Conductor Elizabeth Askren Releases Spanish Edition of New Opera Comic Book: MaestraMagic!’s La Flauta Mágica

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations 
katy@primoartists.com | 646.801.9406  

 
Conductor Elizabeth Askren Releases Spanish Edition of New 
Opera Comic Book: MaestraMagic!’s La Flauta Mágica

Additional Languages Coming Soon, Plus Audiobook and eBook Formats

MaestraMagic!’s The Magic Flute Receiving Rave Reviews 
from International Opera Stars Rebecca Krynski Cox,
Kathryn Lewek, and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen

La Flauta Mágica Out Now on Amazon in the U.S. and Europe!

www.elizabethaskren.com/maestra-magic

New York, NY (November 18, 2025) – Praised for “inspiring virtuosic achievements from the pit” (Opera Today) and “palpable happiness” (Le Monde) from the artists with whom she collaborates, international conductor Dr. Elizabeth Askren has expanded the first volume of her opera comic book series MaestraMagic!’s The Magic Flute, with a new Spanish language edition, La Flauta Mágica, now available on Amazon. Written in collaboration with translators Alba Luna Feijóo and Lulu Alcocer Guzman, La Flauta Mágica brings Mozart’s beloved opera to Spanish-speaking audiences. Following the success of MaestraMagic!’s The Magic Flute, now available in its second edition, upcoming releases will include additional languages in French, German, and Romanian, as well as audiobook and eBook formats.

Written and adapted by Askren, MaestraMagic!'s The Magic Flute is an innovative comic book that brings opera storytelling into the hands and ears of readers, great and small. The story can be followed using both the visual illustrations and the accompanying audio excerpts through musical QR codes, providing a uniquely enhanced experience.

The Magic Flute’s readers follow Prince Tamino's journey as he and his friends face challenges, learn important lessons about honesty and love, and discover the strength to overcome obstacles. With illustrations by Daryna Kudenko and a visual narrative adaptation by Anca Stefania Robu, this vibrant adaptation is perfect for elementary school-aged and homeschooled children, as it makes opera exciting and relatable while sharing lessons about character and values.

Since its release, MaestraMagic!'s The Magic Flute has been warmly received, earning strong reviews from both the press and fellow opera singers. DC Theater Arts featured the book among its “Four new stage-related book releases that appeal to a range of interests,” noting that “Askren’s clear text is brought to life by Daryna Kudenko’s bright childlike illustrations, audio QR codes interspersed throughout the book enhance the visuals with musical excerpts, and a bonus section of games, puzzles, jokes, and line drawings to color follows, giving young readers an interactive and immersive experience.” 

Soprano Rebecca Krynski Cox praised the book, writing, “What a delightful and engaging introduction to opera for young audiences! Elizabeth Askren presents The Magic Flute in a way that is both accessible and entertaining, making a complex story easy to understand without losing its charm. The interactive elements – especially the ability to scan QR codes and hear real excerpts from the opera – bring the music to life and create a truly immersive experience. This is a wonderful resource for inspiring a love of classical music in the next generation, and as an opera singer myself, I’m so happy something like this finally exists!”

Soprano Kathryn Lewek also shared her enthusiasm, “The Magic Flute is great for kids and a wonderful introduction to this opera. As a busy working mom, it is always helpful to find great reading material for my kids. Also, as someone who knows this story VERY well, I am pleased to say that Elizabeth Askren has done a great job adapting it into a children’s comic book format.”

In the spring of 2020, Askren created and hosted the mixed-media children’s edutainment show MaestraMagic! with her daughter Lily. Inspired by PBS’ Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts, the show teaches music and life lessons in an engaging and heartwarming way as it introduces young viewers to instruments, creativity, and important values like empathy and teamwork. 

Askren explains, “I created MaestraMagic! with my then seven-year-old daughter while homeschooling her in our home in Transylvania, Romania, during the COVID lockdown. During this time of fear and uncertainty, we searched for a children's entertainment show that was gentle and kind and focused on music. To my surprise, there was nothing available. Looking at my imaginative daughter, who loved to sing and perform, I thought, ‘We have the creativity and definitely the time, so let’s create a show ourselves!’ And our passion project adventure began.”

About Elizabeth Askren
Praised for “inspiring virtuosic achievements from the pit” (Opera Today) and “palpable happiness” (Le Monde) from the artists with whom she collaborates, Elizabeth Askren empowers musicians around the world as a conductor, educator, and cultural activist.

Her musical leadership is described by La Croix as “present on each  line, each silence.” An OPERA America 2024 Opera Grant winner, Askren performs regularly with leading opera houses and orchestras throughout North America and Europe, including The Dallas Opera, with which she enjoys a privileged relationship as a guest conductor, master teacher, and creative producer, and Hawaii Opera Theatre, of which she is the company's first-ever Principal Guest Conductor.

Askren is the Music Director of composer Paola Prestini and poet Brenda Shaughnessey’s Sensorium Ex, a Ford Foundation-funded multi-modal arts project exploring issues at the intersection of AI, disability, and the human voice. Aiming to pioneer new approaches to creating opera in the 21st century, Sensorium Ex is produced by VisionIntoArt and Beth Morrison Projects and enjoys support from presenting partners The Kennedy Center, National Sawdust, The Shed, and The Washington National Opera.

Maestra Askren is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Transylvanian Opera Academy (TOA), Romania’s first opera studio. Offering a 360° approach to education, TOA guides its young artists to develop holistically as mature artists, centered individuals, and ambassadors of their art to their local communities. Since its creation in 2017, TOA has been featured on national television, radio, and press, while establishing international partnerships with the Paris Opera’s Academy, the Philharmonie de Paris’ La Maestra competition, and Opera for Peace.

A master teacher at both The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute and at the Paris Opera’s Academy, Askren made history by judging the Paris Philharmonic’s inaugural La Maestra Competition for Women Conductors alongside her mentor, Marin Alsop. Askren now offers an innovative online masterclass series drawing on the full breadth of her practical experience and pedagogy.

After a thorough search process carried out by a diverse committee of faculty and staff from across the University, with input from the members and student leaders of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Elizabeth Askren has been appointed to be the next Director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and Associate Professor Adjunct at Yale College and the Yale School of Music, beginning in the 2025–2026 academic year.

Deeply committed to sharing classical music with a broader audience, Askren is the creator and host of the children’s edutainment series MaestraMagic!, a multimedia production combining live action, animation, and puppets in a program compared to Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts series. MaestraMagic!'s Season 1 was picked up by The Dallas Opera, and was a finalist for Shark Tank's Season 15.

Maestra Askren is invited regularly to speak about leading and entrepreneurship in the arts, mentoring young artists, and cultivating humanity in the age of AI. Her TEDx talk, Why Classical Music is the Wave of the Future, garnered more than 4,500 views in under 48 hours. She is featured regularly in the American and European media through outlets including PBS Newshour, NPR, Radio France Internationale, and France Musique. 

Askren holds degrees in piano and conducting from The Juilliard School,  Oberlin Conservatory, and the Conducting Institute of Bard in the United States, as well as the Schola Cantorum, the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, and the Romanian National Academy of Music Gheorghe Dima in Europe. Her musical mentors include conductors Marin Alsop and Lorin Maazel, along with pianists Byron Janis and Sergio Perticaroli/Germaine Tocatlian. She was awarded the highest teaching diplomas from both the French Ministry of Culture (VAE, certificat d’aptitude en direction d’ensembles orchestrales) and the Romanian Ministry of Education (PhD, magna cum laude), and completed administrative training from Harvard’s Kennedy School, Christie’s Education, and Paris’ Cité de la Musique. 

When not performing abroad, Askren divides her time between New York, France, and Transylvania. An enthusiastic contributor to her local communities, she has served on educational and philanthropic boards and consults for nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Learn more at www.elizabethaskren.com. 

# # #