The Israeli Opera’s 2026 – 2027 season will open with Mozart’s captivating opera The Magic Flute. The visually stunning production, based on a staging by Oper Dortmund, is directed by Nikolaus Habjan and conducted by Dan Ettinger. The production was originally scheduled to be presented as part of the Israeli Opera’s 40th anniversary season and although the set had already been installed onstage, and all the international soloists were in Israel and rehearsing with the orchestra, ultimately the decision was made to postpone the performances due to the war with Iran. It will now finally reach the stage, thanks to the cooperation of Oper Dortmund and the soloists, international and Israeli. Performances will take place from October 16 – 29, 2026.
A unique aspect of this production is its visual language, which employs gigantic puppets designed and constructed by the opera’s director Nikolaus Habjan. The puppets heighten the relationships between the different characters, as they hover in the balance between dream-like fantasy and imminent danger.
The final opera composed by Mozart, with a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, The Magic Flute is one of the world’s most beloved and frequently performed operas, a work that combines fantasy and humor with questions of truth and falsehood, love, loyalty and choice. Its imaginative narrative evokes the world of fairy tales, and its captivating music enthralls audiences of all ages, worldwide, and has done so for over 200 years. The Magic Flute is a Singspiel opera, a genre that contains both singing and spoken dialogue.
One of the rare operas in which all ends well, the opera follows the adventures of two main characters: Prince Tamino and Papageno the bird-catcher. Prince Tamino is shown a picture of Princess Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, and promptly falls in love. The Queen tells him that Pamina has been kidnapped by an evil sorcerer, Sarastro, and Prince Tamino sets out to rescue Princess Pamina, with his new friend, Papageno. Yet once he arrives at Sarastro’s temple, it turns out that all is not as it appears, and in this complex reality, it is not always clear who represents the light. The relationship of two strong women – the Queen of the Night who demands that her daughter Pamina perform a cruel task, and Pamina, who insists on making her own choices – drives the plot and presents a complex perspective on issues of feelings, responsibility, and the power balance between the two.
Soloists in the opera: Alla Vasilevitsky (soprano) and Yael Levita (soprano) – Pamina; George Vibran (tenor) and David Kerber (tenor) – Tamino; Hila Fahima (soprano) and Nofar Yacobi (soprano) – Queen of the Night; Oded Reich (baritone) and Jakob Schad (baritone) – Papageno; Shaked Strul – Papagena (soprano); Marie Webb (soprano) and Shlomit Leah Kovalski (soprano) First Lady; Anat Czarny (mezzo-soprano) and Daniela Skorka (soprano) – Second Lady; Shay Bloch (mezzo-soprano) and Rachel Frenkel (mezzo-soprano) – Third Lady; Anthony Webb (tenor) and Adi Ezra (tenor) – Monostatos/Second Priest/First man in armor; Sava Vemić (bass) and Yoav Ayalon – Sarastro; Pnini Leon Grubner (bass) and Sava Vemić (bass) – Speaker; Yair Polishook (baritone) and Daniel Miller (bass) – First Priest/Second man in armor; Neomi Ben Shachar (soprano) and Shirley Lutzky (soprano) – First Boy; Mike Halperin (soprano) and Shira Sandelman (soprano) – Second Boy; Maya Kuttner (alto) and Abigail Kaminker (alto) – Third Boy.
Performances will take place from October 16 – 29, 2026, conducted by Dan Ettinger, Rotem Nir will conduct the performances on October 26 and 29. Tickets and additional information may be found on the Israeli Opera website.
