• The instruments of the orchestra are props. They ground you in reality because you can see the musicians actually doing their job, i.e. playing in the orchestra in real time while the story unfolds.
  • The three ladies’ floating heads – creepy, all of the heads are the same. Effectively turns them into one personality.
  • Papageno’s main prop, the flute, mostly achieves selfish means.
  • Papageno even acts selfishly with Tamino’s flute – when Tamino first receives it, Papageno keeps grabbing at it.
  • Tamino’s flute is much more elegant and sleek than Papageno’s, as is his costume.
  • The floating birds and snake and spirits look so ethereal and ephemeral. This effect works nicely because they are not actual characters, just secondary components of the story.
  • Papageno’s movements are choppier, more playful, less refined than Tamino’s. Tamino is elegant and graceful in manner.
  • While Tamino sings about how his flute charms nature, the floating bears give the scene a rather whimsical feel. They also physically illustrate the point he’s trying to make. They take the place of the comic relief. For example, when Tamino figures out that the flute will be his guide, the bears dance for joy.
  • The sounds of the two flutes answer to each other – the flutes draw a parallel between Tamino and Papageno.
  • Papageno’s bells have a comic affect as well; they make the threatening slaves all jolly and dancing and remove the danger from them. It seems that the instrumental props of the characters bring a comic element to the story.