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Salzburg Marionettes perform Mozart's "Magic Flute"

Nov. 27, 2005

KALAMAZOO--Austria's celebrated marionette theater troupe, the Salzburg Marionettes, makes its Southwest Michigan debut performing Mozart's classic opera, "The Magic Flute," Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Miller Auditorium at Western Michigan University.

The Salzburg Marionette Theater regularly performs to recordings of 18th and 19th century operas made by the world's leading orchestras and singer. It is particularly noted for its operas by Salzburg native, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. "The Magic Flute," with its fairy-tale plat and lavish rococo sets, has been a signature piece for the marionettes since its first production in 1952. The elaborately-costumed wooden puppets, at nearly three feet in height, are praised by audiences and critics alike for their stunning, often hilarious physical feats and amazingly life-like range of expression.

The Miller Auditorium performance of the Salzburg Marionettes is under the direction of Gretl Aicher, granddaughter of Anton Aicher, a sculptor who founded of the Salzburg Marionette Theater in 1913. Under the direction of Anton Aicher's son, Herman, the theater expanded its repertoire and grew in size and sophistication to become an internationally acclaimed troupe in the 1920s and '30s. In the following decades, the theater performed on six continents, making their United Sates debut in 1952 with sold-out runs of "The Magic Flute" in Boston and New York.

Tickets for "The Salzburg Marionettes" range from $15 to $30 and are available by calling (269) 387-2300 or toll free (800) 228-9858, online at www.millerauditorium.com, or by visiting the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office or the Epic Center Box Office in downtown Kalamazoo. Groups of 20 or more should call (269) 387-2312 for group rates.

Media contact: Thomas Cooper, (269) 387-2245, thomas.cooper@wmich.edu

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