Five BBCM children - accompanied by Agnes Kory - attended the school matinee performance of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) at Royal Opera House. Below see their reviews (of various lengths) of the event.

I was very excited getting the day off school! Travelling on the tube with my friend Adam added to the real adventure. When we finally sat in our seats and the heavy black curtains started to lift up, I felt nervous and almost had butterflies. My favourite character was Papageno; he was colourful, he was funny and made me laugh. My favourite scene was with the snake. Even though it was sung in German (and I speak English) I could still understand and enjoy the opera. The scenery falling down gave me a fright but the show was still thrilling.
By Duro Adebayo, age 7

On Friday the 25th of January our music teacher took us to The Magic Flute. It was about prince Tamino and Papageno the birdcatcher who were looking for a girl called Pamina. At the end they beat the Queen of the Night and the sun came up. I think the best singer was Tamino. The music was very good. I liked the seats, too, because I could see really well. It was very surprising when the curtain fell down. It did, really! The costumes were impressive, so was the scenery. My favourite bit was at the beginning when Papageno was throwing himself on the floor. Until now I have seen two operas and this one was the best.
By Conor Reynolds, age 7

Last Friday we went to see The Magic Flute in the Royal Opera House. I liked my seat, because it was in front of the light box, in the middle of the theatre. I saw everything on stage, but there were some teenagers messing about close to us.
I liked it when the dragon made Tamino faint, but I would also faint if I saw that dragon; it was quiet big. The three women killed the dragon. Tamino didn’t have a real flute, only a pretend flute, but a real flute was played in the orchestra. Papageno’s instrument was a wind-up music box. It was funny when the three women put a padlock on Papageno’s mouth. The costume of the Queen of the Night was so shiny that you could hardly look at it. The Queen of the Night was singing with a really high voice. It seemed funny when the curtains fell down, but at the same time it was quiet dangerous for the actors and actresses. In the second half I could not tell all the characters apart but I liked the music.
By Adam Aradi-Posylkin, age 7

The opera was at the Royal Opera House. It is a beautiful big white building with a bright red staircase. Our seats were downstairs at the front of the back rows of seats. We were right in the middle and the lady controlling the lighting was right behind us. The seats were very comfortable and velvet. I sunk into my seat. I had a very good view.
The opera started with a big serpent and a man called Tamino who fainted when he saw the serpent. Three ladies came along and killed the serpent.
The music was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I could hear the cellos in the orchestra making a deep sound and the violins and violas making a higher sound.
The conductor was called Roland Böer. He was really good because he told the orchestra when to start and stop and also when to play quietly and loudly plus he told them when to have a fast or slow tempo. The orchestra played beautifully and Mr Böer came on stage afterwards to take a bow. It was amazing how he controlled such a big orchestra.
There were a lot of different tunes. The one I liked best was sung by the Queen of the Night when she sang a song at the beginning with some very high notes which she sang just with her throat. I also liked the song that Papageno sang at the beginning of the opera and bits of it were repeated throughout the opera.
The words were in German which I didn’t understand but I knew the story because I had watched it on a DVD and also there were words on top. I don’t know why there was someone doing sign language for deaf people when nobody would have understood the words in German.
I was surprised that some of the opera wasn’t actually opera. It was talking in German. I thought the acting was as good as the singing. I have never seen an opera where the singers have to do so much talking and acting.
My favourite character was Papageno because he was funny and had a good voice. I also liked Papagena because she was also funny and was a good actor.
Tamino was brave. Pamina was meant to be a beautiful Princess. I think she should have been the Princess of the Night because her mummy was the Queen of the Night. The Queen of the Night was miserable. The Three Ladies were powerful. Monostatos was mean. Papagena wore modern clothes. The Three Boys were very helpful. Sarastro was mean in a nice way. The Priests were very strict. The Men in Armour were like bodyguards.
Tamino was wearing a crumpled t-shirt and brown baggy trousers. He looked like a normal person. The Queen of the Night’s costume was black and sparkly. It had a long trail that really affected her personality. Papagena was dressed in more casual clothes. At first Pamina was dressed in a creamy sort of dress with long strips of something that looked like shredded paper at the bottom and at the end she was dressed in a bumpy pink top with a white and pink belt with a light pink shiny skirt .
Sarastro was wearing a velvet gold brown and red man’s dress. It had a huge sun in the middle with curled up sleeves. Papageno was dressed in a brown suit with a dead bird perched on top of his head!
Unfortunately the black curtain fell down near the end of the first half. Luckily no-one was hurt.
The props included the magic flute and bells, Papageno’s little pipes, the bed , Papagena’s handbag, the serpent and the puppet bird.
The scenery was very clever. It must have taken a lot of work to build it.
I thought the best scene was the one with the live tree. It had brown yellow and red leaves. In this scene there were people dancing around with animal masks. I liked it because it was colourful and lively.
There was one interval. I had £1 so I bought a chocolate ice cream. It was yummy.
By Hollie Gold, age 8

On Friday 25th January our music teacher (Agnes) took us to see an opera called The Magic Flute. It was very good. The opera was about a prince called Tamino who, accompanied by the bird catcher Papageno, was going to rescue the princess Pamina. I liked the opera most when the Queen of the Night sang the really high part of the music. But I did not like it when Pamina was going to kill herself! I very much liked the costumes, especially the one which the Queen of the Night had. What I found really amazing was that the three ladies who worked for the Queen of the Night looked very much like they were bald! I thought the sets were very good too, especially the big tree. I really, really liked our seats - we had a wonderful view of the stage! So far I have seen two operas, and this one was my favourite.
By Lizzie Reynolds, age 10

I was deeply impressed by the musical details which several of the singers delivered. With his consummate control of all operatic ingredients Simon Keenlyside (Papageno) was no surprise but I have never heard a Queen of the Night sing with such musicality as Erika Miklósa sang on this occasion. And Sarastro (Stephen Milling), too, took great care of each and every note’s function in a musical phrase. I assume that conductor Roland Böer must have asked for such nuances as he certainly catered for them during the performance. It is to be hoped that the children attending this matinee, generously sponsored by Zoe and Martin Harris, spotted the crucial message: if you play your flute and your bells, or if you engage with music, life will be much nicer.
By Agnes Kory