Premiere of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" in Warsaw

• Premiere of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Magic Flute" in a new production by Achim Freyer in Warsaw on June 16
• In cooperation with the Goethe-Institut in Munich and Warsaw

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants is promoting the new production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw. Achim Freyer, famous painter and director, is both director and stage designer of this production. In celebration of the "Mozart Year 2006", Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera, will be presenting the opening performance on Friday evening, June 16. The consultancy's commitment to the arts and culture is part of "Counterparts". "Counterparts" is the name of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants' initiative to support culture and education in Central and Eastern Europe, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut.

Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera, is celebrating "Mozart Year 2006" with a production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute". And Roland Berger Strategy Consultants is promoting Achim Freyer's new production. The famous painter and director is also designing the set for the world's largest opera stage in Warsaw. The opera will premiere on June 16, 2006. Other performances will be held on June 18 and 21.

Freyer, born in Berlin in 1934, studied under Bertolt Brecht at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin. Today, he is also a lecturer at the University of Arts in the German capital and his paintings can be seen across Europe at renowned galleries. With his production at the Teatr Wielki, Achim Freyer is now interpreting "The Magic Flute" for the sixth time. Mozart's last opera, debuting in Vienna in September 1791, provides a multifaceted description of the battle between good and evil, reason and irrationality.

"Roland Berger has a long tradition of sponsoring culture. This is because, like top rate consulting, fine arts merge excellence and creativity with the desire and ability to create something new," says Dr. Burkhard Schwenker, CEO of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "We are building bridges between various disciplines and cultures. We are promoting diversity that is also characteristic of multiethnic Europe." The president of the Goethe-Institut, Professor Jutta Limbach, praised the successful collaboration of the initiative: "Counterparts symbolizes the exchange and dialog between different cultures, and their quest for similarities. We are reaching out to the cultural and educational elite in Central and Eastern Europe along with all those interested in the arts and are forging a continuous connection with Germany and Europe."

After its engagement, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants is also planning to support a public library in the Lesser Poland voivodship.

Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the Goethe-Institut launched "Counterparts" last year with two projects in Croatia. The consultancy is supporting the public libraries in Dubrovnik, which has led to the libraries being equipped with air-conditioning, a greater offering of cultural and historical books and the establishment of a music library. In November 2005, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants also financed the "Criss-Cross" exhibition at the Museum for Contemporary Art in Zagreb. Eleven renowned artists from Croatia and Germany participated in this exhibition.