Die ZauberflöteAn opera (singspiel) in two Acts by W. A. Mozart
Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder
First performance on September 30, 1791 at the Theater auf de Wieden of Vienna
Characters:Tamino: tenor, an Egyptian prince
Papageno: baritone, a feathered man who catches birds and trades them for great food and wine
Pamina: soprano, the abducted daughter of the Queen of the Night.
The Queen of the Night: soprano, the wicked ruler of the temple of the moon, she opposes the light of reason and has infected people with superstition
Sarastro: bass, the high priest of the temple of the sun, he promotes reason
Three ladies:two
sopranos and one
mezzo-soprano, the servants of the temple of the moon
Monostatos: tenor, a Moor servant of the temple of the sun, later is found to be a traitor
Three boys (or spirits): trebles, in charge of guiding Tamino and Papageno in their quest
Speaker of the temple: bass Two priests: tenor and
bass Papagena: soprano, Papageno's bride
Two armored men: tenor and
bassPriests, women, people, slaves: chorus Brief Synopsis:Tamino, a prince, is lost in a wild forest and is being followed by a giant snake. Three veiled ladies - servants of the Queen of the Night - rescue the now fainted prince. The Queen has a daughter, Pamina, and as the Queen herself tells Tamino, the girl has been abducted by a cruel sorcerer, Sarastro. If the prince can rescue Pamina, he may then marry her.
During his adventures Tamino is joined by Papageno, a bird catcher covered with feathers all over his body, joyful and earthy. Tamino is given a magic flute and Papageno is given a set of bells, as they begin the search for Pamina with three spirits to show them the way. As Tamino reaches the three temples, priests don't give him the permission to enter the temples because he is full of hate and anger, even the magic flute doesn't seem to be helpful. They find that things are not as they've been told. The Queen, in reality, is the villain who has infected the people with superstition and Sarastro, a spiritual leader, has abducted the Queen's daughter to free the girl of a wicked influence. Tamino and Papageno are being tested to find their way into the temples. While Papageno is impatient and fails to hold his silence Tamino passes these trials. Gradually both Tamino and Pamina, go through all trials of purification that enable them to enter the temple of Sarastro to be united as enlightened servants and successors of Sarastro. Tamino plays the magic flute as he passes through the ordeals of fire and water. At the same time, Papageno achieves his heart's desire: a wife, Papagena, very much like himself.
Opera Analysis:The Magic Flute more than anything, is a tale of initiation and a quest for self-searching. Similar to the Dante's
Devine Comedy, the story begins in the middle of a forest, which can stand for human's unconscious, where we have no perceptions of it. Here the main character is being attacked by a wild animal as well; much like Dante who was attacked by three wild animals that were symbols of greed, anger and lust. Then he begins a journey that turns out to be a journey of spiritual growth.
The overture is truly fascinating. At the beginning, it resembles all the charm hidden in the mysterious East. Then suddenly something crazy happens that goes parallel to the Papageno themes. From here on we understand that this Opera has many layers. Much like Papageno, the feathered man who, values nothing more than wine, great food and a pretty wife; his themes are simple, earthy and fun compared to those of other characters.
Also the overture is written in the key "Eb". This key, with 3 flats is indicative of Masonic symbolism and is also used by Mozart for other Masonic themes. There are many other threesomes in this opera, like the three veiled ladies, three guiding spirits and three doors of the three temples of Nature, Reason and Wisdom; not to mention the three chords at the beginning of the overture.
The main character, Tamino, is an Egyptian prince but apparently he is not ready for any confrontation because he is only carrying a bow with no arrows, which indicates that his birth qualities is not enough to protect him against what threatens the mankind.
Papageno and Tamino could be the two opposite tendencies in each of us. While Papageno in us prefers to take an easy route and have fun with wine, great food and women, the Tamino in us wouldn't settle for these earthly joys and searches for a more spiritual and deeper feeling in life.
Papageno fails the test and uses his power (magic bells) to settle down with a mate just made for him while Tamino and Pamina after passing spiritual tests use their power (magic flute) to pass all the trials that is left and they are admitted into the three temples, the visionary land of love, forgiveness and brotherhood of the man.
The admission of Pamina, a woman, into the temples is very interesting. Women at that time had begun to try to enter the Lodges of Freemasonry and the reference to all male servants of the temples is due to that fact that no women were allowed into the Lodges.
Along with its deep meaning, this opera is one of a kind in charm and variety of melodies. Queen's helpless laments for her abducted daughter that follows by a joyful promise of victory, her sophisticated and illustrious screams of madness, Sarastro's full of absolution aria about a visionary land where brothers forgive one another and no traitor can dwell among them, Pamina's hopeless laments over her rejected love, Papageno's blissful duet with his bride and the chorus of jubilant appreciation of victory by priests are just a few of magnificent pieces in this beautiful opera. The second aria for the Queen of the Night reaches to the "F" on the sixth octave and there aren't that many sopranos who could do justice to the vocals of this role. Mozart wrote this piece to show off the ability of his sister-in-law Josepha Hofer.
Many believe that the Queen of the Night resembles the Queen Maria Theresa and Tamino is Emperor Joseph II. To explain this matter further, one should study the history of that time. From 1765 when Joseph's father died he ruled the Hapsburg lands jointly with his mother Maria Theresa, but he had little authority. He was impatient with his mother's slow reforms and after her death in 1780 he began a revolutionary program to abolish hereditary and privileges of higher classes over peasants to create a unified society in which, titles were based on merit and loyalty rather than birth. Although he was a faithful Roman Catholic, he tried to make German Catholicism independent of Rome. He also liberalized the civil and criminal laws to abolish the torture and death penalty. His views were very close to those of Enlightenment movement and Freemasonry and while he didn't join the Lodge himself, he supported the Freemasons. Most of these reforms didn't outlive Joseph II due to his lack of diplomacy and his failures in a futile war with Ottoman Empire, and were rolled back by his brother and successor Leopold II after his death in February of 1790.
The first performance of
The Magic Flute took place on September 30, 1791 at the Theater auf de Wieden, which belonged to Mozart's Mason friend Schikaneder, who also wrote the libretto and played Papageno in early performances. Mozart was now a member of the New Crown Freemason Lodge. Knowing that the Masons are soon to be outlawed in Vienna, he realized that
The Magic Flute is his last chance to ensure that Freemasonic views reach the rest of Europe.
This opera is my most favorite of all because it has been dedicated to people and everyone can understand some aspects of it according to their abilities and taste. It has both comic and seria and it actually seems really simple and funny at the surface.
Only two months after the premier of
The Magic Flute on December 5, 1791, Mozart passed away at the age of 35. He left the
Requiem Mass uncompleted up to the 8th measure of Lacrymosa. Just looking at these last sublime pieces makes me wonder what other masterpieces we are deprived of because of his early death.
:impressed:
:p