On the Pleasure of Power: "The Magic Flute" Returns to the Opera

"The Magic Flute" returns to the Castle Opera in Szczecin. WA Mozart's work was directed by Natalia Babińska, with Kuba Wnuk conducting and musical direction.

Mozart's "The Magic Flute" is a story about searching for truth, power, love and beauty in a world full of appearances and hidden meanings. Prince Tamino, saving himself from oppression in the land of the Queen of the Night, sets off on a mission to save Pamina - kidnapped by Sarastro, the ruler of the temple of wisdom. However, he quickly discovers that reality is more complex than the Ladies of the Queen of the Night presented it. Sarastro is not a tyrant, but a guardian of knowledge, and the trials that Tamino is subjected to are to teach him wisdom and responsibility. The staging of the Opera at the Castle, directed by Natalia Babińska, goes beyond classical interpretation, asking questions about the nature of power. Who should rule the world?

Is power based on wisdom and virtue even possible? The performance evokes powerful, sometimes uncomfortable quotes: "To wield power, one must have something of the monster in oneself" and "The purpose of power is power", emphasizing that those who wield it are not always suited for it. Mozart's vision of "raising" the ideal ruler - wise, just - clashes with reflection on the reality in which wars and inequalities still determine the rhythm of history. Multimedia projections not only build the scenography, but also expand the narrative, introducing poetic images that add to what cannot be expressed in words. These are parallel stories - sometimes breaking away from the stage events, as if reality and imagination were conducting a silent dialogue. And above it all rises Mozart's music - powerful and soothing, reminding us that beauty and love can tame chaos and restore faith in order.

Natalia Babińska says: "In our staging, we address a problem that has not been solved to this day, namely – how to govern the world? And who should govern it? Over the years, we have had various ideas: either it was one ruler with absolute power, or it was a democratically resolved problem. In each way, there were those who complained, none of the ways worked, because of course everything depends on people. The problem of power exists: the fact that wars break out, that the law of the strongest is constantly in force, that we are not guided by what is right, but by what is advantageous to us. And this insoluble problem of who should exercise power leads us to the sad climax of our performance. Despite the seemingly joyful message of "The Magic Flute", we encounter this work after more than 200 years, and this Masonic climax, that a wise ruler can be "educated", implemented into the process of governing, so that everything is in the best possible order and runs properly - unfortunately may turn out to be impossible today. But power is just one of the important clues. In addition, we have another important thread, which has also changed a lot over the course of over 200 years, namely the "female-male" thread, the way of portraying the role of women, the role of men in the world. These roles have changed a lot recently. I hope that the stage will resound with the fact that the world has changed and that we should draw conclusions from this, and not follow the established patterns. However, what is undoubtedly the punch line coming directly from the composer is that there is no better or worse sex in this fight. And by supporting each other, we are able to overcome all adversities, problems. And finally, the third thread: this will always be a show about the power of music. Dealing with beauty makes us become the best version of ourselves."

We will see the opera on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m.

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