The Magic Flute The Magic Flute

PRESENTED BY: PRESENTED BY:

Engram Barnes Engram Barnes
Dima Ilushin Dima Ilushin
Trevor LeSueur Trevor LeSueur
(Die Zauberflöte) & Harry Tsai (Die Zauberflöte) & Harry Tsai
about

about
Composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart of Salzburg, Austria. Composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart of Salzburg, Austria.
Mozart is also famous for The Marriage of Figaro, Così fan Tutte, and Don Giovanni. Mozart is also famous for The Marriage of Figaro, Così fan Tutte, and Don Giovanni.

Although Emanuel Schikaneder wrote the libretto in German, the opera is commonly per- Although Emanuel Schikaneder wrote the libretto in German, the opera is commonly per-
formed in English or in German. formed in English or in German.
libretto (n.) — text used in an extended musical work (otherwise known as a script.) libretto (n.) — text used in an extended musical work (otherwise known as a script.)

The Magic Flute was first performed at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden The Magic Flute was first performed at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden
in Vienna, Austria on September 30, 1791. in Vienna, Austria on September 30, 1791.

THE MAGIC FLUTE IS A 2-ACT COMEDY BASED ON A FAIRY TALE THAT CONTAINS ALL THE NECESSARY ELEMENTS: A THE MAGIC FLUTE IS A 2-ACT COMEDY BASED ON A FAIRY TALE THAT CONTAINS ALL THE NECESSARY ELEMENTS: A
plot overview

plot overview
ROMANCE BETWEEN A STRONG, HANDSOME PRINCE AND A GENTLE HEROINE; A WAR BETWEEN A WICKED QUEEN AND A
SAGACIOUS SORCERER; AND PLENTY OF COMIC SITUATIONS.
SETTING: Egypt
CENTRAL CONFLICT: The Queen of the Night and three ladies take revenge on Sarastro.
PLOT SUMMARY: Tamino is saved by the Queen of the Night, and is told to save her daughter. He is given a magic flute
and bells to protect him, and three spirits are sent to guide him. Tamino's slave, Monostatos, has feelings toward
Pamina, but is scared away by Papageno who tells him Tamino loves her. Tamino is told by a priest that the Queen
of the Night is evil. In the end, Pamina and Tamino are reunited and kept safe by the magic flute.
ENDING: The Queen of the Night and the three ladies fail to gain revenge on Sarastro.
ROMANCE BETWEEN A STRONG, HANDSOME PRINCE AND A GENTLE HEROINE; A WAR BETWEEN A WICKED QUEEN AND A
SAGACIOUS SORCERER; AND PLENTY OF COMIC SITUATIONS.
SETTING: Egypt
CENTRAL CONFLICT: The Queen of the Night and three ladies take revenge on Sarastro.
PLOT SUMMARY: Tamino is saved by the Queen of the Night, and is told to save her daughter. He is given a magic flute
and bells to protect him, and three spirits are sent to guide him. Tamino's slave, Monostatos, has feelings toward
Pamina, but is scared away by Papageno who tells him Tamino loves her. Tamino is told by a priest that the Queen
of the Night is evil. In the end, Pamina and Tamino are reunited and kept safe by the magic flute.
ENDING: The Queen of the Night and the three ladies fail to gain revenge on Sarastro.

F A M O U S A R I AS /E N S E M B L E S : F A M O U S A R I AS /E N S E M B L E S :
"O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn" (Oh, tremble not, my beloved son) "O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn" (Oh, tremble not, my beloved son)
"Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" (A girl or a woman) "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" (A girl or a woman)
"O Isis und Osiris" (O Isis and Osiris) "O Isis und Osiris" (O Isis and Osiris)

C HARACTER , V OICE P ART O RIGINALLY S UNG BY C HARACTER , V OICE P ART O RIGINALLY S UNG BY
characters

characters
Tamino TENOR Benedict Schack Tamino TENOR Benedict Schack
Papageno BARITONE Emanuel Schikaneder Papageno BARITONE Emanuel Schikaneder
Pamina SOPRANO Anna Gottlieb Pamina SOPRANO Anna Gottlieb
The Queen of the Night SOPRANO Josepha Hofer The Queen of the Night SOPRANO Josepha Hofer
Sarastro BASS Franz Xaver Gerl Sarastro BASS Franz Xaver Gerl
Monostatos TENOR Johann Joseph Nouseul Monostatos TENOR Johann Joseph Nouseul
Papagena SOPRANO Barbara Gerl Papagena SOPRANO Barbara Gerl
facts

facts

• The Magic Flute is Mozart’s last, and most famous opera.
• The opera was produced as a commission for librettist Emmanuel Schikaneder’s failing theater company, Theater auf der Wieden. The critical
success of the original production (which also starred Schikaneder as Papageno) brought new life to the theater and simultaneously reached out
to a new audience.
• It’s the 10th most popularly performed opera in the United States.
• The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form which included both singing and spoken dialogue.
• Emmanuel Schikaneder, the librettist for The Magic Flute was in fact a former freemason. Mozart and Schikaneder used the opera as a vehicle to
introduce the Masonic ideals of courage, love, and fraternity to a wider audience.
• Mozart wrote The Magic Flute in only 6 months. This was even more impressive when one considers that he also wrote La Clemenza di Tito at
the same time - a serious, Italian opera to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II.
• All the characters in "The Magic Flute" have some symbolic significance - One theory has it that all the characters in the opera were meant to be
figures significant to Viennese Freemasons. Tamino is Emperor Josef, Pamina is Austria, and The Queen of the Night is Maria Theresa, the woman
who had the nerve to have her own husband's lodge raided. Another theory has it that the opera is a celebration of the Enlightenment and the
triumph of reason (Sarastro) over ignorance and superstition (The Queen of the Night).
• The Magic Flute is Mozart’s last, and most famous opera.
• The opera was produced as a commission for librettist Emmanuel Schikaneder’s failing theater company, Theater auf der Wieden. The critical
success of the original production (which also starred Schikaneder as Papageno) brought new life to the theater and simultaneously reached out
to a new audience.
• It’s the 10th most popularly performed opera in the United States.
• The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form which included both singing and spoken dialogue.
• Emmanuel Schikaneder, the librettist for The Magic Flute was in fact a former freemason. Mozart and Schikaneder used the opera as a vehicle to
introduce the Masonic ideals of courage, love, and fraternity to a wider audience.
• Mozart wrote The Magic Flute in only 6 months. This was even more impressive when one considers that he also wrote La Clemenza di Tito at
the same time - a serious, Italian opera to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II.
• All the characters in "The Magic Flute" have some symbolic significance - One theory has it that all the characters in the opera were meant to be
figures significant to Viennese Freemasons. Tamino is Emperor Josef, Pamina is Austria, and The Queen of the Night is Maria Theresa, the woman
who had the nerve to have her own husband's lodge raided. Another theory has it that the opera is a celebration of the Enlightenment and the
triumph of reason (Sarastro) over ignorance and superstition (The Queen of the Night).