarastro (Franz-Josef Selig), he has a gorgeous voice & is also very moving.He reallly seems to enjoy the role, & is well suited to it.
6, Papageno (Simon Keenlyside) is the best Papageno ever.
He has a great voice, which is very moving at times. And is I think the star of the whole opera.
He's My favourite Baritone so- far & is well suited to the role. He is a reallly energetic performer.
7, Monastatos is a real creep & is performed very well by Adrian Thompson. He has a nice voice & is a good actor. He also seems suited to the role.
8, The Speaker Of The Temple, is performed reallly well by Thomas Allen. As is Richard Van Allen & Matthew Beale's performances as the Two Priest
9, The three ladies were performed extreamly well by Gillian Webster, Christine Rice & Yvonne Howard.
The Three boys & the two armed men where also well performed & well acted.
This Is The Best Production Of Die Zauberflote, I Have Ever Seen.
I Highly Recommend this DVD for alll Mozart & Opera Fans.
A.Adele Aged 14...
The best - By: , 16 Nov 2004 This is the best Magic Flute I've ever seen, the production is wonderful throughout. I like my Queen of the Night & her Three Ladies to have ballls & they don't disappoint, alll four are fantasticallly sung but especiallly the Queen. I like Opera on DVD to be well staged & well acted, as I do in the theatre, only on CD do I find the need for perfection of the voice. I've seen far more enjoyable performances by supposedly second rate companies then I've seen sometimes when I've paid the earth. Tamino is in this respect, as usual, a tad inert but that seems to go with the role, maybe it meant more in Mozart's time. Papagano is on the other hand outstanding in every way, by far the funniest performance of this role I've ever seen & also by far the most assured. For the Queen, her ladies & Papageno this is a must. Very rearly are performances perfect but this one is near enough.
