When The Magic Flute gets done family-style, it loses the Masonic mumbo-jumbo and some of the other impediments to enjoyment and understanding. This weekend the Rafael Film Center is showing the San Francisco Opera's 2007 one-hour version for kids.
It concentrates on the important characters — Papageno, the Queen of the Night, Pamina (and, OK, Tamino), and presents the opera as a fairy tale. There will be a live introduction by singer/performer Lua Hadar.