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As an expansion, Mozart’s great operas should not be overlooked, with a notable mention of his last opera: The Magic Flute (1791). The plot, resembling a fairy tale and dream story, is likely to be impressive for children, especially when accompanied by its enchanting music. After careful consideration, I suggest the following option: search for “Harnoncourt Mozart Zauberflöte” on YouTube, then select the entry “Mozart: Die Zauberflöte Album . Nikolaus Harnoncourt, … complete Playlist” which leads to a playlist of 41 individual tracks that can be listened to sequentially or chosen according to preference.
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This choice is justified by (1) the fact that nearly all musical pieces are worth listening to, catering to different tastes. Unlike closed complete editions of recordings, breaking down the opera into individual tracks allows for the selection of specific numbers or sequences, which is more suitable, especially for children. The total duration of approximately 2.5 hours would be quite challenging to endure in one sitting, making this segmented approach more manageable. For example, one can start with “Der Vogelhändler bin ich ja” from Act 1 or “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from Act 2. Tracks 16 and 41 also offer long uninterrupted sections (the famous overture of The Magic Flute can be found around minute 10 of track 16).
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(2) The old Zurich recording from 1988, reissued in 2009 (all by TELDEC), with a total duration of 2 hours and 23 minutes, appears particularly delightful to me. The highly esteemed Harnoncourt seems to be at his best in this rendition.
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Of course, one can also choose from the numerous recordings available, such as those conducted by the Mozart veteran Karl Böhm. On YouTube, you can find “Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm. Album” with a lengthy playlist comprising 46 videos. The 1964 recording, originally released on 3 LPs by DGG, has been repeatedly praised for its excellence.
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Other notable recordings include those by Solti (from 1972, DECCA, with the Vienna Philharmonic) and by Karajan (from 1980, DGG, with the Berlin Philharmonic). The 1950 version by Karajan, originally with the Vienna Philharmonic, stands out for its lively rendition and is personally very dear to me, apart from Karajan’s persona. A dozen more versions are available in their entirety on YouTube, with coordinates provided for the old Karajan recording in detail: “Mozart: Die Zauberflöte. Herbert von Karajan. Album,” featuring 39 individual tracks from the 1999 remastered version by Parlaphone/Warner. For those incl