''Magic Flute Diaries'' is a film loosely inspired by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's classic opera, ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

''. The film was released in 2008 by

Sullivan Entertainment Kevin Roderick Sullivan (born c. 1955) is a Canadian writer, director and producer of film and television programs. Kevin Sullivan is best known for detailed period movies such as the ''Anne of Green Gables'' series of films, his movie adaptati ...

. ''Magic Flute Diaries'' won the award for Best Family Film in the 2008 Staten Island Film Festival.

Synopsis

Tom (

Warren Christie Hans Warren Christie (born 4 November 1975) is a British-Canadian television and film actor known for his roles as Ray Cataldo on the ABC drama '' October Road'' and as Aidan "Greggy" Stiviletto on the ABC series '' Happy Town''. More recently ...

), a young classical singer, reluctantly accepts the lead role in a production of ''The Magic Flute'' during Mozart's 250th birthday celebration in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

at the urging of his girlfriend Sandy (Kelly Campbell). As rehearsals unfold, Tom is captivated by the magical power of Mozart's final opera. He is completely overcome with amazement at the musical genius that surrounds him. In an effort to visualize Mozart's fantasy, Tom imagines himself in the opera's story and drifts in and out of reality as if in a dream. Gradually he becomes completely enraptured by the intoxicating musical atmosphere swirling around him. Tom's rapture is heightened further when he meets his mysterious co-star, Masha (Mireille Asselin), an unknown Russian soprano of astonishing talent. This extraordinary young singer is kept isolated from both the company and the press by her manager, Professor Nagel (

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

). Tom becomes infatuated with Masha causing his relationship with Sandy to fall apart. Tom finds himself seduced as much by Mozart's music as by his bewitching co-star. Tom's concern for the girl, and his obsession to find out more about her mysterious past, becomes a quest that parallels the operatic fable actually being played out onstage. Tom's strong feelings for Masha have left him unable to distinguish between reality and fantasy. Like his character in the opera, Tom wonders if he is being tested for a higher purpose but he knows he must play out his role in Masha's story until the final curtain.

Production

Origin

The concept for a film inspired by Mozart's ''The Magic Flute'' emerged from a number of sources. Director, writer and producer of the film, Kevin Sullivan, became interested in the city of Salzburg after his daughter travelled there with her school orchestra to attend Mozart's 250th birthday celebrations. Sullivan was also inspired by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

’s stage musical, '' The Woman in White'', which used

three-dimensional Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position of an element (i.e., point). This is the informal ...

backdrops in its London production. Though Sullivan claims not to be an opera buff, he had always had a love for Mozart's ''The Magic Flute''.Taylor, Kate
"Mozart, by way of Sin City"
''The Globe & Mail'', 4 July 2006.

Filming

Due to the impossibility (budget and time constraints) of filming on-location in Salzburg, Sullivan and a team travelled to Austria, Germany and Hungary, taking digital photographs of various churches, streetscapes, grand interiors and scenic backdrops.Tilley, Steve. "The Land of Movie Magic", ''The Toronto Sun'', 23 June 2006. Filmed in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, shooting was completed in front of a green screen, allowing computer animators to remove the background and splice in digital photographs and images in postproduction.Terauds, John, "There’s Magic in the air", ''The Toronto Star'', 24 June 2006. Thom Best served as DOP, with special effects by Tony Willis.Davidson, Sean, "Sullivan feels the Magic", ''Playback'', 10 July 2006. Advanced mixers with live links to the live cameras allowed for the technicians to adjust background images in real time as the cameras rolled, giving a rough idea of what the finished product would look like.

Opera Atelier

The Toronto opera company,

Opera Atelier Opera Atelier is an opera company located in Toronto, Canada. It was founded in 1985 by husband and wife Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. The company mounts baroque operas from the 17th and 18th centuries that are presented in venu ...

, partnered with Sullivan Entertainment for the production, providing costumes, crew and cast. Opera Atelier co-artistic directors Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Zingg were choreographers for dance numbers in the film. Pynkoski also played the role of the opera director in the film.

Cast

as Dr. Richard Nagel *

as Tom / Tamino * Mireille Asselin as Masha / Pamina * Kelly Campbell as Sandra / Papagena * Olivier Laquerre as Papageno * Curtis Sullivan as Sarastro * Erin Windle as Byrnella the Queen of the Night *

Daniel Kash Daniel Joshua Kash (born April 25, 1959) is a Canadian actor and film director. Life and career Kash was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Canadian opera singer Maureen Forrester and Toronto-born violinist and conductor Eugene Kash (May 1, 1 ...

as Monostatos *

Laura de Carteret Laura de Carteret is a Canadian actress from St. Catharines, Ontario. She is most noted for her recurring role as Janet in the television series ''Seed'', for which she was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Se ...

as Ziggy

References

External links

* * {{Sullivan Entertainment 2008 films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films based on The Magic Flute Films directed by Kevin Sullivan 2008 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films