AKA: DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE
Had the pleasure of attending the season opener of “THE MAGIC FLUTE”at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Saturday night with my friend Rosa.
Opera is a rare art form that inspires and exhilarates all of the senses, and more often than not; procures life-long aficionados, also referred to as fanatics. Rosa is one of those, whereas I used to be more familiar with Broadway-type shows and musicals.
Opera is trying to make sense of the nonsense. No good opera plot can be sensible because no one sings when they get stabbed or bitten by a dragon. It’s just an imaginative fairy tale set to music with romance (usually a damsel in distress and some bad or misunderstood guy), dancing, tragedy, comedy, special effects and a little supernatural. If they throw a king or queen and a crazy bird man into the mix; all the more magical.
There were bits and pieces of all of that in the Magic Flute. If you’re not already aware; this is considered a timeless classic; one of the greatest operas ever written. It concerns the search for truth and reason (I never did get the reason though), love and enlightenment. It follows the adventures of Prince Tamino and this silly bird-catcher called Papageno on their quest to rescue Pamina – daughter of the Queen of the Night.
Prince Tamino plays the Magic Flute and discovers it has the power to calm the most savage of beasts. Tamino and Pamina finally meet and pledge to endure the trials of initiation into the Temple of Wisdom together; trials that have their basis in the Freemasonry movement of the 18th century, of which Mozart was a member – a sneaky way of putting that in there without even realizing it. I knew there was some trial because they kept referring to it, but didn’t understand why, or where it was going to take place. Anyway, freemasonry is one of the oldest fraternal organizations in the world. More on that later…as I try not to go too off topic.
There’s lots going on in this 3 hour opera, including some monsters and 3 damsels that keep showing up out of nowhere. However, I must give special mention to the costumes and set design which were breathtaking. It is a fantasy after all I keep reminding myself.
And let’s remember that Mozart wrote it over 230 years ago.
“THE MAGIC FLUTE” was the last opera Mozart composed. It premiered on September 30th, 1791 – roughly three months before he died at the age of 35. Mozart is perhaps the greatest composer in history. In his short creative lifetime he wrote more than 600 works, he redefined the symphony, composed some of the greatest operas ever written and lifted chamber music to new heights of artistic achievement. That’s some resume!
SECRET SOCIETY: Both Mozart and the opera’s librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder, were devoted Freemasons, a fraternity famous for secret rites and rituals, at a time when the Masonic order was frowned upon by the authorities and mistrusted by the public. Its meetings were mysterious to outsiders and the order was believed to be connected to the principles of the Enlightenment, so established political leaders were a little nervous about it. The emperor of Austria even restricted the number of Masonic lodges allowed to operate in the country.
So, while Mozart’s drama fell into the general category of “magic opera” — works based on folk tales, with plenty of stunts, scene changes and spectacular stage effects — it was also a political statement in disguise, filled with veiled Masonic symbolism, including an homage to a Masonic initiation ceremony in Act II balancing four elements (earth, air, water, fire) in perfect harmony of the universe.
“The happy medium – truth in all things – is no longer either known or valued; to gain applause, one must write things so inane that they might be played on barrel-organs, or so unintelligible that no rational being can comprehend them, though on that very account, they are likely to please” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
You don’t say…
Now until October 29th. For tickets:
https://www.vancouveropera.ca/whats-on/magic-flute/
Header Photo: The Magic Flute full stage – Emily Cooper Photography
Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION. 
You must be logged in to post a comment.