Inscribed, Ex Libris Natalie Knight.

By William Kentridge (b. 28 April 1955)

William Kentridge is one of the world's leading contemporary artists. His work spans charcoal drawings, prints, sculpture, opera and tapestry.

First edition, hardcover.
22cm x 24cm.

R4,000

This publication is William Kentridge: Flute, published in 2007 by David Krut Publishing (Johannesburg/New York) in conjunction with the Standard Bank Gallery.

1. Documents Kentridge’s Watershed Operatic Production

The book is the definitive companion monograph documenting William Kentridge's landmark multi-media production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte).

Commissioned by La Monnaie in Brussels (where it premiered in 2005), the production traveled globally to major opera houses—including the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York, La Scala in Milan, and the South African State Theatre in Pretoria.

2. Exploring Enlightenment Idealism vs. Colonial Reality

Mozart’s The Magic Flute is traditionally staged as an Enlightenment allegory celebrating reason, light, and wisdom over darkness and superstition. Kentridge subverted this classic narrative:

• Colonial Context: He used early 20th-century photographic technology, black-and-white charcoal animation, and mechanical miniature theater sets to ground the opera in the era of European colonial expansion into Africa (specifically referencing the 1904 Herero and Namaqua genocide in German South West Africa).

• Reversing Light & Shadow: Rather than treating light as pure truth, Kentridge explored the dark shadows created by the Enlightenment's impulse to categorize, control, and conquer.

3. The Origin of Preparing the Flute and Miniature Theater

During the preparation for the opera, Kentridge created a famous standalone installation work titled Preparing the Flute (2004–2005).

Built as a miniature 1:10 scale model theater, it utilized automated drawings, mechanical pulleys, and back-projected animations to test his visual ideas before scaling them up for full opera stages. The book documents these preparatory miniature stage sets, charcoal storyboards, and technical projections in detail.

4. Published by David Krut Publishing

The volume was published by David Krut Publishing, who played a pivotal role in documenting and championing modern South African printmakers and contemporary artists on the global stage.

Printed in a square format with rich, full-bleed reproductions, the book captures the deep charcoal tones, slate blues, and optic light rays featured on the cover.

5. A Bridge to Kentridge’s Subsequent Operatic Masterpieces

Flute marked Kentridge’s transition into one of the world's most sought-after opera directors. The artistic techniques, stagecraft, and projection experiments developed for The Magic Flute paved the direct path to his subsequent acclaimed productions for the Metropolitan Opera and Salzburg Festival, including Shostakovich's The Nose (2010), Alban Berg's Lulu (2015), and Wozzeck (2017).