Join us at Harbor Theater on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. for a very special presentation from our Arts on Film series! Even if you caught the Met Opera’s Live presentation of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in December, you will want to revisit this masterpiece with us in Ingmar Bergman’s 1975 cinematic version. Maine-based professional singer John David Adams hosts the screening.

Renowned director Igmar Bergman’s film version of The Magic Flute (G; 2 hours, 14 mintues) is not only beloved by opera and music fans, but movie buffs as well. Released theatrically 50 years ago in 1975, this delightful portrayal is full of the color, drama, magic, and humor of Mozart’s enchanting opera. Bergman doesn’t just film the story or document a staged performance; he follows a staged production performed in a beautiful working Baroque theater with period sets and visual effects. He shows us the singers onstage and off, giving us not only a picture of the vivid characters, but the people who bring those characters to life.

Versatile and accomplished bass-baritone John Adams has enjoyed a varied career in concert, opera, recital, and musical theater. He credits Bergman’s “The Magic Flute” as his introduction to opera as a teenager, and it has remained a favorite ever since. He’s even been privileged to perform in live productions of the opera over the years, in various roles. He will talk about his experience discovering the opera, what it’s like to perform in it, and even describe his recent visit to the actual theater in Sweden that is the inspiration for Berman’s film.

“Ingmar Bergman has never before made a movie so warm, happy and innocent... It's as if all this joy has been building up inside him during the great decade of metaphysical films beginning with Persona.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (July 2018)

“Bergman must have reached a new, serene assurance to have tackled this sensuous, luxuriant opera that has bewildered so many stage directors, and to have brought it off so unaffectedly. It's a whole unfussy production with the bloom still on it.” – Pauline Kael, The New Yorker (October 2023)

Harbor Theater’s Arts On Film series runs monthly from October through May with films from Exhibition on Screen and independent arts filmmakers. Check out the upcoming 2026 Arts on Film offerings at https://boothbaycinema.org/arts-on-film-series/.

Harbor Theater is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for children under 18. Member prices are $8 for adults and $6 for children under 18. ADA-mandated Audio Descriptive (AD) and Closed Caption (CC) devices are available for the visually and hearing-impaired. Inquire at the front desk.

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