THE MAGIC FLUTE

Bergman's interpretation of Mozart's The Magic Flute spins a tale as ethereal and timeless as Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. Tamino (Josef Kostlinger) is a knight of pure spirit, enticed by the Queen of the Night into abducting her daughter Pamina (Irma Urilla). Her captor, Sarastro (Ulrik Cold), is the Queen's ex-husband, but his supposed 'dark arts' turn out to be no more sinister than the rites of Freemasonry. Resolution comes when Tamino, along with his amusing assistant Papageno (Hakan Hagegard), realises the foolhardy nature of their mission, and are rewarded with true happiness: Tamino is smitten by Panima, while Papageno finds love in a mysterious crealure named Papagena (Elisabeth Erikson).