Media gallery for
The Magic Flute

Danish baritone Ulrik Cold (Sarastro) relaxes during a rehearsal.

Bergman instructs Irma Urrila (Tamina) and Ragnar Ulfung (Monostatos).

Josef Köstlinger (Tamino) and Håkan Hagegård (Papageno) on the set of The Magic Flute.

A lone extra on the set of The Magic Flute

Nina Harte crawls into the dragon costume.

Choreographer Donya Feuer was one of Bergman’s closest and most frequent stage collaborators in the 1980’s - and 90’s.

Josef Köstlinger (Tamino) and the musician responsible for producing the magical flute’s enchanting tones.

Bergman chose relatively unknown names and young singers for the lead roles. Monostatos (Ragnar Ulfung), Tamino (Josef Köstlinger), and Tamina (Irma Urrila).

To Bergman, the choice of the baroque scene was a given. As he writes in Images: ’Here lies the noble, magical illusion of theatre. Nothing is, everything represents. The moment the curtain is raised, an agreement between stage and audience manifests itself. And now, together, we’ll create!’

Sarastro (Ulrik Cold) and the council.

Bergman built a full-scale model of the Drottningholm Theatre in the studios at Filmhuset. The Magic Flute would become by far the most expensive Swedish TV production of its day.

Sven Nykvist on the set of The Magic Flute.

Reduction for The Magic Flute with Bergman’s handwritten notes.

Reduction for The Magic Flute with Bergman’s handwritten notes.

Bergman’s working script.

In Bergman’s interpretation, the power struggle between Sarastro (Ulrik Cold), and the Queen of the Night (Birgit Nordin) was transformed into Scenes from a Marriage.

Papagena (Elisabeth Erikson) puts Papageno’s (Håkan Hagegård) love to the test.

Papageno (Håkan Hagegård) and Tamina (Irma Urrila).

Three of the underworld's tormented souls.

Handwritten notes in Bergman's shooting script.

Notes concerning The Magic Flute.