When I was young
instead of watching The Little Mermaid or Aladin, my parents had me watch The
Magic Flute. As it was all in German, I had little chance of understanding it.
The
Magic Flute was written by Mozart, a Freemason who was inspired by the conflict
between Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, the Grand duke of Tuscany who
happened to be a Freemason. Empress Maria was a Catholic, when the Pope
excommunicated all Freemasons. The relationship between Empress Maria and her
husband, Francis I, became Mozart’s Queen of Night and Sarastro (Romanska,
n.d.).
The
Magic Flute is the story of Tamino and Pamina, two lovers who are kept apart by
the Queen of Night and Sarastro’s treacherous servant, Monostatos. Sarastro
attempts to free Pamina from her mother’s (the Queen of Night) influence. The
Queen of Night persuades Tamino to recover her daughter. Tamino meets up with
Papgeno (a bird catcher) who he later continues on his quest with. Three ladies
(reminiscent of the Greek Fates or Macbeth’s witches) present Tamino with a
magic Flute to charm the hearts of men, and Papgeno with bells to keep him
safe. In the process Tamino is impressed
by Sarastro and ends up attempting to win the princess. All the while Papgeno
attempts to find his own partner. Eventually both find their loved ones and
everyone, except for the Queen of Night, live happily ever after (The
Magic Flute San Francisco Opera Guild 2007 Teachers’ Guide and Resource Book, 2007).
I’m not
sure if there was a specific reason that my parents exposed me to the Magic
Flute, however because I watched it I now have a love opera, and have a far
richer personality. Just kidding, all I remember is being confused and learning
how to read subtitles.
Also two questions: Did we have to cite sources? And why is it that most of the Operas I have heard are in other language (if there is a reason)?
Romanska, Magda. "The
Magic Flute, Digging Deeper." Boston Lyric Opera. N.p., n.d.
Web.
5 Oct. 2015.
The Magic Flute San Francisco Opera Guild 2007 Teachers’
Guide and Resource Book.
San Francisco: San Francisco Opera
Guild, 2007. PDF.
Yes, I love the Magic flute so amazing! I am not sure if this is correct however the reason I believe Opera is in a different language usually is that because it was originated in Italy and in Europe so that is why in choir a lot of the Operas we sing are Italian. However Opera is a style of music that is native to Italy and Europe so it is more common in Europe and most of the Operas that I have sang in choir were written a while back during wars or in a large turning point in history. Opera even though it started in Italy rapidly dominated most of Europe except for France and later became a very common form of entertainment.
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