The Magic Flute (1975 film) stage Bergman had hoped to direct a production at the Malmö City Theater. The origin of his filmed version was in the 1960s, when Magnus Enhörning, head of the Swedish Radio, asked him for possible projects and he replied "I want to do "The Magic Flute" for television". Enhörning readily agreed and supported the project without hesitation. The German-language libretto of "The Magic Flute" was the work of Mozart's collaborator Emanuel Schikaneder, who was also theatre manager and sang Papageno at the first performances in 1791. For the plot, see "The Magic Flute", and for details of the libretto see
British National Opera Company free of charge, to support the company. She did not, however, feel equal to relearning her old roles in English translation, and she sang in Italian while the rest of the company sang in the vernacular. The British National Opera Company was a pioneer of broadcast opera, with excerpts from "The Magic Flute" broadcast live from the Royal Opera House by the British Broadcasting Company in January 1923, less than a year after the foundation of both the BBC and the opera company. The company's first artistic director was Percy Pitt, who had been music director with the Grand Opera