Junior Students: Lilac Time by Franz Schubert
23rd November, 2008
The Mill Theatre, Dundrum
Senior Students: The Magic Flute
30th November, 2008
The Mill Theatre, Dundrum
This November, as part of the Maire Ledwith Butler Singing Studio’s tenth birthday celebrations, the students are taking on their most ambitious projects to date. We are proud to present two very special performances: Schubert’s Lilac Time and Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Both productions will take place in the beautiful Mill Theatre, located in the Dundrum Town Centre. Full details of tickets will be announced soon.
Lilac Time Franz Schubert
Lilac Time is a Viennese operetta constructed around the music of Franz Schubert. The original production, concerned Schubert and two of his friends, and their romantic liaisons with the three beautiful daughters of the court glass makers.
While the abbreviated version tells the same story, it focuses most particularly on Schubert and his unrequited love for Mitzi, his singing student. Too shy to tell her of his feelings, Schubert composes a Serenade for his love, and asks Baron Schober to sing it to her. Upon hearing the beautiful music, Mitzi falls madly in love with the Baron, and Schubert must seek his solace in his music. Interwoven with Schubert’s tale, are those of his friends and Mitzi’s equally attractive sisters. Lilac Time is a comic and engaging operetta, which has remained popular with audiences since its debut in Austria in 1916.
The Magic Flute Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflöte is an exciting tale of abduction and incarceration. The story begins with the appearance of a prince from a faraway land, Prince Tamino. He collapses in tiredness having been pursued by a ferocious serpent and is saved by the three ladies, handmaidens to the mysterious Queen of the Night. When he awakens, however, the maidens have gone and the first person he sees is Papageno the birdcatcher, who promptly claims the glory of the rescue for himself. The three ladies reappear to punish him. With Papageno tongue-tied, Tamino is shown a picture of the Queen’s daughter, Pamina, and falls passionately in love with her. Left alone, the Queen appears before him and tells him that he must save Pamina, who has been abducted by Sarastro. As she disappears into darkness, the ladies reappear and give him a magic flute to aid him on his journey – and a somewhat silly companion in the form of Papageno, who must journey with him. The travelers leave under the guidance of three spirits who will protect and guide them through their journey.
The ensuing adventures are both interesting and often hilarious as the adventurers find the Princess, encounter Sarastro’s mean-hearted and sniveling servant Monostatos, and are themselves caught by the mysterious Sarastro. They learn that things are not always what they seem, and, as with all the best adventure stories, good triumphs over evil, and all those who truly deserve happiness find it in the end.