The Magic Flute – New York New York

Die Zauberflöte or The Magic Flute is an ironic tale based in a fantasy world. After reading the Libretto the first time I was thoroughly confused about the chronology of the opera, left to wonder, who was the miscreant and who, the hero. I have seen two operas in the past and was left with many questions after both; thus, reading the script and analyzing its ideas before attending the performance proves extremely helpful in appreciating this art form. Indeed, the story behind The Magic Flute is fascinating in its contrasting characters and dramatic events.

The first scene reminded me of the beginning of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, in which three witches stand around a cauldron and chant phrases that foreshadow the rest of the play. In the opera, the three women, who also possess magical powers, agree that Tamino “can restore her last repose”. By “her”, the women imply the Queen of the Night who suffers from the disappearance of her daughter. I like how the women punish Papageno for lying about saving Tamino from the serpent and put a lock on his mouth. It is interesting that women are given superior roles even in a show dating back more than 200 years.

I did not comprehend how Papageno was able to find Pamina extremely fast while Tamino was faced with the three temples on his way to Sarastro’s territory. Also, the priests explain to Tamino that it is the Queen that is villainous and not Sarastro; meanwhile, it is Sarastro who orders Monostatos to receive 77 strokes on his soles for turning in Papageno. Evidently, multiple parts of the Libretto of The Magic Flute are not clear to a reader from present day society. For example, no one finds their soul mate from a single glance at their portrait like Tamino.

Even though many sections of the script leave me asking for more, the figurative language and artistic descriptions effectively illustrate this imaginary kingdom. When the flute is played and everyone on stage begins to sing and dance cheerfully, the contrast is bold and colorful. Also, this opera has suspenseful occurrences as Tamino chooses between three temples on his way to find Pamina. In addition, Papageno’s constant babbling and love for an easygoing lifestyle is efficient comic relief throughout this dark adventure. In particular, the scene where beautiful and youthful Papagena appears from the skin of an old and unattractive woman teaches a great lesson, and reminds me of Disney’s The Beauty and The Beast. Accordingly, if the sets on stage match the vibrancy of the Libretto, I have no doubts that the Met will deliver a phenomenal performance as usual.

krystalau says:

October 8, 2014 at 8:57 am

The introduction reminded me of the three ladies in Macbeth too, and the three ladies in Hercules. I feel like their are a lot of stories with three wicked women and they always play an important role int the story. I agree with you that it is interesting and cool that even women back then are given higher and more powerful roles. I also thought the opera was slightly confusing. I was wondering why did Papageno found Pamina first, while Tamino was off somewhere near a temple. I thought Papageno and Prince Tamino was exploring together. I do think as a 21st century kid, we have a harder time understanding these stories/operas that are written and set in much older times. Many of us do not understand some references or older terms that might be used. However, overall I think the opera will be great and maybe it will be easier to understand when we actually see it next week.

ehughes1 says:

October 8, 2014 at 11:26 am

I’m glad that someone who is more experienced in the realm of opera shared my confusion when reading the libretto of The Magical Flute. It’s reassuring to know that reading the libretto prior to seeing the opera will help me better comprehend the events being played out on stage. I did not even think about the three ladies having superior roles as being surprising until you made me aware of the fact that this opera dates back to the eighteenth century. This opera did have a similar sense of “movie-making magic” in that scenes didn’t follow a clear chronological path. Your example of how Papageno was able to find Pamina with ease while Tamino had to go through the three temples and priests before even having a chance to see her left me scratching my head for answers.

Isabel Vulakh says:

October 8, 2014 at 1:35 pm

I agree that the chronology of the story does not make much sense. Also, the storyline of the Libretto is outdated, but the scene where the women are superior is rather surprising for the time. It is also interesting how many Disney references we can find in such an old opera, so we can assume that many Disney animated films got some of their inspiration from former plays – maybe even Die Zauberflöte .