Barrie Kosky’s hugely successful production of The Magic Flute for Berlin’s Komische Oper, co-directed with Suzanne Andrade from British performance group 1927, is coming to Australia in 2019 as a highlight of both the Perth and Adelaide Festivals it was announced today.

Kosky’s production of Handel’s oratorio Saul, first produced by Glyndebourne Festival, was the centrepiece of the Adelaide Festival’s 2017 season. The Magic Flute promises to be another exhilarating crowd-pleaser – and this time one that is very family-friendly, with Kosky recommending it as suitable for children from age seven.

The Magic Flute. All photographs © Iko Freese/drama-berlin.de

The production, which uses glorious hand-made animation by 1927’s Paul Barritt, premiered in 2012 at the Komische Oper, where Kosky is Artistic Director. It has since played to over half a million people in 22 cities across Europe, America and Asia. Fusing live opera with stunning animated tableaux, it has the look and feel of a silent movie, with the dialogue shown on screen.

It took Kosky a long time to decide to direct The Magic Flute, an opera he was never really keen on, having been bored by...