Most opera fans are familiar with The Magic Flute, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s whimsical masterpiece about a prince who, given an enchanted instrument, embarks on a quest to rescue his true love from evil forces. In its own unique adaptation, Cape Town, South Africa-based theater company Isango Ensemble merges the classic story with a Tsonga folktale. (The Tsonga are a culturally related group of people who live in parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and South Africa.) Audience members find the opera’s arias intact but, in an exciting twist, arranged for a trumpet player and marimba-based orchestra.
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