The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, first performed in Vienna on 30 September 1791, a few weeks before the composer's death. To a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, it tells of the journey of Prince Tamino and the bird catcher Papageno to rescue Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, held by Sarastro. It is a tale of initiation that blends popular comedy, Masonic symbols and some of Mozart's best-loved melodies.
Act I. Prince Tamino, pursued by a serpent, is saved by three ladies in the service of the Queen of the Night. He meets Papageno, a talkative bird catcher, and is given a portrait of Pamina, with whom he falls instantly in love. The Queen charges him with rescuing her daughter, held by Sarastro, and gives the two companions a magic flute and a chime of bells for their protection. Arriving in Sarastro's domain, Tamino discovers that things are not as he was told: Sarastro presides over a community of the wise and keeps Pamina away from her mother's influence. Tamino decides to submit to the temple's trials of initiation.
Act II. Tamino and Papageno face the trials, beginning with silence, which Papageno breaks again and again. The Queen of the Night appears to her daughter and demands that she kill Sarastro, in the aria "Der Hölle Rache". Pamina, believing herself abandoned by Tamino, who may not speak to her, sings her desolation. Papageno, who gives up the trials, wins his Papagena all the same. Guided by the flute, Tamino and Pamina pass together through the trials of fire and water. The Queen and her ladies are defeated, and the light of wisdom triumphs over the night.
Mozart composed The Magic Flute in 1791, his last year, for the popular theatre of his friend Emanuel Schikaneder, actor, impresario and author of the libretto, who himself played Papageno at the premiere. Unlike Mozart's Italian operas, it is a Singspiel: sung theatre in German, with spoken dialogue, intended for a wide audience.
The premiere took place on 30 September 1791 at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, conducted by Mozart himself. Its success grew with every performance. Mozart, already ill, died on 5 December of that year, while the work was still playing. Mozart and Schikaneder were Freemasons, and commentators have found many symbols of that tradition in the work: the trials of initiation, the number three, the triumph of light.
The score moves with ease between very different registers. The Queen of the Night's two arias, with the celebrated "Der Hölle Rache" and its vertiginous top Fs, are among the most famous passages ever written for soprano. Against them stand the serene gravity of Sarastro and the priests' choruses, Pamina's lyricism in "Ach, ich fühl's" and the tenderness of the duet "Bei Männern".
Papageno provides the popular note: his songs "Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" and "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" have the simplicity of street tunes, and his final duet with Papagena, built from stammered syllables, is one of the happiest moments in all Mozart. The overture, with its luminous fugal writing, has become a concert piece in its own right.
The Magic Flute works on several levels at once: a fairy tale for children, a comedy for everyone and a meditation on wisdom for those who wish to read it that way. Rich in music and in humour, it is one of the best operas to share with the whole family, and a work to which one always returns with something new to hear.
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