The Met’s Annual Holiday Tradition Continues with Julie Taymor’s Family-Friendly Production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Opening December 11
Annual Holiday Open House returns on Sunday, December 14
New York, NY (November 20, 2025)—The Metropolitan Opera’s annual holiday presentation of Tony Award–winning director Julie Taymor’s English-language adaptation of Mozart’s The Magic Flute returns for 15 performances, December 11–January 3. Opera’s response to ballet’s The Nutcracker, the Met’s Magic Flute offers a fun-filled event for families. Attendees at all performances of The Magic Flute will receive free downloadable crafts and activity books. Holiday photo opportunities will be available throughout the house. Additionally, complimentary face painting will be available in the South Lobby starting an hour prior to the December 27, 29, 30, and January 3 matinee performances.
Steven White shares conducting duties with Erin Yashima, leading two stellar alternating casts, with Yashima making her Met debut. Also making their debuts are soprano Rainelle Krause as the Queen of the Night and tenor Zhengyi Bai singing the role of Monostatos. Soprano Aigul Khismatullina shares the role of the Queen of the Night with Krause. Khismatullina returns to the production—having made her company debut in the role last season.
On December 11, soprano Erin Morley and tenor Joshua Blue headline the first cast, reprising the roles of Pamina and Tamino, respectively. Rounding out the cast are baritone Joshua Hopkins and bass Le Bu reprising the roles of Papageno and the Speaker, respectively; Bai sings Monostatos; and bass Matthew Rose makes his Met role debut as Sarastro.
On December 14, soprano Joélle Harvey reprises the role of Pamina, joining Paul Appleby in his Met role debut as Tamino. Baritone Michael Sumuel and bass Alexander Köpeczi make their Met role debut as Papageno and Sarastro, respectively, and bass-baritone Harold Wilson and tenor Thomas Capobianco reprise the roles of the Speaker and Monostatos, respectively.
On Sunday, December 14, from 12–2PM, children and families are invited to experience the Met’s immersive Holiday Open House, with festive behind-the-scenes demonstrations by members of the Met’s backstage, artistic, and music staffs, including the Children’s Chorus. The event is free to all ticketholders for the matinee performance.
Grand Tier Restaurant
The Met’s Grand Tier Restaurant will have a special children’s menu inspired by The Magic Flute. The children’s menu is a pre-fixe three-course meal available to children 12 and under for all performances of The Magic Flute.
Met Under 40
The Met’s popular young-audience program, Met Under 40, continues with discounted ticket options for audiences aged 40 and under in the Orchestra, Grand Tier, and Dress Circle sections for select performances. Special Met Under 40 parties will also be held ahead of the performances of The Magic Flute on December 11 and 19, featuring complimentary wine, hors d’oeuvres, and more. For further details, please click here.
The Magic Flute Broadcasts on Radio and Online
The December 11 and 20 performances of The Magic Flute will be broadcast live on the SiriusXM app. The December 11 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s website, metopera.org. The December 20 performance will also be broadcast live on The Robert K. Johnson Foundation–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
HD Live in Schools
Students and educators across the country will attend screenings of The Magic Flute at their local movie theaters as part of HD Live in Schools. In addition, three New York City high schools—Success Academy High School of the Liberal Arts in Brooklyn, Talent Unlimited High School in Manhattan, and Susan E. Wagner High School in Staten Island—will host free screenings of The Magic Flute for students in their auditoriums. To learn more about the program, please click here.
Access Opera
More than 2,000 students and educators from more than 30 local schools will attend the final dress rehearsal of The Magic Flute on Tuesday, December 9, through Access Opera: Guild Open Rehearsals for Students.
Toll Rush Tickets
The Met Opera app is now available for download on mobile devices, offering users a new way to purchase Toll Rush Tickets via an automated lottery. Lotteries open two weeks prior to a performance, and winners are notified the day before the performance. Learn more about the Met Opera app here.
For More Information
For further details on The Magic Flute, please click here.