The Liberty Theater will come alive this weekend in a celebration of music, movement and magic.

The Astoria Music Festival will cap off it’s three-week event with two pieces that are true treasures of the classical music world. The first is Mozart’s comic opera “The Magic Flute.” This will be performed at the Liberty Theater 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Festival Director Katherine Matschiner and stage director Molly Lyons are excited about the production.

“The word ‘magic’ is there for a reason,” Matschiner said. “It’s a magic performance. It’s just extraordinary music.”

Sounds familiar? That’s because it isThink you don’t know classical music? Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, featuring “Ode to Joy” has been featured in the soundtracks of more than 15 movies since the 1970s. They include:

Changing Lanes – 2002

Cruel Intentions – 1999

Ace Ventura, Pet Detective – 1994

Mr. Jones – 1993

Sister Act Two: Back in the Habit – 1993

Dead Poets Society – 1989

Die Hard – 1988

A Clockwork Orange – 1971

The Astoria Music Festival will be featuring Beethoven’s Ninth during the festival’s grand finale at the Liberty Theater 4 p.m. Sunday. Attendance is free, but go early.They believe that it is an opera that the young and old alike can enjoy, because it is performed in English and the actors perform close to the audience.

“I’m hoping that this is an opera to turn on future operagoers,” Lyons said. She likened the work to “The Lord of the Rings,” the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, which features an incredibly extensive backstory, as well as themes such as fantasy, love and the defeat of evil. Lyons and Matschiner agree that Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” has those features.

“There’s always someone moving on stage,” Matschiner said. “It’s very festive.”

Tickets for “The Magic Flute” are selling fast. Matschiner encourages people and families who wish to attend to call the ticket office to reserve tickets. Prices for the Friday and Saturday show range from $15 to $35.

On Sunday, at 4 p.m., the festival’s grand finale will be performed. OriginallyBeethoven’s Ninth Symphony was to be staged outdoors on the John Warren Field. But because of weather fears and poor acoustics, it has been moved to the Liberty Theater.

“It will be a celebration,” Matschiner said. “It’s such an extraordinary piece, a celebration with ‘Ode to Joy.’ This whole thing has been a festival of singing.”

Featured will be four soloists: Janice Johnson, Christine Meadows, Jason Ogan and Richard Zeller. Also playing will be the combined Astoria Music Festival Academy singers and local choruses, led by Chorus Master Ryan Heller. Keith Clark will conduct.

“This finale is great, because even if people don’t know classical music, they’ve heard this,” Lyons said. Different movements of Beethoven’s Ninth have been featured in movies such as “Die Hard,” “A Clockwork Orange” and “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.”

The finale will be free to the public, but because it is being held in the Liberty Theater, which has 700 seats, attendance will be limited.

For more information, contact the Astoria Music Festival Ticket Office at (503) 338-5545.