Soprano stuns by singing Mozart’s ‘Queen of the Night’ aria in shopping centre surprise

27 January 2025, 12:42 | Updated: 27 January 2025, 15:00

Surprise soprano takes shopping trip to new heights ⬆️

A soprano has sung Mozart’s fiendish aria from the Magic Flute in a shopping centre in Leeds, to the delight of onlookers.

Soprano Anna Dennis has wowed crowds by singing Mozart’s ‘Queen of the Night’ aria in Trinity Leeds shopping centre.

The stunt was organised by Opera North, one of our official partners at Classic FM, who are preparing for their production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which opens on 12 February.

Situated on top of a walkway, right in the centre of the busy shopping centre, Dennis made the infamously hard aria look easy as she hit all the high notes, accompanied by a recording of the Orchestra of Opera North. There was visible delight on the faces of shoppers, many of whom stopped to admire the world-class musician at work, several filming on their phones.

Read more: Star tenor sings thundering ‘Nessun dorma’ in viral bookshop flashmob

Opera North have a history of well-managed flashmobs in public places. Other performances include tenor Rafael Rojas singing ‘Nessun dorma’, the chorus singing an extract from Verdi’s Aida, and the Orchestra of Opera North performing Ravel’s Bolero.

Reaction to the stunt online has been highly positive, with one viewer commenting, “Opera performances in shopping centres should be compulsory! This is incredible! What a wonderful surprise and gift to the people who were lucky enough to experience this. More, more more, encore!”

Mozart - Queen of the night (The magic flute) - Amadeus

Mozart wrote his ‘Queen of the Night’ aria for his sister-in-law, Josepha Hofer, who had an extraordinary upper register, enabling Mozart to tailor this show-stopping aria to her skills. The aria is titled ‘Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen’ (“Hell’s vengeance boils in my heart”) and depicts the Queen of the Night’s vengeful rage, placing a knife into the hand of her daughter Pamina and commanding her to assassinate Sarastro, the Queen’s rival.

It is famous for its use in the film Amadeus in a scene where the high-pitched bickering of Mozart’s mother-in-law transitions seamlessly to the aria.

Opera North are touring The Magic Flute across the North of England from 12 February to 29 March 2025. Book your tickets here.