'The Magic Flute' encore on Sunday

The Met: Live in HD continued its 12th season on Saturday, October 14, with live cinema transmission of Julie Taymor's production of Mozart's Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute). It had an estimated attendance of 58,403 in North America, earning a gross of US$1.225 million. It was seen live on more than 900 screens.

An estimated additional 95,000 people saw it live on 800 screens in 37 countries in Europe, 11 countries in Latin America, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Jamaica, Morocco, Belarus and Ukraine. It encores this Sunday, 11:30 a.m. at Palace Cineplex.

Die Zauberflote is a classic tale of adventure, full of heroic deeds, supernatural enchantments, and the triumph of good over evil. It is about a young prince Tamino (Charles Castronovo), who finds himself in a strange land, forced to undergo mysterious tests so he can rescue the woman he loves, Pamina.

Delayed showings throughout Asia, Australia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Mauritius, New Zealand, and South Africa, and encore performances in North America and Europe, are expected to boost worldwide attendance of Die Zauberflote to more than 190,000.

Met music director emeritus James Levine conducted the full-length, German version of Mozart's magical fable, with Golda Schultz as Pamina, Charles Castronovo as Tamino, Markus Werba as Papageno, Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, Christian Van Horn as the Speaker, and Rene Pape as Sarastro.

The live transmission, hosted by Nadine Sierra, was directed for cinema by Gary Halvorson.

Die Zauberflote was the second of 10 live transmissions to be shown this season. The next transmission will be the American premiere of Thomas Ades' The Exterminating Angel on Saturday, November 18. The opera, inspired by the classic Luis Bunuel film of the same name, is directed by Tom Cairns and conducted by the composer.