Join us for the acclaimed production of Mozart’s bewitching opera ‘The Magic Flute’ by the English National Opera, preceded by a delicious Three-Course Champagne Dinner at The Savoy Hotel: Thursday, March 21, 2019

We are delighted to invite you to join us for a night of pure jubilance, magical opera and exhilarating achievement—Simon McBurney’s inspired production of Mozart’s finest opera, ‘The Magic Flute’, for the English National Opera. This will be a superb chance to see this acclaimed production, which has won such accolades—and to see one of opera’s brightest stars, Lucy Crowe, considered ‘the best Pamina in years’. Altogether this production is a ‘life-enhancing, gloriously creative example of what opera in the 21st-century West End can be’ (The Spectator).

This is a bewitchingly beautiful opera and it will be a sell-out performance—and so we are delighted to have secured seats in the Orchestra Stalls to make sure our Members do not miss this glorious production—having first enjoyed a delicious Champagne Three-Course Dinner in the glittering surroundings of The Savoy Hotel.

Mozart’s final opera, its achingly beautiful music and bewitching story have made ‘The Magic Flute’ one of the world’s best-loved operas. Mozart truly is a magician. Final opera or not, it’s an enchanting showcase of the composer’s genius. Through our special arrangements with the English National Opera and The Savoy Hotel, tickets for the full evening, including centre Orchestra Stalls seat for the Opera, delicious Three-Course Pre-Theatre Champagne Dinner at The Savoy Hotel, service charge, VAT and your taxi to the opera cost Members only £147 instead of the full £200. If you wish to book for the opera without dinner, your Club price is only £89.50.

McBurney’s ‘Magic Flute’ is a production to savour: as witty and solemn by turns as Mozart’s masterly score, shot through with inspiration and beguiling performances. The cast includes ‘the best sung Pamina in years’, the English star soprano Lucy Crowe, alongside the great Dutch baritone Thomas Oliemans as Papageno, with his innate sense of comedy, edged with pathos, and the rising star young English tenor Rupert Charlesworth. They are joined by company favourite Brindley Sherratt as Sarastro and the sparkling coloratura of Julia Bauer as the manipulative Queen of the Night, fresh from her bell-like performance in the role in Bonn. Among the thrilling famous arias are the Queen’s ‘The vengeance of hell boils in my heart’, in which the soprano must hit a high F over and over again. It’s incredibly difficult—and perfect for Julia Bauer to show off her skills. Conductor Ben Gernon, Principal Guest at the BBC Philharmonic, makes his ENO debut—and in this staging the orchestra and conductor are especially important, being lifted into the action.

Mozart himself conducted the orchestra when ‘Die Zauberflöte’ premiered in Vienna more than two centuries ago. It was immediately evident that Mozart had achieved a great popular success. The opera drew immense crowds, lifting Mozart’s spirits in the weeks before his tragic death in December 1791, only 10 weeks after his Opening Night. It proved the biggest popular success of his short life, as well as arguably the most deeply moving of all his operas. It is also one of the most accessible, as enjoyable for a newcomer as it is for the ardent operagoer.

Simon McBurney’s production for the English National Opera is itself a reminder of why ‘The Magic Flute’ was such a success in Mozart’s day, and why in its reincarnation by the ENO, it is so jubilant—writes The Spectator critic, ‘I sat through Act One with a growing feeling of joy, wonder and admiration for how comprehensively McBurney has solved every problem implicit in staging Mozart’s sublime Enlightenment panto. In short, he’s made it into a West End show, with spectacular visual effects.

‘The orchestra spills out of the pit, and the flautist actually takes to the stage for her big solo. It’s intensely engaging: McBurney acknowledges the artificiality of the whole set-up while creating an enveloping atmosphere of enchantment and warmth that involves everyone present in the piece’s philosophical and emotional truths. For a magical evening and a supremely uplifting way to enjoy Mozart’s masterpiece, this is unmissable.

CHAMPAGNE DINNER AT THE SAVOY

THE DINNER

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