Peter von Winter • Das Labyrinth,
The Second Part of The Magic Flute
or Der Kampf mit den Elementen
A grand heroic-comic opera in two acts
Text by Emanuel Schikaneder (1751–1812)
Stage rights Manfred App – www.papageno-music.com
New production
In German with German and English surtitles
Print program (PDF)
Ivor Bolton, Conductor
Alexandra Liedtke, Stage Director
Raimund Orfeo Voigt, Set Design
Susanne Bisovsky, Elisabeth Binder-Neururer, Costume Design
Christian Arseni, Dramaturgy
Peter Bandl, Lighting
Ismael Ivo, Choreography
Alois Glaßner, Chorus Master
Christof Fischesser, Sarastro
Julia Novikova, The Queen of Night
Malin Hartelius, Pamina, her daughter
Michael Schade, Tamino
Thomas Tatzl, Papageno
Regula Mühlemann, Papagena
Anton Scharinger, Old Papageno
Ute Gfrerer, Old Papagena
Nina Bernsteiner, First Lady of the Queen (Venus)
Christina Daletska, Second Lady of the Queen (Amor)
Monica Bohinec, Third Lady of the Queen (Page)
Klaus Kuttler, Monostatos, a Moor
Clemens Unterreiner, Tipheus, King of Paphos
Philippe Sly, Sithos, his friend
Mauro Peter, First Moor
Manuel Günther, Second Moor / Priest
Klaus Kuttler, Third Moor
Zoltan Nagy, Fourth Moor
Members of the Salzburg Festival and Theatre Children's Choir, Three Genii
Members of the Salzburger Bachchor, Four Genii
Shantia Ullmann, First Priestess
Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra
Salzburger Bachchor
2012 sees the 200th anniversary of the death of Emanuel Schikaneder, certainly one of the most original and influential theater impresarios of his time and generation. Without him, we would lack a masterpiece which we know Goethe (and others) wished to continue in a sequel. What is less well-known is the fact that Schikaneder himself wrote a second part for The Magic Flute, entitled Das Labyrinth oder Der Kampf mit den Elementen (The Labyrinth, or the Struggle with the Elements). Schikaneder entrusted this work – which was completed, unlike Goethe’s – to the Bavarian composer Peter von Winter, widely celebrated in Vienna at the time. After all, who but Schikaneder could know what happens next to the protagonists of the Magic Flute? The Queen of the Night – helped by Monostatos – keeps trying to get her daughter back, Papageno finds his long-lost family, and Sarastro brings in the big guns to get his way.
Director Alexandra Liedtke and set designer Raimund Voigt present this opera – which was a smash hit at its time – not in a conventional theater space, but at the Residenzhof, creating a link to the tradition of popular theater. Ivor Bolton conducts the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. “I think it is essential to deal with the exact knowledge the audience has of The Magic Flute and its expectations. What fascinates me about The Labyrinth is the continuation of the story, the additional details about the figures and the ambivalence this creates. While the protagonists in Mozart’s Magic Flute can be assigned to a simple, highly structured system of values, Schikaneder’s sequel is much less clear-cut. It is not enough that ‘good’ – as embodied by Sarastro, Tamino and Pamina – has to triumph over ‘evil’; it is questioned in general. … Although I see many characteristics in the protagonists that are all too familiar to us, I will tell The Labyrinth as Schikaneder’s libretto describes it: a great fairy-tale in which the exemplary and the playful are emphasized,” the director explains.