Kenneth Branagh Will Direct 'The Magic Flute'

[Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005]
Kenneth Branagh will direct a bigscreen version of the Mozart opera The Magic Flute, according to Variety.

Updated to the eve of World War I, will shoot in English rather than Mozart's original German, with an adapted libretto by Stephen Fry.

Musical director James Conlon will conduct the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with a cast of young opera stars including Joseph Kaiser, Amy Carson and Ben Davis.

In the pic, a young soldier waiting for the command to go to battle is transported into a twilight world between dream and nightmare. He is sent on a deadly mission to rescue the daughter of the Queen of the Night from the dark lord Sarastro.

Branagh will start shooting in January at London's Shepperton Studios.

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