Well, hello there!
I'm Mozart!
Was born in Salzburg all the way back in 1756.
Musical prodigy, dontcha know?!
Daddy took me all the way round Europe.
Literally met all the crazy celebs!
King George in London
King Louis in Versailles
But at some point, I was like:
"Where's all the purpose and meaning in my life?!"
So here's a little-bitty casette I compiled with all the life
lessons I learned and turned into an opera.
Ja, and don't forget:
IT'S ALL ABOUT MINDFULNESS!
Vienna.
1791.
The beating heart of the Habsburg Empire.
In this city of enlightenment, there ain’t no shortage of high-class music and theatre.
But for those who don't do serious opera,
there’s always Emanuel Schikaneder’s suburban playhouse.
It’s staffed by a bunch of co-working hippies
who write, compose, produce and perform in each other’s productions.
Now Mozart needs some dosh.
And Schikaneder, an old Salzburg friend, is keen to throw him a financial lifeline.
Schikaneder is going to write a story to which Mozart will compose the music.
But it's not an opera.
It’s a singspiel -
basically, musical theatre with lots of magic, comedy and goodies versus baddies.
Low-brow fairytales for your average Joe
or Franz.
Even better, ordinary people might UNDERSTAND it for once,
because a singspiel includes BOTH singing AND speaking bits.
For story and characters, Schikaneder samples,
cuts and splices a mish-mash of random books and plays.
And bingo!
The Magic Flute premieres at his theatre in September 1791.
Mozart conducts it to great acclaim but dies only two months later, aged just 35.
It begins with handsome Prince Tamino being chased by a crazy snake.
As it’s about to bite, Tamino faints
and three ladies rock up to kill the serpent.
They argue over who gets to stay with the unconscious Tamino,
who they all think’s a real hottie.
Unable to agree, they run off to gossip to their boss -
the Queen of the Night.
Tamino awakes and spots Papageno the merry birdcatcher.
Schikaneder modelled this half-witted everyman on Hanswurst –
a comic character popularly found in 18th century German theatre.
Who better than Schikaneder himself, a comic actor, to play Papageno?
But because Schikaneder was an amateur singer,
Mozart knew he’d need to keep Papageno’s melodies simple.
So, in a typical singspiel ditty,
Papageno sings repeated rhythms with the notes moving in small steps.
He sings of his simple desires:
food, drink and, most of all, a girlfriend.
When he tells Tamino that he killed the serpent with his own bare hands,
the three ladies reappear and padlock his mouth as a lesson not to lie.
The ladies then give Tamino a portrait of the Queen of the Night’s beautiful daughter, Pamina.
“Phwoar..."
"I just wanna press this woman against my breast!"
"Possess her forever!”
Enter the flamboyant Queen of the Night.
Woah...SOMEONE’S in a mood today!
She addresses Tamino in the form of a recitative.
Usually found in baroque opera,
a recitative is when the singer interprets freely the rhythm of the words,
backed by a harpsichord.
But Mozart upgrades the recitative by underscoring
the Queen’s emotional distress with the full might of the orchestra.
For her daughter Pamina’s been taken from her.
In a slow and melancholic aria, the despairing Queen
explains that the evil High Priest of the Sun, Sarastro, abducted her.
The music’s in G minor, a key long associated with grief.
But then a change of heart.
The key turns major for the Queen’s now got a brainwave.
If Tamino can rescue Pamina, she will permit them to marry.
Mozart tailored the Queen of the Night’s vocal part to the distinctive voice of Josepha Hofer.
She was Mozart’s sister-in-law and she debuted the role.
Hofer was an extremely capable singer so Mozart stretched the soprano voice as never before.
He required her to sing with coloratura –
a flurry of virtuosic effects.
These include ferocious vocal runs up and down scales and arpeggios,
wide leaps between notes and elaborate ornaments called trills.
The ladies reappear and send Tamino on his quest for Pamina
with the aid of a magic flute that changes sorrow to joy.
They free Papageno’s padlock with the warning not to lie.
Papageno's instructed to go with Tamino and gifted a set of magic bells.
Their farewell is emphasised by pizzicato strings and sombre clarinets.
In 1791, this must have sounded rather odd because clarinets had only just been invented.
The action moves to Sarastro’s palace.
Papageno, whom Tamino has sent ahead, bursts into Pamina’s room.
He tells her that her mother, the Queen, has sent a prince called Tamino to save her.
Tamino’s in love with her and Pamina’s delighted to hear it.
But when Papageno complains that he’s got no girl,
Pamina friendzones him with sympathy!
Meanwhile, outside the temple, three child-spirits are guiding Tamino with some words of advice:
you’ll only rescue Pamina if you’re patient, wise and persistent.
Three doors lead to three different temples:
of wisdom, reason and nature.
Tamino knocks on all three doors.
An old priest answers and warns Tamino to drop the attitude.
He must enter the temple in a spirit of friendship to see what a great guy Sarastro really is.
It’s the Queen of the Night who is the baddie in this tale.
Nah-uh, thinks Tamino.
He’s still intent on rescuing Pamina from Sarastro, and toots his magic flute.
Papageno and Pamina make their escape, following the sound of the flute.
But they are captured by Monostatos, Sarastro’s despicable henchman.
No worries!
Papageno whips out his magic bells and the beauty of their sound sends Monostatos into a trance.
But it’s ultimately to no avail because Sarastro himself has just turned up to the party.
Papageno is terrified by the magisterial high priest.
Pamina says they should just simply ‘fess up.
Falling to Sarastro’s feet, she begs for mercy
and Sarastro forgives her.
He abducted her only out of kindness;
to distance her from the destructive influence of her evil mother.
He would happily free her but only so long as she is guided by a man.
And look who it is!
Monostatos has just turned up with Tamino.
The lovers – Tamino and Pamina - meet for the first time and embrace,
but not before Sarastro’s priests separate them.
For they declare that Tamino must demonstrate his virtuousness by completing a series of trials.
Only then will he be worthy of Pamina.
The priests pray for the couple to embrace their high ideals,
that they unite as mortals elevated into gods -
the gods Isis and Osiris.
Oh, and Papageno - the good news is that we can find you a wife too!
The bad news?
Well you’ve also got to undertake these ordeals.
The first trial.
An oath of silence.
The three lady servants of the Queen of the Night reappear to flirt with Tamino.
But Tamino respects his oath of silence.
He plays all hard to get and so the ladies give up.
Next, an old woman enters, offering a thirsty Papageno some water.
But Papageno’s not so restrained as the handsome prince.
He asks the old woman if she’s got a boyfriend.
Yes she does, and he’s called
erm...
Papageno!
That’s right: marry me RIGHT NOW Papageno or you’ll be doomed to a forever loveless existence.
All he’s ever wanted is a girlfriend, so Papageno reluctantly agrees,
at which point the old woman transforms into a beautiful young woman called Papagena.
Sarastro’s priests arrive to separate them for Papageno has not upheld his oath of silence.
Elsewhere in Sarastro’s palace, Monostatos is watching over a sleeping Pamina.
As he attempts to steal a kiss, the Queen of the Night breaks into the room and shoos him away.
Pamina awakes and confesses that Tamino’s
joining Sarastro’s brotherhood and that she’s gonna accompany him.
Sarastro’s not such a bad guy, mum!
The Queen is literally FURIOUS.
You thought she was bad first time round?
Well now she’s giving Pamina the spiel about how her husband previously owned this temple
but on his deathbed gave it to Sarastro instead of her.
It’s the most famous aria from The Magic Flute.
The Queen once again deploys her high-velocity vocal acrobatics.
She has to reach some very high notes, including a top F.
Mozart was so impressed with Josepha Hofer’s performance
that he apparently hallucinated on his deathbed:
“Quiet, quiet!”
he shouted out,
“Hofer is just taking her top F!”
If you think that’s high, spare a thought
for the recording of this aria that’s been sent up into space.
Yep, that’s right!
NASA thought it has such universal appeal that
it’s worth freaking out some aliens with the Queen’s rant.
Now before she leaves Pamina, the Queen gives her a dagger
ordering her to kill Sarastro or risk disownment.
But instead Pamina confesses, begging Sarastro to forgive her mother for the plot.
He pardons her once again,
reassuring her that revenge has no place in his temple.
Elsewhere, two armoured men congratulate Tamino on maintaining his silence.
They recite another prayer
all holy and solemn
to Isis and Osiris.
The music’s a Baroque chorale with a tune taken from a hymn by Martin Luther.
Sarastro’s men promise Tamino enlightenment if he completes the remaining trials:
by fire and by water.
Tamino's well up for it, but then Pamina enters.
She’s only going to let Tamino undergo the ordeals if they face danger together.
Ah!
So Tamino AND Pamina
protected by the music of the magic flute
pass unscathed through the chambers of fire and water.
The priests hail their triumph and welcome the united couple into their community.
So Tamino’s got his Pamina.
But where’s Papageno’s Papagena?
Well, this is a HAPPY story
so even though Papageno failed his trial
all it takes is the sound of his magic bells to get her back.
The couple coo and caw at each other like a silly pair of courting birds.
Together they dream of a future filed with many little Papageno-Papagenas.
As night falls, the Queen and her three attendants prepare to attack Sarastro’s palace.
They’ve got a new sidekick too -
the traitorous Monostatos.
Sarastro’s henchman turned on his master when the Queen of the Night promised him Pamina.
But the siege is unsuccessful and the gang are vanquished by magical forces into eternal night.
Sarastro and the priesthood praise the love of the united couples.
They sing the dawn of a new era of wisdom and brotherhood,
the triumph of the sun over the forces of evil night.
OK, so I know what you’re thinking here...
What the HELL does that all mean?!
Well on one level it’s a buffoonish pantomime in the singspiel tradition.
But some say it’s about the virtues of Freemasonry.
Huh?!
Well just stick with me on this:
Mozart and Schikaneder were both keen freemasons.
And their opera shares many symbols, rituals and values of the secret fraternal organisation.
Take the way The Magic Flute conceives the universe –
Sarastro the High Priest of the sun versus the Queen of the Night, embodying the moon.
Well, it’s that balance of sun and moon that also governs the masonic understanding of the universe.
And what about all that Isis and Osiris stuff?
Well those Egyptians gods - they're always cropping up in masonic texts.
And what about all those trials?
You got it - just like the initiation ceremony for a wannabe mason.
Then there’s the number three – it’s found all throughout the opera.
Three ladies
three child-spirits telling Tamino to adhere to the three
virtues of patience, wisdom and persistence
three trials
three knocks on the three temple doors
the three loud chords at the beginning of the overture
and the three flats defining the opera’s key.
Well three is one of the most significant masonic numbers.
Some even say that Mozart’s opera is masonic propaganda:
that the Queen represented the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa
who hated on freemasonry.
Whatever you think, there’s no doubt that The Magic Flute
championed the key values of the Enlightenment:
knowledge, reason and truth
all demonstrated in Sarastro’s leadership.
So Tamino and Papageno’s journey is ultimately about the education of humankind.
It's about learning that nothing
not even Day and Night
is quite as it first appears.
It’s about accepting the importance of not lying
of remaining loyal
of forgiveness
of trusting the power of music
and of uniting in love to achieve our highest potential.
And that's it guys!
It's a coming-of-age story about growing up
finding your way in the world
and learning to love.
Peace out, brother!