Maestro Seiji Ozawa said Monday he plans to make a special appearance in "Die Zauber Flote fur Kinder" when he conducts the Mozart juvenile opera Friday at the Vienna State Opera.
Ozawa, 67, said he will take the stage to introduce the opera to the young audience and talk about the instruments to be used by the orchestra. He said he will also sing.
"I'm trying hard to study German, but it's tough to learn a foreign language at my age," Ozawa said.
The Vienna State Opera, acting on Ozawa's idea, has invited 7,000 elementary school students from across Austria to Friday's free performance.
Ozawa said he wanted to do the show "to let children experience the wonder of live music."
He also holds an annual concert in Japan for elementary school students at the Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and appears on stage.
Friday's performance will be the first time for Ozawa to take the stage since he became music director of the Vienna State Opera last year.