The Magic Flute is a two-act singspiel by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who is also known for operas such as Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, and The Marriage of Figaro, as well as symphonies and other works. In 1791, Mozart composed The Magic Flute, with a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, a composer, actor, and theater director who had commissioned this setting of his own text.
The Magic Flute had its world premiere on September 30, 1791, at Vienna’s Theater auf der Wieden. The opera was a huge hit, with more than 100 performances in its first year. In the first performance, the librettist Schikaneder played Papageno, and Mozart conducted from the pianoforte. Mozart’s sister-in-law played the Queen of the Night.
The abundance of threes in the performance indicates that The Magic Flute is an allegory: three slaves, three ladies attendant upon the Queen, three boys, and the three initial chords of the overture. Egypt is mentioned, but not the Egypt of antiquity.
The story of The Magic Flute begins with the Queen’s three attendants rescuing Tamino from a serpent. He has passed out and has no idea how he was saved, so he credits Papageno, who allows him to stay in the dark. Tamino falls in love with a picture of Pamina, the Queen’s daughter, that the attendants show him. Tamino is given a magic flute, and Papageno is given a set of magic bells, in order to rescue Pamina, who is held captive by Sarastro. Sarastro enters after encountering and defeating Pamina’s captor, Monostatos, and it is revealed that Pamina was fleeing Monostatos, not Sarastro. Sarastro transports the newcomers to the Temple for cleansing.
Sarastro reveals in Act II of The Magic Flute that Tamino and Pamina are destined to marry, but that Tamino must first undergo trials, which Tamino accepts. Papageno is told that if he wants to find a wife, he must go through trials as well, and when he learns that Papagena is meant to be his, he agrees despite his reservations. For the duration of their trial, they are both forbidden from speaking to any woman. The three attendants confront them, threatening them with dire consequences if they disobey the Queen. Tamino refuses to believe them, while Papageno does. Monostatos approaches Pamina and threatens to rape her, while the Queen reveals that her true goal is to assassinate Sarastro and hands Pamina a dagger, tasked with this task. Sarastro arrives and stops Monostatos as she leaves. Tamina reveals what has happened and begs Sarastro’s forgiveness for her mother, which he refuses.
The testing continues as each man meets the woman he loves but is unable to communicate with her, and she is baffled as to why. Pamina and Papageno, fearful of losing their loves, both contemplate suicide, but are stopped, Pamina by the three boys, and Papageno by the arrival of his true love, Papagena. The Queen and Monostatos make a last-ditch effort to win, but Sarastro and the light triumph over the darkness.