The film is being funded by Peter Moores, a businessman and arts philanthropist who studied music spent several years working for opera companies in the 1950s. "It seems to me that The Magic Flute is the ideal opera to film in English which will appeal to a broad audience outside the opera house," he told the Independent.

Die Zauberfl‹te is technically a singspiel, with spoken dialogue between the songs rather than sung "recitative," and is frequently performed in English. It has been filmed for television several times, and in 1975, director Ingmar Bergman made a Swedish version starring baritone Hê‰kan Hagegê‰rd.