The reenactment of “Die Zauberflöte” (The Magic Flute), one of Wolfgang A. Mozart’s three most famous operas, which will feature Vietnamese and Norwegian artists, will be staged in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov 9 and 10.

The play, to take place at HCMC Opera House at 8pm, is the collaboration between the HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) and Transposition, a multi-facetted development and co-operation project which involves leading music institutions in Vietnam and Norway.

The play will feature celebrated international opera singers including Magnus Staveland, Halvor F. Melien, Hege Gustava Tjønn and Derek Anthony alongside well-loved HBSO artists.

According to HBSO, its over 100 artists have been rehearsing hard for six months for this play, which will be performed under the baton of famed Norwegian conductor Magnus Loddgard.

The play will have its lyrics in Vietnamese and English subtitles. Before the play, a talk on the play’s content and artistic values will also be given at the HCMC Opera House’s reception hall at 7pm on Nov 9.

“The Magic Flute” is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form which includes both singing and spoken dialogue. The masterpiece, which premiered in 1791, is suggestive of a fairy tale as it depicts the romance between Prince Tamino and the charming Pamina.

One of Mozart’s favorite operas, the composer himself conducted the play in Dec 1791, two months before he passed away. The work currently stands fourth in the list of the operas which are staged most often in the world.

The work was first staged in Vietnam in 2006 to celebrate Mozart’s 250th birthday and featured local and Austrian artists.

This year’s play is the second cooperation between HBSO and Transposition. Their first mutual project is the 2012 reenactment of the opera “Dido and Aeneas”, which also featured several international artists.