The Magic Flute: A Herois Tale Thats Inspires Every Other Heroic Tale

The Magic Flute is a pretty archetypal epic love story: hero finds magic, hero finds love, love is too far away, hero goes get love, love wins. Pretty simple, no crazy curveballs, but it’s these types of stories that have inspired so many others. So many different stories come to mind after reading the libretto of Wolfgang A. Mozart (aka every Disney movie wight he exception of Mulan and Frozen).

I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for these type of archetypal stories. The whole partnership between Tamino and Papageno reminded me of a Batman and Robin type of relationship. They’re a very dynamic duo, because one cannot operate without the other. While they journey through the temples to find Pamina, daughter of the Queen of The Night, they have to keep each other from losing control e.g. when Papageno is tempted by a woman who claims to be his lover.

Forgive me for geeking out, but Tamino and Papageno’s magical items (the flute and bells) remind me of a game called The Legend Of Zelda, in which the protagonist Link has to save the princess Zelda and uses magical items to complete the task. One of these items is an ocarina, which is sort of like a oval-shaped flute! Like Tamino summons the animals in nature to his side or complete tasks in the temple, Link uses the ocarina to summon his horse and unlock doors within dungeons. Okay, I think I got the geek out of my system for now.

Overall, though the libretto’s language is dated, the story of The Magic Flute is indeed a charming one. Unlike other operas which usually reveal a deeper meaning in life or act as a satire, Mozart’s famous opera serves to entertain. It perpetuates the sweet ideas of good triumphing evil and love at first sight with ease. I can’t wait to see how this production fairs in modern day society!