The Metropolitan Opera's current production of "Die Zauberflote" ("The Magic Flute") is among the most popular put on by the company.

The work is usually presented year after year in English translation and has become a huge house favorite. However, despite its popularity, the company has not presented the original German version consistently, making it all the more eventful when it is presented in this manner.

This season, the Met has opted for showcasing the opera in its original language with two different casts. The performance on Nov. 3 featured a wealth of brilliant talent that made for a memorable rendition of this timeless classic.

Julie Taymor's production is magical in every which way. Featuring abstract sets with a central turntable that is capable of bringing the viewers to different worlds in just seconds, this production zips by fluidly and is filled with tremendous amounts of charm and whimsy. When Tamino plays his flute for the first time, floating bears materialize, propped up by stagehands disguised in black to avoid notice. This trick is used throughout, but the visuals are so majestic that the viewer rarely notices them. There is another hilarious sequence in which floating food surrounds Papageno. There are also characters on stilts, as well as massive statues whose movements are coordinated with the performers on stage. The beginning of the opera operates mainly in dim lighting while the second half, with Sarastro's increasing influence, showcases more light onstage. The opera and the production are so abstract that they are impossible to truly delineate specifically. In essence, Taymor's vision is married so well to the work that it requires the viewer's first-hand experience to truly grasp everything taking place on stage. No two viewers will take the same things away from the production, making it all the more imperative to see the production in person.

The performers, however, rose above the abstraction and present full-blooded human creations. Leading the charge was tenor Toby Spence as Tamino.

Spence's tenor is a bright, rich and full of heft. His rendition of the prince ranged from an insecure man unable to cope with a beastly dragon and later tortured by the thought of joining Sarastro to a hero brimming with confidence. His rendition of Tamino's first aria "Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schon" started off with the most delicate of phrasing. Spence caressed every phase, expressing the longing and newfound love he felt for Pamina. He placed accents on some of the higher notes in the early passages of the aria, giving an agitated sense of longing. The return to the original theme was sung even more delicately than the original phrasing and grew to even greater potency.

During his confrontation with the speaker in front of the temple, Spence imbued Tamino with a tremendous amount of insecurity and doubt. His voice had a ferocity to it as he denounced Sarastro. As the scene developed, he calmed down a bit, his anger tamed. There was also a strong sense of longing in the second aria "Wie stark ist nicht dein Zauberton" during which his "Pamina! Pamina! Hore mich!" The final utterances on the phrase "Vielleicht furt mich der Ton zu ihr!" shifted the tone from desperation to a sense of triumph. From this point forward, he was a hero full of determination and command.

In the second half of the opera, his voice blended beautifully with that of Miah Persson who also had a phenomenal evening as Pamina. The Swedish soprano's voice has a rather sharp tone that is full of expression with every utterance that comes out of her mouth. Pamina can be a frustrating character at times as she is the long suffering woman in an opera full of questionable statements about the fair sex.

Persson's Pamina was a rather dynamic character. She was filled with rage and potency in her first encounter with Monostatos, expressing the idea that this was not some weakling. During her famous duet with Papageno, she imbued the character with charm as she danced about and threw off the phrases with ease and delicacy. But she made the viewer truly suffer with Pamina during her arduous aria "Ach ich fuhl's, es ist verschwunden." Her voice was at its most delicate and each ascending line apexed into a visceral cry of desperation. Near the end of the aria, she made a potent crescendo from the smallest of sounds, encapsulating the full depth of Pamina's suffering.

During a latter duet with Tamino, she emulated a similar crescendo, but this one was full of the joy and happiness she felt at being joined with her lover. Her other big standout moment came during her quartet with the children in which she prepared to kill herself with the dagger given to her by the Queen of the Night. Every phrase was given an extra jolt by her aggressive attack on each consonant, showing Pamina's violent potential and the extreme depths of her pain. Her high notes were filled with painful anguish, musically portraying the piercing nature of the dagger she plans to kill herself with. It was a terrific night for Persson who will hopefully be able to give Met audiences more to enjoy in coming seasons.

The other major standout of the night was Markus Werba as Papageno. The baritone was versatile in all phases of the performance. He delivered comically throughout with his phenomenal comic timing and his desire to become involved physically at every moment. It was a wonder to see him dance around and sing during his aria "Ein Madchen oder Weibchen." During the famous duet "Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa," he coordinated every syllable with a step on the staircase he had to climb, creating a rather hilarious effect. His singing was robust and filled with a sharpness that expressed Papageno's carefree nature to perfection. However, during his big solo moment near the end of the work (in which he talks of suicide), his singing was filled with violence that teetered on madness. It made this darkest of scenes all the more frightening, if only for a few moments. This moment of torment only endeared the character more to viewer and made his eventual happiness all the more fulfilling.

As Sarastro, Tobias Kehrer cut a strong presence throughout the night. His lower range seemed a bit troubled during some passages of the first aria "O Isis und Osiris," but his singing in the second solo "In diesen heil'gen Hallen" was lush and gentle. There was a glorious tenderness in his singing of the phrases "Dann wandelt er an Freundes Hand" and even his singing in the lower reaches was filled with warmth. The music in this aria is among the most beautiful in the entire work (and that is saying a lot when one considers how much wondrous music this opera is packed with), and Kehrer's singing elevated this already sublime music.

As his adversary, Kathryn Lewek also had a solid turn as the villainous Queen of the Night. Her first aria "O Zittre nicht, meain lieber Sohn!" was filled with terrific coloratura runs (and some astutely placed piannisimi on the florid passages) but did little to express the pain and anguish of the suffering queen. She was however far more effective at expressing her hatred for Sarastro in the famous "Der Holle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen." She tossed off the fiendish high note passages with such ease that the audience exploded into thunderous applause halfway through the aria. And while that section was extremely effective, what came in the second half of the aria was even more powerful. Every phrase was filled with vicious attacks on the syllables, expressing the Queen's violent qualities. There could be no doubt that this was a truly dangerous woman.

Mark Schowalter was enjoyable to watch as the pathetically vile and disgusting Monostatos. Ashley Emerson was hilarious as Papagena, especially with her squeaky voice in the dialogue scenes. The trio of Ladies, played by Amy Shoremount-Obra, Renee Tatum and Margaret Lattimore, was well-coordinated throughout as the three sung as one. The three spirits, sung by Connor Tsui, Sebastian Berg and Andre Gulick, were also in sync throughout the evening and even made themselves shine during the trio "Seid uns zum zweitenmal willkomen." Their constant pointing toward Papageno to tell him to remain quiet was a comic touch that drew laughter from the audience.

In the pit, Adam Fischer also delivered a terrific rendition of Mozart's fabulous score. There was energy and momentum throughout the overture that carried onto every ensuing piece of music. His accompaniment to "Der Holle Racht" was cataclysmic as he pushed the orchestra to its full resources, almost shaking the theater with sound. That contrasted with the warmth and delicacy of the orchestra during Pamina and Tamino's trial. The orchestra was filled with a confidence that few other conductors have managed to bring out fully this season.

Flautist Denis Bouriakov also deserves a mention for his truly beautiful playing in the solo sections. It was truly a magic flute sound resonating throughout the theater. Every phrase caressed the ears of the listener with its warmth and nuance.

There is only one more performance remaining of "Die Zauberflote" and, for this writer, is a definite must see. The performances are all top-notch, the production is easily one of the finest that company has to offer, and the opera itself is one of the most enduring and endearing works in the entire canon (not to mention that there is nothing like listening to it in the original German). The Met's 2014-15 season has already presented a number of unforgettable performances. This "Zauberflote" is surely on that list.