D ie Z auberflöte - Apple
D ie Z au berflöte An In trod u ction Com p oser: W olfg an g Am ad eu s M ozart
A R oyal O p era H ou se E d u cation R esou rce
Con ten ts
In trod u ction
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Characters
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Abou t the Characters T he S tory
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W olfg an g Am ad eu s M ozart (175 6 – 179 1)
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O p eratic form s
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V oice typ es
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T he V oice typ es in T h e M ag ic F lu te
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T hem es an d In flu en ces
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F rom S ou rce to P erform an ce
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P rod u ction an d D esig n
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G lossary of term s
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In trod u ction T his p ack is p rep ared for teachers. W hilst m ost of the m aterial is p articu larly su itable for u se w ith p u p ils at K ey S tag es 2 an d 3, it is easily ad ap table for w ork w ith both you n g er an d old er stu d en ts.
T eachers are en cou rag ed to select from an d /or ad ap t the m aterial accord in g to their n eed s. T he con ten ts of the p ack are su fficien t to su p p ort an exten sive p rog ram m e of learn in g . T here are section s on the story, characters, them es an d historical backg rou n d , m u sic, com p oser, sou rces, p rod u ction an d d esig n . Accom p an y in g each section are id eas for classroom activities, an d there is a com p rehen sive set of com p osition exercises that vary in level of d ifficu lty .
T eachers p ressed for tim e w ill fin d it ad van tag eou s to focu s on selected asp ects. S tu d en ts atten d in g a live p erform an ce of the op era shou ld at least be thorou g hly fam iliar w ith the story an d , id eally , shou ld be in trod u ced to a n u m ber of ‘an chor p oin ts’ - m om en ts or asp ects to listen an d look ou t for. S om e form of follow -u p activity is also an essen tial com p on en t in the ‘p erform an ce exp erien ce’.
It shou ld be stressed that op era in volves several in ter-related art form s. L isten in g w ithou t the visu al d im en sion , or focu sin g on d esig n elem en ts in d ep en d en tly of the m u sic or d ram a, are valu able ap p roaches in raisin g stu d en ts’ aw aren ess bu t they shou ld to an exten t be reg ard ed as a m ean s to an en d . In op era the w hole is m u ch m ore than the su m of the p arts!
T he m aterial is covered by cop y rig ht an d all rig hts are reserved .
A teachin g p ack d evised for the Z oe & M artin H arros S chools’ M atin ee in 20 0 8
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Characters S arastro, H ig h P riest of Isis an d O siris
b ass
T he Q u een of the N ig ht
so p ran o
P am in a, d au g hter of the Q u een of the N ig ht
so p ran o
T am in o, a p rin ce
ten o r
P ap ag en o, a bird -catcher
b arito n e
P ap ag en a
so p ran o
M on ostatos, cap tain of the g u ard
ten o r
T he S p eaker of the T em p le
b ass
T he Q u een ’s atten d an ts
tw o so p ran o s, o n e m ezzo -so p ran o
T w o P riests of the T em p le
ten o r, b ass
T w o M en in Arm ou r
ten o r, b ass
T hree boys
treb le
P riests, Atten d an ts an d S laves etc.
© Catherin e Ashm ore
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Abou t the Characters T am in o an d P am in a T am in o an d P am in a are the hero an d heroin e of the story . Althou g h their backg rou n d s an d jou rn ey s throu g h the op era are d ifferen t they can be seen as a com p lem en tary p air, d estin ed for each other. T he cou rag eou s P rin ce T am in o sets ou t to release P rin cess P am in a w ho is held in cap tivity . T og ether they face variou s trials. W hen T am in o is ord ered to rem ain silen t he d oes so u n w averin g ly , even w hen P am in a beg s him to talk to her. T his show s his g reat p erson al stren g th an d n obility. P am in a can be seen as eq u ally stron g , an d althou g h at first she is d istrau g ht w hen he ig n ores her, she forg ives him , show in g a g reat d eal of in teg rity an d hon ou r. P am in a is fu rther torm en ted betw een feelin g s tow ard s her m other (the Q u een of the N ig ht) an d by w an tin g to m ove tow ard s an en lig hten ed life w ith T am in o.
T he Q u een of the N ig ht an d S arastro T he characters of, an d relation ship betw een the Q u een of the N ig ht an d S arastro can be stereotyp ed as the battle betw een g ood an d evil or lig ht an d d arkn ess. In reality both characters are m ore com p lex than that. T he Q u een of the N ig ht is said to rep resen t O bscu ran tism (from the L atin o b scu ran t, "m akin g d ark") w hich is the p ractice of d eliberately p reven tin g the facts or fu ll d etails of som ethin g from becom in g kn ow n , in this sen se m ean in g her op p osition to the sp read of kn ow led g e to the g en eral p u blic, w hereas her an tag on ist S arastro is a reason able sovereig n w ho ru les w ith w isd om an d en lig hten ed in sig ht. It is the p assag e of T am in o an d P am in a from obscu ran tism to en lig hten m en t that shed s m ost lig ht on both the Q u een of the N ig ht an d S arastro.
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P ap ag en o an d P ap ag en a P ap ag en o is a bird catcher by trad e, in the service of the Q u een of the N ig ht. H e belon g s to the com ed y trad ition of p an tom im e. T he librettist of T h e M ag ic F lu te, E m m an u ele S hickan ad er, w as the first actor to p lay P ap ag en o. T he character can be su m m ed u p as very u n com p licated an d child like. W hen he lies to T am in o an d the T hree L ad ies abou t killin g the sn ake it is n ot a m aliciou s lie, bu t sim p ly the sort of “cover-u p ” that a child m ig ht m ake. U n like T am in o he d oes n ot show the d esire or the bravery to solve the rid d les, bu t w hen he an d T am in o set ou t to fin d P am in a it is he w ho d iscovers her first an d releases her. H e can be su m m ed u p in his com m en t “I’m n ot askin g for w isd om . I’m an ord in ary m an an d all I n eed is sleep an d food an d d rin k. T he on ly other thin g , if y ou cou ld arran g e it, is that I’d like to catch a beau tifu l little w ife.” An d of cou rse, he d oes catch a w ife, P ap ag en a, an d they are in d eed “m ad e for each other.”
T he T hree L ad ies an d the T hree B oys
© Catherin e Ashm ore
T he sig n ifican t thin g abou t the L ad ies an d the B oys is the n u m ber of them ; three. R elig ion , an d in d eed M ag ic is filled w ith g rou p s of p eop le, item s or even ts relatin g to that n u m ber. In Christian theolog y the F ather, the S on an d the H oly G host are the H oly T rin ity (other Christian faith referen ces to the n u m ber three in clu d e the fact that P eter forsake Jesu s three tim es, after three d ays Christ rose from the d ead an d that Christ d ied at ag e 33). T he op en in g m u sic of T h e M ag ic F lu te in clu d es three d ifferen t chord s, an d M ozart in trod u ced three trom bon es to the orchestra (trom bon es w ere extrem ely rare in the op era orchestra in this p eriod , an d the n u m ber
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three even m ore so). T he T hree B oys are also in terestin g in that they rep resen t the w ill of the Q u een of the N ig ht in Act I bu t then ap p ear to serve the w ill of S arastro in Act II. O n e exp lan ation for this is that they d o n ot serve either bu t are actu ally g u id in g the p ath of en lig hten m en t for T am in o an d P am in a.
Activities 1. Con sid er the in d ivid u al characters. Are they believable as ‘real’ p eop le? D o they ‘g row ’ d u rin g the cou rse of the op era - that is, d o w e kn ow m ore abou t them at the en d than w e d id follow in g their first ap p earan ce? D o they d evelop as p erson alities? Also con sid er w hether these characters can be view ed as en tirely “g ood ” or “bad ”. D oes this m ake them “on e d im en sion al” or less in terestin g ?
2. P am in a has been d escribed as, ‘clever, loyal, hon est, com p assion ate, d em on strative, brave an d stead fast.’ T ry to fin d evid en ce to illu strate each of these q u alities.
3. D oes the op era n eed P ap ag en o? W hat is his con tribu tion to the story - an d to the m essag e of the op era?
4. W ho d o you thin k is the cen tral character in the op era?
5 . D oes the op era tell u s an y thin g abou t 18 th cen tu ry attitu d es tow ard s w om en ?
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T he S tory Act I T am in o is con fron ted by a larg e serp en t. H e is terrified an d collap ses. T hree L ad ies (atten d an ts to the Q u een of the N ig ht) arrive an d kill the m on ster. T am in o reg ain s con sciou sn ess an d hears som eon e ap p roachin g . It is P ap ag en o, a bird -catcher. H e assu m es P ap ag en o has slain the serp en t an d the bird -catcher is hap p y to let him thin k that this is so. B u t the L ad ies have overheard the con versation an d retu rn to p u n ish P ap ag en o for his d ecep tion ; they p ad lock his m ou th.
T hey have a g ift for T am in o from the Q u een . It is a sm all p ortrait of her d au g hter, P am in a. W hen T am in o learn s P am in a is a p rison er of the ‘p ow erfu l an d m aliciou s d em on ’ S arastro, he resolves to rescu e her. T here is a clap of thu n d er an d the Q u een of the N ig ht herself ap p ears. S he tells T am in o that if he can rescu e her d au g hter he m ay m arry her. S he leaves.
P ap ag en o retu rn s, w ith his m ou th stillp ad locked .
T he L ad ies re-en ter an d u n fasten the p ad lock: he has learn ed his lesson . T hey g ive T am in o a m ag ic flu te to p rotect him on his jou rn ey to rescu e P am in a. T o P ap ag en o they g ive silver bells an d tell the p air they w ill be g u id ed on their jou rn ey by T hree B oys.
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P am in a has escap ed bu t has been recap tu red by the w icked M on ostatos an d his slaves. H e ord ers that she shall be tied u p . P am in a fain ts from fear.
P ap ag en o ap p ears. H e has becom e sep arated from T am in o. H e recog n ises P am in a from her p ortrait. H e d istracts her cap tors, releases her an d tells her she w ill soon be rescu ed by a p rin ce w ho loves her.
T am in o has been led by the T hree B oys to a g rove flan ked by three tem p les. T hey leave him w ith a com m an d he m u st obey: be stead fast, p atien t an d silen t.
W hen T am in o ap p roaches the T em p le of W isd om an old p riest, the S p eaker, ap p ears w ho asks w hat has led T am in o to this holy p lace. T am in o rep lies that he has com e in search of love an d tru th. T he S p eaker sees that T am in o is also d riven by a hatred of S arastro. H e tells T am in o he has been m isled by the Q u een ’s tears. S arastro is a fin e an d n oble m an w ho reig n s over the T em p le of W isd om . T am in o is left alon e. H e w on d ers; w hen w ill his ig n oran ce be rep laced by kn ow led g e an d im p roved u n d erstan d in g ? W hen w ill he acq u ire w isd om ?
V oices w ithin the tem p le assu re him P am in a is safe. H ap p y an d excited , he p lay s his m ag ic flu te. H is p lay in g attracts w ild an im als from the su rrou n d in g w ood lan d … bu t n ot P am in a. H e hears P ap ag en o’s p an p ip es an d leaves to fin d the bird -catcher.
P ap ag en o an d P am in a en ter lookin g for T am in o, bu t on ce ag ain they are cau g ht by M on ostatos an d his slaves w ho are © Catherin e Ashm ore
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abou t to lock them in chain s w hen P ap ag en o rem em bers his m ag ic bells. M on ostatos an d his m en fin d the m u sic of the bells irresistible an d d an ce hap p ily aw ay.
A tru m p et fan fare an n ou n ces the arrival of S arastro. P ap ag en o is afraid . As P am in a kn eels before the g reat S arastro she exp lain s that she fled n ot from him bu t from the u n w elcom e atten tion of M on ostatos. S arastro show s sym p athy bu t he can n ot release P am in a to her evil m other. S he m u st stay: she n eed s a m an to g u id e an d p rotect her.
M on ostatos brin g s in T am in o w ho, he says, w as tryin g to abd u ct P am in a. T am in o an d P am in a in stin ctively recog n ise each other an d em brace. S arastro sen ten ces M on ostatos to a w hip p in g for his behaviou r tow ard s P am in a. T am in o an d P am in a are led to the P lace of T rials w here they m u st p rove they are w orthy of hig her hap p in ess.
Act II P riests of the T em p le assem ble an d S arastro tells them that T am in o w ishes to join the brotherhood ; he w an ts to acq u ire their level of w isd om an d u n d erstan d in g . P am in a has been chosen as a brid e for T am in o an d the p air w ill p rovid e d efen ce ag ain st the evil w ays of the Q u een of the N ig ht. B u t first T am in o m u st p rove him self su itable by en d u rin g a n u m ber of trials.
S arastro an d the p riests call on the g od s Isis an d O siris to g ran t the y ou n g cou p le stren g th an d cou rag e.
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L ike T am in o, P ap ag en o is also to u n d erg o trials. P ap ag en o is relu ctan t, bu t w hen he learn s that if he is su ccessfu l S arastro w ill fin d him a w ife, he ag rees to g o ahead . T hey are told to bew are of the w iles of w om en an d are sw orn to a vow of silen ce. T he p riests leave.
T he T hree L ad ies ap p ear an d tell T am in o an d P ap ag en o they w ill be d oom ed if they d isobey the Q u een of the N ig ht. P ap ag en o is read y to believe them , bu t T am in o silen ces him . T he L ad ies ad m it d efeat an d leave.
M on ostatos fin d s P am in a sleep in g . H e stoop s to kiss her, bu t a clap of thu n d er an n ou n ces the arrival of the Q u een . M on ostatos m akes a hasty exit. T he Q u een asks w here T am in o is. P am in a rep lies that he has join ed the brotherhood . T he Q u een is fu riou s. T here is n ow n o chan ce of P am in a bein g rescu ed u n less S arastro is rem oved . S he g ives P am in a a d ag g er w ith w hich to kill him , an d leaves.
P am in a can n ot carry ou t her m other’s com m an d . M on ostatos retu rn s. H e has overheard everythin g . H e seizes the d ag g er an d threaten s that if P am in a d oes n ot su bm it to his w ishes he w ill betray her, bu t S arastro en ters an d sen d s M on ostatos aw ay . P am in a beg s for m ercy for her m other. S arastro reassu res her that here there is n o p lace for reven g e: love alon e w ill overcom e evil.
T he p riests rem in d T am in o an d P ap ag en o that those w ho break the ru le of silen ce are p u n ished by the g od s of thu n d er an d lig htn in g . T hey leave. P ap ag en o is u n able to keep q u iet. H e is thirsty an d is su rp rised w hen an old lad y su d d en ly ap p ears an d offers him w ater, bu t then she d isap p ears ju st as su d d en ly as she arrived .
T am in o an d P ap ag en o are visited by the T hree B oys w ho retu rn the flu te an d the m ag ic bells con fiscated from them earlier. T hey also brin g food . T he B oys leave. P ap ag en o en joys the food w hile T am in o p lay s the flu te. 10
T he m u sic attracts P am in a. B u t w hen she tries to talk w ith T am in o she g ets n o rep ly. S he d oes n ot kn ow that a vow of silen ce is on e of the trials he m u st en d u re. © Catherin e Ashm ore
S he is d eep ly hu rt, fin d in g his rejection w orse than d eath. S he leaves.
T he p riests assem ble. T hey ad m ire T am in o’s cou rag e an d d eterm in ation . S arastro brin g s in P am in a an d tells the you n g cou p le to bid each other farew ell: there are still g reater trials ahead . S arastro is reassu rin g . T hey all leave.
P ap ag en o ru shes in lookin g for T am in o. H is tu tor tells him he w ill n ever su cceed in the trials an d asks if there is an ythin g else he d esires. P ap ag en o sin g s that he w ou ld really like a w ife, an d accom p an ies him self w ith the m u sic of the bells.
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T he old w om an re-ap p ears. S he tells P ap ag en o that u n less he m arries her he w ill be im p rison ed here forever. R elu ctan tly he p rom ises to be tru e to her… u n til som eon e p rettier com es alon g ! S atisfied , she casts off her coat an d head scarf an d is tran sform ed in to a beau tifu l you n g w om an , P ap ag en a. B u t the p riest w hisks her aw ay: P ap ag en o is n ot yet w orthy of her.
P am in a is d esp erate. S he fears that T am in o n o lon g er loves her. S he takes u p the kn ife an d is abou t to take her ow n life w hen the T hree B oys ap p ear. T hey reassu re her of T am in o’s love an d take her to the p lace w here he is riskin g his life in the trials to p rove him self fit to m arry her.
T am in o stan d s at the en tran ce to the P lace of T rials. It is g u ard ed by T w o M en in Arm ou r. P am in a arrives an d say s she w ill u n d erg o the trials w ith him . S he also has w ith her the m ag ic flu te. T am in o p lays the flu te as tog ether they p ass su ccessfu lly throu g h the trials of fire an d w ater. V oices from w ithin the tem p le p raise their cou rag e an d w elcom e them .
P ap ag en o believes he has lost his P ap ag en a
© Catherin e Ashm ore
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forever. T here is n othin g left for him in life. H e w ill han g him self. B u t the T hree B oy s arrive an d rem in d him of his m ag ic bells. H e p lays them an d , su re en ou g h, his beau tifu l you n g sw eetheart ap p ears. T he excited cou p le p lan their fu tu re tog ether, w hich in clu d es ‘m an y child ren ’!
M on ostatos, the Q u een of the N ig ht an d the T hree L ad ies have g athered to m ake on e m ore attem p t on S arastro’s life. T here is lou d thu n d er as they ap p roach the tem p le. S u d d en ly the d oors are flu n g op en an d the lig ht from the su n d rives aw ay the sp irits of d arkn ess.
T he p riests an d the brotherhood g ive than ks to Isis an d O siris, p raisin g the cou rag e of T am in o an d P am in a. B eau ty an d w isd om have p revailed over evil.
Activities 1. W hich m om en ts in T he M ag ic F lu te d id you fin d m ost en joyable, an d d ram atically m ost effective? Can you exp lain w hy?
2. W hy d o y ou thin k the op era is called T he M ag ic F lu te? W hat reason s can you g ive? Can y ou su g g est an altern ative title?
3. It has been said of the op era, ‘E very on e in the au d ien ce can relate to on e of the characters on the stag e.’ D o you thin k this is tru e? T o w hom d o you relate?
4. T he them e of the op era is a d ifficu lt on e to categ orise. It con tain s elem en ts of fan tasy , m ag ic an d com ed y, w hile d evelop in g a seriou s them e. It is a u n iq u e m ixtu re. D o you thin k it is a su ccessfu l on e?
5 . S electin g from w hatever in stru m en ts are available, create a p iece of m u sic to accom p an y the p assag e of T am in o an d P am in a throu g h the trials of fire an d w ater. B efore you beg in , try to im ag in e you are really there. H ow d o y ou feel? H ow can you exp ress you r feelin g in m u sic?
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W olfg an g Am ad eu s M ozart (175 6 – 179 1) W olfg an g Am ad eu s M ozart w as born in S alzbu rg , Au stria on 27 Jan u ary 175 6 . H e w as christen ed Joan n es Chry sostom u s W olfg an g u s T heop hilu s bu t ad op ted ‘Am ad eu s’ as his n am e of choice. H e w as on e of seven child ren bu t on ly he an d his old er sister su rvived . T heir father, L eop old , w as an accom p lished violin ist an d com p oser an d w as em p loyed by the Archbishop of S alzbu rg .
W olfg an g ’s extraord in ary m u sical ability becam e ap p aren t at a very early ag e. H e learn ed the harp sichord at the ag e of fou r, beg an com p osin g w hen he w as five, an d p layed for the E m p ress of Au stria w hen he w as six. H is sister, too, w as a talen ted m u sician an d their p rou d father arran g ed a tou r of the cou rts of E u rop e that lasted for three years, p lay in g before L ou is X V in P aris an d G eorg e III in L on d on . At n in e years old W olfg an g w rote tw o sy m p hon ies for p erform an ce in L on d on . W olfg an g ’s travels w ith his father con tin u ed w ell in to his teen ag e years an d they p rovid ed excellen t op p ortu n ity for W olfg an g to becom e acq u ain ted w ith the best m u sic by the best com p osers of his d ay.
In 1773 he w as g iven an hon orary ap p oin tm en t at the cou rt of the Archbishop of S alzbu rg bu t w as d eep ly u n hap p y there an d freq u en tly row ed w ith his em p loyer u n til he w as fired in 178 1. In 179 2 he m arried Con stan ze W eber ag ain st the w ishes of his father.
In V ien n a, W olfg an g w as n ow w ithou t a p erm an en t em p loyer or p atron an d con seq u en tly had n o reg u lar salary . H e w as d ep en d en t u p on p u blic p erform an ces, p rivate teachin g an d com p osin g . An d , of cou rse, com p osin g w as d ep en d en t u p on com m ission s. T he early V ien n a years
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w ere very su ccessfu l. H e w as the id ol of the V ien n ese p u blic an d his p ian o con certos, in p articu lar, p rovid ed a stead y in com e.
B u t by the m id -178 0 ’s the situ ation w as very d ifferen t an d by the beg in n in g of 178 7 W olfg an g an d Con stan ze had fallen on hard tim es. H e w as less p op u lar w ith the p u blic, there w ere few er con certs an d com m ission s, an d there w as in creased com p etition from other com p osers. W olfg an g w as red u ced to beg g in g for su p p ort an d loan s from his freem ason frien d s.
D esp ite the hard ship , the last few years of M ozart’s life saw the creation of som e of the com p oser’s fin est w orks in clu d in g sym p hon ies 39 , 40 an d 41 (‘Ju p iter’); horn con certos 1,3 an d 4; E in e K lein e N ach tm u sik; the op eras T h e M arriag e o f F ig aro , D o n G io van n i, C o sì fan tu tte, T h e C lem en cy o f T itu s an d T h e M ag ic F lu te; the Clarin et Con certo an d the u n fin ished R eq u iem .
B y 179 1 the situ ation ap p eared m ore p rom isin g bu t the chan g e of fortu n e cam e too late. In m id N ovem ber, W olfg an g fell ill an d becam e p rog ressively w eaker u n til he d ied in the early hou rs of 5 D ecem ber. T he exact n atu re of the illn ess from w hich he d ied has n ever been d eterm in ed an d m an y theories have been ad van ced , in clu d in g su g g estion s that he cou ld have been p oison ed . W hatever the cau se, w e kn ow that he w as bu ried in an u n m arked com m u n al g rave for p au p ers.
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O p eratic form s L ibretto L iterally m ean in g ‘booklet’, the libretto is the text w ritten for an op era or oratorio. S om etim es an orig in al w ork, the libretto is m ore u su ally an ad ap tation of an existin g book or p lay .
M an y com p osers form ed lon g relation ship s w ith librettists, for exam p le M ozart w ith L oren zo d a P on te, R ichard S trau ss w ith H u g o von H ofm an n stahl, an d S ir Arthu r S u llivan w ith W .S .G ilbert, thou g h som e w rote their ow n libretti, m ost n otably R ichard W ag n er, F red erick D eliu s an d M ichael T ip p ett.
R ecitative R ecitative is the p ractice of settin g w ord s to m u sic in a style that closely resem bles the p attern an d p itch of n orm al sp eech. E arly op era con sisted m ostly of recitative, bu t d u rin g the Classical p eriod (arou n d the 18 th cen tu ry) it d evelop ed as a w ay of ad van cin g the p lot.
An early exam p le of recitative in T h e M ag ic F lu te in trod u ces the Q u een of the N ig ht’s aria in Act I. F ollow in g her d ram atic en tran ce the Q u een seeks to w in T am in o’s sy m p athy an d su p p ort:
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R ecitative is u su ally accom p an ied by a harp sichord or sm all org an , p erhap s w ith the ad d ition of a cello. T his sim p le style is called recitative secco (or ‘d ry’ recitative) an d the in stru m en ts offer a sim p le chord al accom p an im en t, on ly p u n ctu atin g or d ecoratin g certain m om en ts w ith florid sp read chord s.
A m ore d ram atic form of recitative, recitative strem en to is accom p an ied by orchestra, an d often p reced es an aria.
Aria An aria is a solo son g . O rig in ally the aria p lay ed a sm all role in op era, p rovid in g on ly a m om en tary p au se from the sp eech p attern s of recitative, bu t by the 18 th cen tu ry it d om in ated op era, allow in g characters to fu lly exp lore their thou g hts an d em otion s an d sin g ers to exhibit the fu ll ran g e of their vocal ability . T his is the op en in g of T am in o’s aria, su n g as he g azes on the p ortrait of P am in a p resen ted to him by the Q u een of the N ig ht. T he beau ty of the im ag e seem s to be reflected in the sm ooth con tou rs of the m elod y:
O n e of the m ost p rom in en t form s of aria w as the ‘d a cap o’ aria that con sisted of tw o con trastin g section s, the first of w hich w as rep eated . T his cam e to be con sid ered som ew hat u n n atu ral, an d in the late 18 th cen tu ry com p osers beg an to aban d on the ‘d a cap o’ aria in favou r of m ore d ram atically rew ard in g w ays of settin g w ord s.
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T he aria as a form w as challen g ed by R ichard W ag n er in the 19 th cen tu ry an d su bseq u en t com p osers, w ho p referred w ritin g in an u n in terru p ted style that aban d on ed sep arately d istin ct vocal p ieces.
E n sem ble An en sem ble, m ean in g ‘tog ether’, is a p iece of vocal m u sic for tw o or m ore characters. It is a w ay to m u sically w eave tog ether the d ifferen t em otion s an d m otivation s of several characters or to con trast d ifferen t faction s w ithin a story.
U su ally in an en sem ble each voice has its ow n op p ortu n ity to exp ress his or her thou g hts before the d ifferen t lin es are ad d ed tog ether. R ep etition allow s the au d ien ce to have several chan ces to hear each character’s thou g hts. W hen the m u sical lin es are com bin ed it is the skill of the com p oser that d raw s ou r atten tion from on e character to an other an d focu ses ou r sym p athies.
O vertu re An overtu re is the in trod u ctory m u sic to an op era or ballet. T he overtu re w as seen as an op p ortu n ity for the au d ien ce to settle d ow n , an d for the com p oser to p resen t the m u sical id eas to be d evelop ed throu g hou t the p iece. It also help s set the scen e an d m ood . M an y overtu res (in clu d in g the on e to T h e M ag ic F lu te) becam e so p op u lar that they are p erform ed sep arately in con certs. T he overtu re w as brou g ht to p op u larity first in F ran ce d u rin g the 17th cen tu ry by Jean -B ap tiste L u lly, an d con sisted of a slow section in p om p ou s, d otted rhythm , follow ed by a fast im itative alleg ro (fast) section . T he Italian s also d evelop ed their ow n form of overtu re d u rin g the 17th cen tu ry, w hich com p rised three m ovem en ts, alleg ro – ad ag io
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(slow ) – alleg ro, an d w as established by An ton io S carlatti. D u rin g the Classical p eriod (18 th cen tu ry) the overtu re becam e on e sin g le m ovem en t, an d com p osers beg an to u se the form to p rep are the au d ien ce for the aw aited d ram a.
T he overtu re for T h e M ag ic F lu te is fu ll of con trasts betw een solem n , ten se p assag es an d fast, en erg etic p assag es w hich evoke som e of the m ore lig ht-hearted elem en ts of the op era:
T he orchestra T he orchestra for an op era con tribu tes m u ch m ore than ju st a backg rou n d accom p an im en t: it is often an eq u al p artn er w ith the voices. M ood , atm osp here an d levels of em otion al in ten sity are created an d con trolled by the orchestra, m ostly throu g h the sou n d s the orchestra m akes bu t also, on occasion s, by rem ain in g silen t.
M ozart’s choice of in stru m en ts for T h e M ag ic F lu te con firm s the com p oser’s rep u tation as an in n ovator in the u se of orchestral colou r. It w as he w ho had established the clarin et as a reg u lar m em ber of the sy m p hon y orchestra. In this op era he also u ses tw o basset horn s (the sou n d of a basset horn w as sim ilar to that of a clarin et bu t less refin ed in ton e q u ality).
O f g reater sig n ifican ce is the in clu sion here of three trom bon es (n ote the n u m ber – three). T heir p resen ce is heard in the op en in g chord s (of w hich there ag ain – three m ain chord s) of the overtu re.
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T hey ad d solem n ity an d ten sion to the scen e at the en tran ce to the P lace of T rials an d d ram a to the d efeat of the Q u een by S arastro. A fu rther 17 years elap sed before B eethoven , in his fifth sym p hon y , in trod u ced the in stru m en t as a reg u lar m em ber of the sym p hon y orchestra.
T o su p p ly the p an -p ip es an d the m ag ic bells M ozart u ses a p iccolo an d a g locken sp iel, ag ain u n u su al for its tim e.
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V oice typ es S op ran o T he hig hest ran g e fem ale voice. T his is u su ally (bu t n ot exclu sively) reserved for y ou n g er characters. In T h e M ag ic F lu te M ozart d escribed each fem ale as a S op ran o, bu t the d ifferen ce in ran g e betw een the characters is astou n d in g .
M ezzo-S op ran o Literally meaning “half-soprano”, a mezzo-soprano has a lower range and usually richer sound than a soprano. Often reserved for older racters or “trouser role” characters (where a female will be playing a male role).
T en or The highest male voice. The tenor is often the young hero, or older comic character. In Mozart’s operas there are relatively few tenor roles.
B ariton e The most natural and usual range for the male voice and fits in between tenor and bass in range. The baritone is often the “hero’s best friend” or sometimes the villain of the opera.
B ass The lowest and rarest voice type of all. True basses tend to be much older than their counterparts and so the voice type is usually reserved for older males or authority figures.
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T he V oice typ es in T h e M ag ic F lu te An im p ortan t task for the op era com p oser is choosin g the ap p rop riate voice ty p e for each of the p rin cip al characters. D u rin g the p ast tw o or three cen tu ries, the p arts of rom an tic heroes have m ost freq u en tly been su n g by ten ors, ju st as heroin es have often been sop ran os. T he d eep er voices, both m ale an d fem ale, have ten d ed to be associated w ith characters in p osition s of tru st or resp on sibility or, in som e cases, for characters w ho p ossess u n p leasan t q u alities. T hese, of cou rse, are g en eralisation s, an d there have been n otable excep tion s that break the g en eral ru le.
In T h e M ag ic F lu te M ozart has follow ed op eratic con ven tion fairly closely . T am in o, the you n g hero, is a ten or; P am in a, the you n g heroin e, is a sop ran o. P ap ag en o is certain ly n ot a rom an tic hero, bu t n or is he a villain ; he is a likeable rog u e. T he p art is w ritten for a bariton e, a voice that is low er in ran g e than a ten or bu t lackin g the heavier q u alities of the bass voice. H is P ap ag en a is a sop ran o. T he u n ctu ou s M on ostatos is su n g by a ten or, althou g h the role sits very low in the ten or reg ister to g ive the character a d ark sin ister q u ality; the d ig n ified an d m atu re S p eaker is a bass. B u t, vocally, the m ost in terestin g an d m ost d em an d in g roles are those of the Q u een an d S arastro. As created by M ozart these characters rep resen t the extrem es of the hu m an voice. T he Q u een is a coloratu ra sop ran o w ho is req u ired to d isp lay rem arkable vocal versatility, athleticism an d brillian ce - in clu d in g several top F ’s. S arastro exp lores fu lly the d ark, rich d ep ths of the bass voice.
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T hem es an d In flu en ces T he Ag e of M ozart T he 18 th cen tu ry is g en erally referred to by historian s as T he Ag e of E n lig hten m en t. It w as a p eriod w hen m en (an d w om en ) beg an to v alu e the freed om to thin k for them selves an d to break from the absolu te au thority of the m on archy an d the Chu rch. T hey d id n ’t h ave to believe som ethin g ju st becau se som eon e in au thority said it w as so.
L og ical reason in g based on facts becam e im p ortan t. S cien tific exp erim en tation becam e m ore w id ely resp ected , an d the scien tific q u estion in g of relig iou s ‘facts’ becam e p ossible. N ew ton ’s theories brou g ht abou t a n ew u n d erstan d in g of the u n iverse. T here d evelop ed a g reater accep tan ce of the d ifferen ces across an d w ithin societies an d cu ltu res. It w as an excitin g p eriod in history . Artists, an d thin kers g en erally , thrived in the clim ate of the ag e.
B u t the en cou rag em en t to thin k freely, com bin ed w ith the exp losion of n ew kn ow led g e an d theories, d id n ot n ecessarily clarify ‘the tru th’. ‘T he tru th’ an d ‘w isd om ’ are q u alities that can n ot be tou ched , seen or w eig hed , an d yet the search for them is a d rivin g force in the lives of m an y . It is often referred to as a search for ‘the lig ht’, in con trast w ith the d arkn ess of ig n oran ce.
T hese are all id eals reflected an d rep resen ted in the story of T h e M ag ic F lu te, an d , w hile in the story T am in o sets ou t to join the Colleg e of P riests, a brotherhood head ed by S arastro, M ozart join ed the brotherhood of the F reem ason s.
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T am in o an d P am in a rep resen t E verym an an d E veryw om an ; they rep resen t u s. T he trials they u n d erg o sym bolise the su fferin g s an d hard ship s w e face in life. T he q u alities that en abled them to su cceed , an d by in feren ce w ill help u s to su cceed , w ere love, beau ty an d w isd om .
F reem ason ry M ozart’s ow n search for su ch id eals led him to becom e a F reem ason ; a brotherhood of m en seekin g to attain hig h id eals, both p erson al an d social. F reem ason ry had its orig in s in E g yp t. It is characterised by its ritu als, an d an y m an w ishin g to join the brotherhood m u st u n d ertake a series of sym bolic trials. If he is su ccessfu l he is ad m itted to the fratern ity.
T he sim ilarities betw een this p rocess an d the stru ctu re of T h e M ag ic F lu te are self-ap p aren t an d , in case w e m iss the lin k, n u m erou s heavy clu es are sp read arou n d . F or exam p le, the n u m ber three has a p articu lar sig n ifican ce in F reem ason ry . In the op era w e have the three solem n chord s at the op en in g , the T hree L ad ies atten d an t on the Q u een of the N ig ht, the T hree B oys, the three tem p le d oors, the three virtu es (stead fastn ess, p atien ce an d silen ce) an d the three sets of trials. T he colleg e of p riests, head ed by S arastro, is the brotherhood T am in o w ishes to join .
Id eal of A F reem ason F rom T h e H isto ry o f F reem aso n ry by O tto K lotz
If you see a m an w ho q u ietly an d m od estly m oves in the sp here of his life, w ho, w ithou t blem ish, fu lfils his d u ty as a m an , a su bject, a hu sban d an d a father; w ho is p iou s w ithou t hyp ocrisy, ben evolen t w ithou t osten tation , an d aid s his fellow m an w ithou t self-in terest; w hose heart beats w arm for frien d ship , w hose 24
seren e m in d is op en for licen sed p leasu res, w ho in vicissitu d es d oes n ot d esp air, n or in fortu n e w ill be p resu m p tu ou s, an d w ho w ill be resolu te in the hou r of d an g er;
T he m an w ho is free from su p erstition an d free from in fid elity; w ho in n atu re sees the fin g er of the E tern al M aster; w ho feels an d ad ores the hig her d estin ation of m an ; to w hom faith, hop e an d charity are n ot m ere w ord s w ithou t m ean in g ; to w hom p rop erty, n ay even life, is n ot too d ear for p rotection of in n ocen ce an d virtu e, an d for the d efen ce of tru th;
T he m an w ho tow ard s him self is a severe ju d g e, bu t is toleran t w ith the d ebilities of his n eig hbou r; w ho en d eavou rs to op p ose errors w ithou t arrog an ce, an d to p rom ote in tellig en ce w ithou t im p atien ce; w ho p rop erly u n d erstan d s how to estim ate an d em p loy his m ean s; w ho hon ou rs virtu e thou g h it m ay be in the m ost hu m ble g arm en t, an d w ho d oes n ot favou r vice thou g h it be clad in p u rp le; an d w ho ad m in isters ju stice to m erit w hether d w ellin g in p alaces or cottag es.
T he m an w ho, w ithou t cou rtin g ap p lau se, is loved by all n oble-m in d ed m en , resp ected by his su p eriors an d revered by his su bord in ates; the m an w ho n ever p roclaim s w hat he has d on e, can d o, or w ill d o, bu t w here n eed is w ill lay hold w ith d isp assion ate cou rag e, circu m sp ect resolu tion , in d efatig able exertion an d a rare p ow er of m in d , an d w ho w ill n ot cease u n til he has accom p lished his w ork, an d then , w ithou t p reten sion , w ill retire in to the m u ltitu d e becau se he d id the g ood act, n ot for him self, bu t for the cau se of g ood !
If you , m y B rethren m eet su ch a m an , you w ill see the p erson ification of brotherly love, relief an d tru th; an d you w ill have fou n d the id eal of a F reem ason .
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M ozart an d P atron ag e M ozart w as born in an ag e w hen su rvival as a com p oser d ep en d ed absolu tely u p on receivin g som e form of p atron ag e, g en erally from the chu rch or from the aristocracy. T he com p oser w as treated as a servan t; w as req u ired to d ress as a servan t, eat w ith the servan ts an d live in servan ts’ accom m od ation .
M ozart w as g iven an hon orary ap p oin tm en t at the cou rt of Archbishop H ieron ym u s Collored o of S alzbu rg , bu t w ou ld g row in creasin g ly u n hap p y w ith his role as servan t. Ad d ed to this w ere con d ition s to w rite m u sic to m eet w ith Collored o’s ap p roval; he had to w rite m asses for chu rch, cham ber m u sic for w hatever com bin ation of in stru m en ts w as available an d p ieces to celebrate birthd ays or an n iversaries. H e con tin u ed his search for m ore su itable em p loym en t an d , in 1777, travelled to P aris accom p an ied by his m other. F ollow in g his m other’s d eath in P aris he retu rn ed to S alzbu rg an d to the Archbishop ’s cou rt.
T he relation ship w ith his overbearin g em p loyer becam e in creasin g ly strain ed u n til in 178 1 M ozart w as fired , larg ely becau se the Archbishop refu sed to let M ozart p lay elsew here. T his w as a sig n ifican t even t in the history of m u sic an d w en t a lon g w ay to en d the p atron ag e system m akin g it p ossible for com p osers su ch as B eethoven to live as freelan ce com p osers.
M ozart an d O p era U n til the late 18 th cen tu ry m ost G erm an -born com p osers su ch as M ozart shied aw ay from w ritin g op era in their n ative lan g u ag e. T he taste at cou rt w as for op era in Italian , w hich w as view ed as a m ore refin ed lan g u ag e. In 1778 the H oly R om an E m p eror Josep h II attem p ted to chan g e this by creatin g a G erm an -lan g u ag e op era g rou p , the N atio n al
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Sin g sp iel, at the B u rg theater in V ien n a. T his exp erim en t lasted u n til 178 3 on ly , yet the p reviou s year it had p rod u ced on e u n d ou bted su ccess w ith D ie E n tfu h ru n g au s d em Serail by the you n g M ozart. H ow ever, he follow ed this w ith hu g ely su ccessfu l op eras su ch as L e N o zze D i F ig aro , D o n G io van n i an d C o sì F an T u tte – all in Italian . O p era w as still very m u ch a p u rsu it of the aristocracy . As the cen tu ry d rew to a close how ever, thin g s w ere abou t to chan g e.
S chikan ed er, S in g sp iel an d the T heater au f d er W ied en T he librettist for T h e M ag ic F lu te w as called E m an u el S chikan ed er, w ho w as an actor/m an ag er or im p resario . H e first cam e to p rom in en ce in the theatrical trou p e of F .J.M oser, w hich p erform ed farces an d Sin g sp iele. H e becam e the d irector of his trou p e in 1778 . H e m et M ozart in S alzbu rg in 178 0 , d u rin g an exten d ed stay there by his com p an y.
S chikan ed er p erform ed at the K ärn tn ertortheater in V ien n a from 178 5 , w hile still w orkin g w ith the S alzbu rg g rou p as tim e p erm itted . H is p lan to bu ild a theatre in V ien n a w as vetoed by E m p eror Josep h II, w hich p rom p ted him to tem p orarily leave for R eg en sbu rg . H is com p an y retu rn ed to V ien n a in 178 9 an d becam e the resid en t com p an y of the su bu rban T heater au f d er W ied en .
T he theatre p rovid ed en tertain m en t for the g en eral p u blic, n ot m erely for the aristocracy w ho had form ed the core of the au d ien ce for several of M ozart’s p reviou s op eras.
T h e M ag ic F lu te u ses both sp oken d ialog u e as w ell as recitative. T his is very m u ch in the trad ition of Sin g sp iel - m ean in g "son g -p lay". Sin g sp iel is a form of G erm an -lan g u ag e m u sic d ram a, reg ard ed as a g en re of op era. T he first Sin g sp iele w ere p robably tran slation s of E n g lish ballad op eras from the late 18 th cen tu ry. Sin g sp iele w ere con sid ered p op u lar 27
en tertain m en t, an d w ere u su ally p erform ed by travelin g trou p es, rather than by established com p an ies w ithin m etrop olitan cen ters. It is clear that M ozart an d his librettist S chikan ed er, w an ted to create an op era that cou ld be en joyed by all, n ot ju st by the aristocracy .
Sin g sp iel p lots are g en erally com ic or rom an tic in n atu re, an d freq u en tly in clu d e elem en ts of m ag ic, fan tastical creatu res, an d com ically exag g erated characterization s of g ood an d evil.
In w ritin g T h e M ag ic F lu te M ozart evid en tly kep t in m in d the skills of the sin g ers in ten d ed for the p rem iere, w hich in clu d ed both virtu osi an d ord in ary com ic actors, asked to sin g for the occasion . P ap ag en o (p layed by S chikan ed er him self) an d M on ostatos are often stated first in the strin g s so the sin g er can fin d his p itch, an d are freq u en tly d ou bled by in stru m en ts. In con trast, M ozart's sister-in -law Josep ha © Catherin e Ashm ore
H ofer, w ho p rem iered the role of the
Q u een of the N ig ht, evid en tly n eed ed n o su ch help : this role is fam ou s for its d ifficu lty. In en sem bles, M ozart skillfu lly com bin ed voices of d ifferen t ability levels.
F airy T ales, M ag ic an d M ystery F airy tales have p rovid ed the basis for m an y stag e p lays an d m u sic theatre w orks throu g hou t history. A fairy tale is d efin ed as a fiction al story that u su ally featu res folklore characters (su ch as fairies, g oblin s, elves, w itches an d talkin g an im als) an d often in volvin g a far-fetched (or m ag ical) seq u en ces of even ts. T hese d ays, the term is also u sed to d escribe som ethin g blessed w ith u n u su al hap p in ess, as in "fairy tale 28
en d in g ". Colloq u ially, a "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also m ean an y farfetched story. S chikan ed er seem s to have ‘borrow ed ’ the id ea for the story from a fairy tale en titled L u lu , o r th e M ag ic F lu te, from a collection of fairytales p u blished three years before he beg an w ritin g the libretto for the op era. T he p lot con tain s typ ical fairytale featu res: the rescu in g of the p rin cess, m ag ical an d fan tasy elem en ts, the triu m p h of g ood over evil an d the hap p y en d in g . In som e w ays the libretto step s over the bord er that sep arates fairy tale from p an tom im e. T he creation of the P ap ag en o character is an obviou s exam p le an d it is n o su rp rise to learn that this is the p art S chikan ed er him self p lay ed . R eg u lar atten d ers at S chikan ed er’s theatre exp ected there to be su ch a com ic character an d they w ou ld n ot be d isap p oin ted .
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F rom S ou rce to P erform an ce M ozart beg an com p osin g T h e M ag ic F lu te in M arch 179 1, an d con tin u ed w ork on it u n til Ju ly that sam e y ear. It w as read y for first p erform an ce on 30 S ep tem ber 179 1, in V ien n a, in the T heatre au f d er W ied en . M ozart con d u cted the orchestra, S chikan ed er p layed P ap ag en o, w hile the role of the Q u een of the N ig ht w as su n g by M ozart's sister-in -law Josep ha H ofer.
M ozart w as ren ow n ed for w ritin g his w orks q u ickly (he cou ld even d ictate m u sic that he heard exactly, n ote for n ote), an d his ou tp u t is stag g erin g w hen you con sid er that he d ied at the y ou n g ag e of 35 .
D u rin g the com p osition p rocess of T h e M ag ic F lu te he collaborated w ith S chikan ed er, w ho rep orted ly offered M ozart ad vice abou t som e of the settin g .
T he d ram atist I.F .Castelli w rote that: "T he late bass sin g er S ebastian M eyer told m e that M ozart had orig in ally w ritten the d u et w here P ap ag en o an d P ap ag en a first see each other q u ite d ifferen tly from the w ay in w hich w e n ow hear it. B oth orig in ally cried ou t "P ap ag en o!", "P ap ag en a!" a few tim es in am azem en t. B u t w hen S chikan ed er heard this, he called d ow n in to the orchestra, "H ey, M ozart! T hat's n o g ood , the m u sic m u st exp ress g reater aston ishm en t. T hey m u st both stare d u m bly at each other, then P ap ag en o m u st beg in to stam m er: 'P a-p ap ap a-p a-p a'; P ap ag en a m u st rep eat that u n til both of them fin ally g et the w hole n am e ou t"
Castelli ad d ed that the M arch of the P riests w hich op en s the secon d Act w as also a su g g estion of S chikan ed er's, ad d ed to the op era at the last m in u te by M ozart. T hese stories have n ot n ecessarily been accep ted as
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tru e bu t they p rovid e a fascin atin g in sig ht in to the relation ship betw een Com p oser an d L ibrettist.
N o review s exist of the first p erform an ces, bu t M ozart an d S chikan ed er had triu m p hed . T here w ere several hu n d red p erform an ces in the 179 0 s, althou g h it took m an y years for the op era to travel across E u rop e, firstly to P aris in 18 0 1, as L es M ystères d 'Isis; to L on d on at the K in g ’s T heatre in 18 11 (su n g in Italian ); an d to N ew Y ork’s P ark T heatre in 18 33 (su n g in E n g lish).
T he su ccess of T h e M ag ic F lu te help ed to lift M ozart’s m ood . H e w rote to his w ife Con stan ze on 7 O ctober 179 1: “I have this m om en t retu rn ed from the op era, w hich w as as fu ll as ever. B u t w hat alw ays g ives m e the m ost p leasu re is the silen t ap p ro val! Y ou can see how this op era is becom in g m ore an d m ore esteem ed .'
It w as on ly w eeks later that M ozart d ied .
31
P rod u ction an d D esig n O p era is m ean t to be seen . H ow ever in terestin g an d excitin g the m u sic is, it can on ly p rovid e on e p art of an art form that has three com p on en ts: d ram a, m u sic an d d esig n . It is the d esig n er’s resp on sibility to create the sp ace (the en viron m en t) in w hich the sin g ers p erform an d to d esig n the costu m es they w ear. T he d irector an d the d esig n er m u st w ork closely so that each u n d erstan d s w hat the other is tryin g to achieve. A sp ecialist lig htin g d esig n er is also a valu able m em ber of the team . A m ajor challen g e associated w ith d esig n in g for T h e M ag ic F lu te is how to p rovid e a w id e ran g e of location s an d en viron m en ts w ithou t in terru p tin g the flow of the op era. If the sets are too realistic the resu lt becom es fu ssy an d irritatin g becau se of the n eed for freq u en t an d d isru p tive scen e chan g es. In this p rod u ction the p roblem has been resolved by the selective u se of lig htin g , both to g ive focu sed lig ht an d to create shad ow . O ften a sen se of p lace is su g g ested by the atm osp here created by lig ht rather than throu g h a relian ce on d etailed d esig n featu res.
Act I •
W hat is you r reaction w hen the cu rtain rises? D escribe the m ood . H ow is it created ? (Con sid er the lig htin g , colou rs u sed , atm osp here, the effectiven ess of the m u sic in con veyin g T am in o’s state of terror)
•
H ow has the d esig n er m ad e the serp en t a threaten in g m on ster?
32
•
N otice the ‘three of a kin d ’ ap p earan ce of the T hree L ad ies. O bserve their m akeu p ; the colou rs of their costu m es.
•
P ap ag en o’s ap p earan ce p rovid es clu es to his occu p ation . -
T he cag e, the n et an d the p ip es are exam p les of ‘p rop s’ (short for
© Catherin e Ashm ore
‘stag e p rop erties’). -
P rop s are loose item s w hich are carried on stag e an d are cap able of bein g m oved arou n d .
-
O ther exam p les are the ston e an d the p ad lock g iven to P ap ag en o an d the m in iatu re p ortrait of P am in a g iven to T am in o.
-
L ook for other exam p les as the op era p rog resses. Are there m an y ?
•
T he Q u een ’s ap p earan ce is an n ou n ced by a clap of thu n d er, bu t w hat d esig n featu res associate her w ith the n ig ht an d w ith evil? N otice the sim ilarity in ap p earan ce betw een the L ad ies an d their Q u een .
•
H ow are M on ostatos an d his slaves m ad e to ap p ear u n p leasan t? (Con sid er the u se of m ake-u p , the colou rs u sed , the n atu re of their m ovem en ts, their g estu res, the u se of lig htin g to exag g erate their featu res etc).
33
•
N otice that the m ovem en ts of the ‘an im als’ are in character; for exam p le, con trast the m ovem en ts of the tig ers an d the m on key s.
•
H ow is the tem p le scen e tran sform ed in to a w ood lan d ?
•
W hat is the d om in an t colou r? H ow d oes it con trast w ith the earlier scen es? Com p are the u se of lig ht w ith earlier scen es.
•
H ow w ou ld you com p are an d con trast S arastro an d the Q u een of the N ig ht in ap p earan ce an d behaviou r? H ow d oes each m ake his or her en tran ce?
ACT II •
W hat featu res of the op en in g scen e p rovid e clu es to the brotherhood ’s in terest in kn ow led g e an d w isd om ? (N otice that the w om en are m erely lookers-on !)
•
M u ch of the lig htin g throu g hou t the op era is d irection al rather than g en eral; that is to say, it is u sed to p ick ou t certain shap es, characters or hap p en in g s. S cen es in volvin g the Q u een an d her L ad ies reg u larly hig hlig ht the characters ag ain st a d ark backg rou n d .
•
W hen M on ostatos, an other d ark character, ap p roaches the sleep in g P am in a, n otice how the lig ht from his can d les an n ou n ces his arrival an d d istorts even fu rther the featu res of his face.
•
L ook for exam p les of ‘stag e m ag ic’ u sed d u rin g Act II.
•
H ow has the d esig n er created the elem en ts of air, fire an d w ater?
34
Activities 1. If y ou w ere asked to d esig n a p oster for T he M ag ic F lu te, w hich in cid en t, scen e or character m ig ht you choose to ‘cap tu re’ an im p ortan t asp ect of the op era? R em em ber, the p u rp ose of the p oster shou ld be to arou se cu riosity an d fu rther in terest.
2. O p era is m ean t to be seen . L ist p articu lar exam p les of in cid en ts or hap p en in g s in the op era that d ep en d on bein g seen in ord er to be fu lly u n d erstood an d ap p reciated .
3. W ere there an y m om en ts w hen you felt the lig htin g m ad e an esp ecial con tribu tion to the d ram atic atm osp here?
4. Com m en t on the u se of m ake-u p , lig ht, colou r an d n atu re of m ovem en t/g estu res as aid s to d istin g u ishin g the ‘bad ’ characters from the ‘g ood ’ on es.
35
G lossary of term s Accom p an im en t an orchestra or p ian o u su ally p lay s w ith the sin g ers to p rovid e the harm on ic stru ctu re n eed ed to su stain the m elod y. S om etim es it is there to su p p ort the voices, at others to create m ood s in its ow n rig ht.
Aria a solo for an y voice w hich u su ally exp resses em otion s rather than m ovin g the action on .
Choru s a g rou p of p eop le w ho often p lay the crow d e.g . the p riests, slaves, m em bers of the com m u n ity.
D u et tw o p eop le w ho m ig ht either be sin g in g tog ether an d con tin u in g a d ialog u e, or follow in g their ow n story sep arately an d exp ressin g their em otion s to the au d ien ce. S om etim es the m elod y is in harm on y , som etim es they have their ow n m elod ic lin e.
E n sem ble as above bu t w ith m ore than fou r sin g ers.
L ibretto w ord s of an op era, w ritten by a librettist.
M elod y a su ccession of m u sical ton es, i.e. a tu n e, u su ally p ossessin g or im p lyin g lyricism an d /or au ral p red ictability. 36
O vertu re from the F ren ch ou vrir - to op en , an orchestral p iece p layed before the op era beg in s, u su ally con tain in g them es of the p iece.
R ecitative d ialog u e w hich is su n g bu t to n o recog n izable m elod y, w here the rhythm p attern s follow sp eech.
R ep etiteu rs m u sic staff w ho rehearse an d coach the sin g ers, p lay in g the p ian o d u rin g the rehearsal p eriod .
S core m u sical n otation of a p iece. E ach vocal an d in stru m en tal lin e is w ritten sep arately for clarity . A score for sin g ers w ith p ian o accom p an im en t is a vocal score. O n e w ith all the orchestral p arts an d u sed by the con d u ctor is a fu ll score.
T essitu ra vocal term to d escribe w here the m ain ran g e of the vocal w ritin g lies.
T rio as d u et bu t for three p eop le, Q u artet for fou r.
U n d erscorin g m u sic w hich is u sed to accom p an y stag e action .
37
P rod u ction p hotog rap hs u sed w ith kin g p erm ission from Catherin e Ashm ore. T his resou rce w as created by B ert G ill, K evin R ain ey an d R O H E d u cation .
R oyal O p era H ou se E d u cation D irect T el: 0 20 7212 9 410 D irect fax: 0 20 7212 9 441 E m ail: ed u cation @ roh.org .u k W ebsite: w w w .roh.org .u k/d iscover
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A R oyal O p era H ou se E d u cation R esou rce
Con ten ts
In trod u ction
2
Characters
3
Abou t the Characters T he S tory
4 7
W olfg an g Am ad eu s M ozart (175 6 – 179 1)
14
O p eratic form s
16
V oice typ es
21
T he V oice typ es in T h e M ag ic F lu te
22
T hem es an d In flu en ces
23
F rom S ou rce to P erform an ce
30
P rod u ction an d D esig n
32
G lossary of term s
36
1
In trod u ction T his p ack is p rep ared for teachers. W hilst m ost of the m aterial is p articu larly su itable for u se w ith p u p ils at K ey S tag es 2 an d 3, it is easily ad ap table for w ork w ith both you n g er an d old er stu d en ts.
T eachers are en cou rag ed to select from an d /or ad ap t the m aterial accord in g to their n eed s. T he con ten ts of the p ack are su fficien t to su p p ort an exten sive p rog ram m e of learn in g . T here are section s on the story, characters, them es an d historical backg rou n d , m u sic, com p oser, sou rces, p rod u ction an d d esig n . Accom p an y in g each section are id eas for classroom activities, an d there is a com p rehen sive set of com p osition exercises that vary in level of d ifficu lty .
T eachers p ressed for tim e w ill fin d it ad van tag eou s to focu s on selected asp ects. S tu d en ts atten d in g a live p erform an ce of the op era shou ld at least be thorou g hly fam iliar w ith the story an d , id eally , shou ld be in trod u ced to a n u m ber of ‘an chor p oin ts’ - m om en ts or asp ects to listen an d look ou t for. S om e form of follow -u p activity is also an essen tial com p on en t in the ‘p erform an ce exp erien ce’.
It shou ld be stressed that op era in volves several in ter-related art form s. L isten in g w ithou t the visu al d im en sion , or focu sin g on d esig n elem en ts in d ep en d en tly of the m u sic or d ram a, are valu able ap p roaches in raisin g stu d en ts’ aw aren ess bu t they shou ld to an exten t be reg ard ed as a m ean s to an en d . In op era the w hole is m u ch m ore than the su m of the p arts!
T he m aterial is covered by cop y rig ht an d all rig hts are reserved .
A teachin g p ack d evised for the Z oe & M artin H arros S chools’ M atin ee in 20 0 8
2
Characters S arastro, H ig h P riest of Isis an d O siris
b ass
T he Q u een of the N ig ht
so p ran o
P am in a, d au g hter of the Q u een of the N ig ht
so p ran o
T am in o, a p rin ce
ten o r
P ap ag en o, a bird -catcher
b arito n e
P ap ag en a
so p ran o
M on ostatos, cap tain of the g u ard
ten o r
T he S p eaker of the T em p le
b ass
T he Q u een ’s atten d an ts
tw o so p ran o s, o n e m ezzo -so p ran o
T w o P riests of the T em p le
ten o r, b ass
T w o M en in Arm ou r
ten o r, b ass
T hree boys
treb le
P riests, Atten d an ts an d S laves etc.
© Catherin e Ashm ore
3
Abou t the Characters T am in o an d P am in a T am in o an d P am in a are the hero an d heroin e of the story . Althou g h their backg rou n d s an d jou rn ey s throu g h the op era are d ifferen t they can be seen as a com p lem en tary p air, d estin ed for each other. T he cou rag eou s P rin ce T am in o sets ou t to release P rin cess P am in a w ho is held in cap tivity . T og ether they face variou s trials. W hen T am in o is ord ered to rem ain silen t he d oes so u n w averin g ly , even w hen P am in a beg s him to talk to her. T his show s his g reat p erson al stren g th an d n obility. P am in a can be seen as eq u ally stron g , an d althou g h at first she is d istrau g ht w hen he ig n ores her, she forg ives him , show in g a g reat d eal of in teg rity an d hon ou r. P am in a is fu rther torm en ted betw een feelin g s tow ard s her m other (the Q u een of the N ig ht) an d by w an tin g to m ove tow ard s an en lig hten ed life w ith T am in o.
T he Q u een of the N ig ht an d S arastro T he characters of, an d relation ship betw een the Q u een of the N ig ht an d S arastro can be stereotyp ed as the battle betw een g ood an d evil or lig ht an d d arkn ess. In reality both characters are m ore com p lex than that. T he Q u een of the N ig ht is said to rep resen t O bscu ran tism (from the L atin o b scu ran t, "m akin g d ark") w hich is the p ractice of d eliberately p reven tin g the facts or fu ll d etails of som ethin g from becom in g kn ow n , in this sen se m ean in g her op p osition to the sp read of kn ow led g e to the g en eral p u blic, w hereas her an tag on ist S arastro is a reason able sovereig n w ho ru les w ith w isd om an d en lig hten ed in sig ht. It is the p assag e of T am in o an d P am in a from obscu ran tism to en lig hten m en t that shed s m ost lig ht on both the Q u een of the N ig ht an d S arastro.
4
P ap ag en o an d P ap ag en a P ap ag en o is a bird catcher by trad e, in the service of the Q u een of the N ig ht. H e belon g s to the com ed y trad ition of p an tom im e. T he librettist of T h e M ag ic F lu te, E m m an u ele S hickan ad er, w as the first actor to p lay P ap ag en o. T he character can be su m m ed u p as very u n com p licated an d child like. W hen he lies to T am in o an d the T hree L ad ies abou t killin g the sn ake it is n ot a m aliciou s lie, bu t sim p ly the sort of “cover-u p ” that a child m ig ht m ake. U n like T am in o he d oes n ot show the d esire or the bravery to solve the rid d les, bu t w hen he an d T am in o set ou t to fin d P am in a it is he w ho d iscovers her first an d releases her. H e can be su m m ed u p in his com m en t “I’m n ot askin g for w isd om . I’m an ord in ary m an an d all I n eed is sleep an d food an d d rin k. T he on ly other thin g , if y ou cou ld arran g e it, is that I’d like to catch a beau tifu l little w ife.” An d of cou rse, he d oes catch a w ife, P ap ag en a, an d they are in d eed “m ad e for each other.”
T he T hree L ad ies an d the T hree B oys
© Catherin e Ashm ore
T he sig n ifican t thin g abou t the L ad ies an d the B oys is the n u m ber of them ; three. R elig ion , an d in d eed M ag ic is filled w ith g rou p s of p eop le, item s or even ts relatin g to that n u m ber. In Christian theolog y the F ather, the S on an d the H oly G host are the H oly T rin ity (other Christian faith referen ces to the n u m ber three in clu d e the fact that P eter forsake Jesu s three tim es, after three d ays Christ rose from the d ead an d that Christ d ied at ag e 33). T he op en in g m u sic of T h e M ag ic F lu te in clu d es three d ifferen t chord s, an d M ozart in trod u ced three trom bon es to the orchestra (trom bon es w ere extrem ely rare in the op era orchestra in this p eriod , an d the n u m ber
5
three even m ore so). T he T hree B oys are also in terestin g in that they rep resen t the w ill of the Q u een of the N ig ht in Act I bu t then ap p ear to serve the w ill of S arastro in Act II. O n e exp lan ation for this is that they d o n ot serve either bu t are actu ally g u id in g the p ath of en lig hten m en t for T am in o an d P am in a.
Activities 1. Con sid er the in d ivid u al characters. Are they believable as ‘real’ p eop le? D o they ‘g row ’ d u rin g the cou rse of the op era - that is, d o w e kn ow m ore abou t them at the en d than w e d id follow in g their first ap p earan ce? D o they d evelop as p erson alities? Also con sid er w hether these characters can be view ed as en tirely “g ood ” or “bad ”. D oes this m ake them “on e d im en sion al” or less in terestin g ?
2. P am in a has been d escribed as, ‘clever, loyal, hon est, com p assion ate, d em on strative, brave an d stead fast.’ T ry to fin d evid en ce to illu strate each of these q u alities.
3. D oes the op era n eed P ap ag en o? W hat is his con tribu tion to the story - an d to the m essag e of the op era?
4. W ho d o you thin k is the cen tral character in the op era?
5 . D oes the op era tell u s an y thin g abou t 18 th cen tu ry attitu d es tow ard s w om en ?
6
T he S tory Act I T am in o is con fron ted by a larg e serp en t. H e is terrified an d collap ses. T hree L ad ies (atten d an ts to the Q u een of the N ig ht) arrive an d kill the m on ster. T am in o reg ain s con sciou sn ess an d hears som eon e ap p roachin g . It is P ap ag en o, a bird -catcher. H e assu m es P ap ag en o has slain the serp en t an d the bird -catcher is hap p y to let him thin k that this is so. B u t the L ad ies have overheard the con versation an d retu rn to p u n ish P ap ag en o for his d ecep tion ; they p ad lock his m ou th.
T hey have a g ift for T am in o from the Q u een . It is a sm all p ortrait of her d au g hter, P am in a. W hen T am in o learn s P am in a is a p rison er of the ‘p ow erfu l an d m aliciou s d em on ’ S arastro, he resolves to rescu e her. T here is a clap of thu n d er an d the Q u een of the N ig ht herself ap p ears. S he tells T am in o that if he can rescu e her d au g hter he m ay m arry her. S he leaves.
P ap ag en o retu rn s, w ith his m ou th stillp ad locked .
T he L ad ies re-en ter an d u n fasten the p ad lock: he has learn ed his lesson . T hey g ive T am in o a m ag ic flu te to p rotect him on his jou rn ey to rescu e P am in a. T o P ap ag en o they g ive silver bells an d tell the p air they w ill be g u id ed on their jou rn ey by T hree B oys.
7
P am in a has escap ed bu t has been recap tu red by the w icked M on ostatos an d his slaves. H e ord ers that she shall be tied u p . P am in a fain ts from fear.
P ap ag en o ap p ears. H e has becom e sep arated from T am in o. H e recog n ises P am in a from her p ortrait. H e d istracts her cap tors, releases her an d tells her she w ill soon be rescu ed by a p rin ce w ho loves her.
T am in o has been led by the T hree B oys to a g rove flan ked by three tem p les. T hey leave him w ith a com m an d he m u st obey: be stead fast, p atien t an d silen t.
W hen T am in o ap p roaches the T em p le of W isd om an old p riest, the S p eaker, ap p ears w ho asks w hat has led T am in o to this holy p lace. T am in o rep lies that he has com e in search of love an d tru th. T he S p eaker sees that T am in o is also d riven by a hatred of S arastro. H e tells T am in o he has been m isled by the Q u een ’s tears. S arastro is a fin e an d n oble m an w ho reig n s over the T em p le of W isd om . T am in o is left alon e. H e w on d ers; w hen w ill his ig n oran ce be rep laced by kn ow led g e an d im p roved u n d erstan d in g ? W hen w ill he acq u ire w isd om ?
V oices w ithin the tem p le assu re him P am in a is safe. H ap p y an d excited , he p lay s his m ag ic flu te. H is p lay in g attracts w ild an im als from the su rrou n d in g w ood lan d … bu t n ot P am in a. H e hears P ap ag en o’s p an p ip es an d leaves to fin d the bird -catcher.
P ap ag en o an d P am in a en ter lookin g for T am in o, bu t on ce ag ain they are cau g ht by M on ostatos an d his slaves w ho are © Catherin e Ashm ore
8
abou t to lock them in chain s w hen P ap ag en o rem em bers his m ag ic bells. M on ostatos an d his m en fin d the m u sic of the bells irresistible an d d an ce hap p ily aw ay.
A tru m p et fan fare an n ou n ces the arrival of S arastro. P ap ag en o is afraid . As P am in a kn eels before the g reat S arastro she exp lain s that she fled n ot from him bu t from the u n w elcom e atten tion of M on ostatos. S arastro show s sym p athy bu t he can n ot release P am in a to her evil m other. S he m u st stay: she n eed s a m an to g u id e an d p rotect her.
M on ostatos brin g s in T am in o w ho, he says, w as tryin g to abd u ct P am in a. T am in o an d P am in a in stin ctively recog n ise each other an d em brace. S arastro sen ten ces M on ostatos to a w hip p in g for his behaviou r tow ard s P am in a. T am in o an d P am in a are led to the P lace of T rials w here they m u st p rove they are w orthy of hig her hap p in ess.
Act II P riests of the T em p le assem ble an d S arastro tells them that T am in o w ishes to join the brotherhood ; he w an ts to acq u ire their level of w isd om an d u n d erstan d in g . P am in a has been chosen as a brid e for T am in o an d the p air w ill p rovid e d efen ce ag ain st the evil w ays of the Q u een of the N ig ht. B u t first T am in o m u st p rove him self su itable by en d u rin g a n u m ber of trials.
S arastro an d the p riests call on the g od s Isis an d O siris to g ran t the y ou n g cou p le stren g th an d cou rag e.
9
L ike T am in o, P ap ag en o is also to u n d erg o trials. P ap ag en o is relu ctan t, bu t w hen he learn s that if he is su ccessfu l S arastro w ill fin d him a w ife, he ag rees to g o ahead . T hey are told to bew are of the w iles of w om en an d are sw orn to a vow of silen ce. T he p riests leave.
T he T hree L ad ies ap p ear an d tell T am in o an d P ap ag en o they w ill be d oom ed if they d isobey the Q u een of the N ig ht. P ap ag en o is read y to believe them , bu t T am in o silen ces him . T he L ad ies ad m it d efeat an d leave.
M on ostatos fin d s P am in a sleep in g . H e stoop s to kiss her, bu t a clap of thu n d er an n ou n ces the arrival of the Q u een . M on ostatos m akes a hasty exit. T he Q u een asks w here T am in o is. P am in a rep lies that he has join ed the brotherhood . T he Q u een is fu riou s. T here is n ow n o chan ce of P am in a bein g rescu ed u n less S arastro is rem oved . S he g ives P am in a a d ag g er w ith w hich to kill him , an d leaves.
P am in a can n ot carry ou t her m other’s com m an d . M on ostatos retu rn s. H e has overheard everythin g . H e seizes the d ag g er an d threaten s that if P am in a d oes n ot su bm it to his w ishes he w ill betray her, bu t S arastro en ters an d sen d s M on ostatos aw ay . P am in a beg s for m ercy for her m other. S arastro reassu res her that here there is n o p lace for reven g e: love alon e w ill overcom e evil.
T he p riests rem in d T am in o an d P ap ag en o that those w ho break the ru le of silen ce are p u n ished by the g od s of thu n d er an d lig htn in g . T hey leave. P ap ag en o is u n able to keep q u iet. H e is thirsty an d is su rp rised w hen an old lad y su d d en ly ap p ears an d offers him w ater, bu t then she d isap p ears ju st as su d d en ly as she arrived .
T am in o an d P ap ag en o are visited by the T hree B oys w ho retu rn the flu te an d the m ag ic bells con fiscated from them earlier. T hey also brin g food . T he B oys leave. P ap ag en o en joys the food w hile T am in o p lay s the flu te. 10
T he m u sic attracts P am in a. B u t w hen she tries to talk w ith T am in o she g ets n o rep ly. S he d oes n ot kn ow that a vow of silen ce is on e of the trials he m u st en d u re. © Catherin e Ashm ore
S he is d eep ly hu rt, fin d in g his rejection w orse than d eath. S he leaves.
T he p riests assem ble. T hey ad m ire T am in o’s cou rag e an d d eterm in ation . S arastro brin g s in P am in a an d tells the you n g cou p le to bid each other farew ell: there are still g reater trials ahead . S arastro is reassu rin g . T hey all leave.
P ap ag en o ru shes in lookin g for T am in o. H is tu tor tells him he w ill n ever su cceed in the trials an d asks if there is an ythin g else he d esires. P ap ag en o sin g s that he w ou ld really like a w ife, an d accom p an ies him self w ith the m u sic of the bells.
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T he old w om an re-ap p ears. S he tells P ap ag en o that u n less he m arries her he w ill be im p rison ed here forever. R elu ctan tly he p rom ises to be tru e to her… u n til som eon e p rettier com es alon g ! S atisfied , she casts off her coat an d head scarf an d is tran sform ed in to a beau tifu l you n g w om an , P ap ag en a. B u t the p riest w hisks her aw ay: P ap ag en o is n ot yet w orthy of her.
P am in a is d esp erate. S he fears that T am in o n o lon g er loves her. S he takes u p the kn ife an d is abou t to take her ow n life w hen the T hree B oys ap p ear. T hey reassu re her of T am in o’s love an d take her to the p lace w here he is riskin g his life in the trials to p rove him self fit to m arry her.
T am in o stan d s at the en tran ce to the P lace of T rials. It is g u ard ed by T w o M en in Arm ou r. P am in a arrives an d say s she w ill u n d erg o the trials w ith him . S he also has w ith her the m ag ic flu te. T am in o p lays the flu te as tog ether they p ass su ccessfu lly throu g h the trials of fire an d w ater. V oices from w ithin the tem p le p raise their cou rag e an d w elcom e them .
P ap ag en o believes he has lost his P ap ag en a
© Catherin e Ashm ore
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forever. T here is n othin g left for him in life. H e w ill han g him self. B u t the T hree B oy s arrive an d rem in d him of his m ag ic bells. H e p lays them an d , su re en ou g h, his beau tifu l you n g sw eetheart ap p ears. T he excited cou p le p lan their fu tu re tog ether, w hich in clu d es ‘m an y child ren ’!
M on ostatos, the Q u een of the N ig ht an d the T hree L ad ies have g athered to m ake on e m ore attem p t on S arastro’s life. T here is lou d thu n d er as they ap p roach the tem p le. S u d d en ly the d oors are flu n g op en an d the lig ht from the su n d rives aw ay the sp irits of d arkn ess.
T he p riests an d the brotherhood g ive than ks to Isis an d O siris, p raisin g the cou rag e of T am in o an d P am in a. B eau ty an d w isd om have p revailed over evil.
Activities 1. W hich m om en ts in T he M ag ic F lu te d id you fin d m ost en joyable, an d d ram atically m ost effective? Can you exp lain w hy?
2. W hy d o y ou thin k the op era is called T he M ag ic F lu te? W hat reason s can you g ive? Can y ou su g g est an altern ative title?
3. It has been said of the op era, ‘E very on e in the au d ien ce can relate to on e of the characters on the stag e.’ D o you thin k this is tru e? T o w hom d o you relate?
4. T he them e of the op era is a d ifficu lt on e to categ orise. It con tain s elem en ts of fan tasy , m ag ic an d com ed y, w hile d evelop in g a seriou s them e. It is a u n iq u e m ixtu re. D o you thin k it is a su ccessfu l on e?
5 . S electin g from w hatever in stru m en ts are available, create a p iece of m u sic to accom p an y the p assag e of T am in o an d P am in a throu g h the trials of fire an d w ater. B efore you beg in , try to im ag in e you are really there. H ow d o y ou feel? H ow can you exp ress you r feelin g in m u sic?
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W olfg an g Am ad eu s M ozart (175 6 – 179 1) W olfg an g Am ad eu s M ozart w as born in S alzbu rg , Au stria on 27 Jan u ary 175 6 . H e w as christen ed Joan n es Chry sostom u s W olfg an g u s T heop hilu s bu t ad op ted ‘Am ad eu s’ as his n am e of choice. H e w as on e of seven child ren bu t on ly he an d his old er sister su rvived . T heir father, L eop old , w as an accom p lished violin ist an d com p oser an d w as em p loyed by the Archbishop of S alzbu rg .
W olfg an g ’s extraord in ary m u sical ability becam e ap p aren t at a very early ag e. H e learn ed the harp sichord at the ag e of fou r, beg an com p osin g w hen he w as five, an d p layed for the E m p ress of Au stria w hen he w as six. H is sister, too, w as a talen ted m u sician an d their p rou d father arran g ed a tou r of the cou rts of E u rop e that lasted for three years, p lay in g before L ou is X V in P aris an d G eorg e III in L on d on . At n in e years old W olfg an g w rote tw o sy m p hon ies for p erform an ce in L on d on . W olfg an g ’s travels w ith his father con tin u ed w ell in to his teen ag e years an d they p rovid ed excellen t op p ortu n ity for W olfg an g to becom e acq u ain ted w ith the best m u sic by the best com p osers of his d ay.
In 1773 he w as g iven an hon orary ap p oin tm en t at the cou rt of the Archbishop of S alzbu rg bu t w as d eep ly u n hap p y there an d freq u en tly row ed w ith his em p loyer u n til he w as fired in 178 1. In 179 2 he m arried Con stan ze W eber ag ain st the w ishes of his father.
In V ien n a, W olfg an g w as n ow w ithou t a p erm an en t em p loyer or p atron an d con seq u en tly had n o reg u lar salary . H e w as d ep en d en t u p on p u blic p erform an ces, p rivate teachin g an d com p osin g . An d , of cou rse, com p osin g w as d ep en d en t u p on com m ission s. T he early V ien n a years
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w ere very su ccessfu l. H e w as the id ol of the V ien n ese p u blic an d his p ian o con certos, in p articu lar, p rovid ed a stead y in com e.
B u t by the m id -178 0 ’s the situ ation w as very d ifferen t an d by the beg in n in g of 178 7 W olfg an g an d Con stan ze had fallen on hard tim es. H e w as less p op u lar w ith the p u blic, there w ere few er con certs an d com m ission s, an d there w as in creased com p etition from other com p osers. W olfg an g w as red u ced to beg g in g for su p p ort an d loan s from his freem ason frien d s.
D esp ite the hard ship , the last few years of M ozart’s life saw the creation of som e of the com p oser’s fin est w orks in clu d in g sym p hon ies 39 , 40 an d 41 (‘Ju p iter’); horn con certos 1,3 an d 4; E in e K lein e N ach tm u sik; the op eras T h e M arriag e o f F ig aro , D o n G io van n i, C o sì fan tu tte, T h e C lem en cy o f T itu s an d T h e M ag ic F lu te; the Clarin et Con certo an d the u n fin ished R eq u iem .
B y 179 1 the situ ation ap p eared m ore p rom isin g bu t the chan g e of fortu n e cam e too late. In m id N ovem ber, W olfg an g fell ill an d becam e p rog ressively w eaker u n til he d ied in the early hou rs of 5 D ecem ber. T he exact n atu re of the illn ess from w hich he d ied has n ever been d eterm in ed an d m an y theories have been ad van ced , in clu d in g su g g estion s that he cou ld have been p oison ed . W hatever the cau se, w e kn ow that he w as bu ried in an u n m arked com m u n al g rave for p au p ers.
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O p eratic form s L ibretto L iterally m ean in g ‘booklet’, the libretto is the text w ritten for an op era or oratorio. S om etim es an orig in al w ork, the libretto is m ore u su ally an ad ap tation of an existin g book or p lay .
M an y com p osers form ed lon g relation ship s w ith librettists, for exam p le M ozart w ith L oren zo d a P on te, R ichard S trau ss w ith H u g o von H ofm an n stahl, an d S ir Arthu r S u llivan w ith W .S .G ilbert, thou g h som e w rote their ow n libretti, m ost n otably R ichard W ag n er, F red erick D eliu s an d M ichael T ip p ett.
R ecitative R ecitative is the p ractice of settin g w ord s to m u sic in a style that closely resem bles the p attern an d p itch of n orm al sp eech. E arly op era con sisted m ostly of recitative, bu t d u rin g the Classical p eriod (arou n d the 18 th cen tu ry) it d evelop ed as a w ay of ad van cin g the p lot.
An early exam p le of recitative in T h e M ag ic F lu te in trod u ces the Q u een of the N ig ht’s aria in Act I. F ollow in g her d ram atic en tran ce the Q u een seeks to w in T am in o’s sy m p athy an d su p p ort:
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R ecitative is u su ally accom p an ied by a harp sichord or sm all org an , p erhap s w ith the ad d ition of a cello. T his sim p le style is called recitative secco (or ‘d ry’ recitative) an d the in stru m en ts offer a sim p le chord al accom p an im en t, on ly p u n ctu atin g or d ecoratin g certain m om en ts w ith florid sp read chord s.
A m ore d ram atic form of recitative, recitative strem en to is accom p an ied by orchestra, an d often p reced es an aria.
Aria An aria is a solo son g . O rig in ally the aria p lay ed a sm all role in op era, p rovid in g on ly a m om en tary p au se from the sp eech p attern s of recitative, bu t by the 18 th cen tu ry it d om in ated op era, allow in g characters to fu lly exp lore their thou g hts an d em otion s an d sin g ers to exhibit the fu ll ran g e of their vocal ability . T his is the op en in g of T am in o’s aria, su n g as he g azes on the p ortrait of P am in a p resen ted to him by the Q u een of the N ig ht. T he beau ty of the im ag e seem s to be reflected in the sm ooth con tou rs of the m elod y:
O n e of the m ost p rom in en t form s of aria w as the ‘d a cap o’ aria that con sisted of tw o con trastin g section s, the first of w hich w as rep eated . T his cam e to be con sid ered som ew hat u n n atu ral, an d in the late 18 th cen tu ry com p osers beg an to aban d on the ‘d a cap o’ aria in favou r of m ore d ram atically rew ard in g w ays of settin g w ord s.
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T he aria as a form w as challen g ed by R ichard W ag n er in the 19 th cen tu ry an d su bseq u en t com p osers, w ho p referred w ritin g in an u n in terru p ted style that aban d on ed sep arately d istin ct vocal p ieces.
E n sem ble An en sem ble, m ean in g ‘tog ether’, is a p iece of vocal m u sic for tw o or m ore characters. It is a w ay to m u sically w eave tog ether the d ifferen t em otion s an d m otivation s of several characters or to con trast d ifferen t faction s w ithin a story.
U su ally in an en sem ble each voice has its ow n op p ortu n ity to exp ress his or her thou g hts before the d ifferen t lin es are ad d ed tog ether. R ep etition allow s the au d ien ce to have several chan ces to hear each character’s thou g hts. W hen the m u sical lin es are com bin ed it is the skill of the com p oser that d raw s ou r atten tion from on e character to an other an d focu ses ou r sym p athies.
O vertu re An overtu re is the in trod u ctory m u sic to an op era or ballet. T he overtu re w as seen as an op p ortu n ity for the au d ien ce to settle d ow n , an d for the com p oser to p resen t the m u sical id eas to be d evelop ed throu g hou t the p iece. It also help s set the scen e an d m ood . M an y overtu res (in clu d in g the on e to T h e M ag ic F lu te) becam e so p op u lar that they are p erform ed sep arately in con certs. T he overtu re w as brou g ht to p op u larity first in F ran ce d u rin g the 17th cen tu ry by Jean -B ap tiste L u lly, an d con sisted of a slow section in p om p ou s, d otted rhythm , follow ed by a fast im itative alleg ro (fast) section . T he Italian s also d evelop ed their ow n form of overtu re d u rin g the 17th cen tu ry, w hich com p rised three m ovem en ts, alleg ro – ad ag io
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(slow ) – alleg ro, an d w as established by An ton io S carlatti. D u rin g the Classical p eriod (18 th cen tu ry) the overtu re becam e on e sin g le m ovem en t, an d com p osers beg an to u se the form to p rep are the au d ien ce for the aw aited d ram a.
T he overtu re for T h e M ag ic F lu te is fu ll of con trasts betw een solem n , ten se p assag es an d fast, en erg etic p assag es w hich evoke som e of the m ore lig ht-hearted elem en ts of the op era:
T he orchestra T he orchestra for an op era con tribu tes m u ch m ore than ju st a backg rou n d accom p an im en t: it is often an eq u al p artn er w ith the voices. M ood , atm osp here an d levels of em otion al in ten sity are created an d con trolled by the orchestra, m ostly throu g h the sou n d s the orchestra m akes bu t also, on occasion s, by rem ain in g silen t.
M ozart’s choice of in stru m en ts for T h e M ag ic F lu te con firm s the com p oser’s rep u tation as an in n ovator in the u se of orchestral colou r. It w as he w ho had established the clarin et as a reg u lar m em ber of the sy m p hon y orchestra. In this op era he also u ses tw o basset horn s (the sou n d of a basset horn w as sim ilar to that of a clarin et bu t less refin ed in ton e q u ality).
O f g reater sig n ifican ce is the in clu sion here of three trom bon es (n ote the n u m ber – three). T heir p resen ce is heard in the op en in g chord s (of w hich there ag ain – three m ain chord s) of the overtu re.
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T hey ad d solem n ity an d ten sion to the scen e at the en tran ce to the P lace of T rials an d d ram a to the d efeat of the Q u een by S arastro. A fu rther 17 years elap sed before B eethoven , in his fifth sym p hon y , in trod u ced the in stru m en t as a reg u lar m em ber of the sym p hon y orchestra.
T o su p p ly the p an -p ip es an d the m ag ic bells M ozart u ses a p iccolo an d a g locken sp iel, ag ain u n u su al for its tim e.
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V oice typ es S op ran o T he hig hest ran g e fem ale voice. T his is u su ally (bu t n ot exclu sively) reserved for y ou n g er characters. In T h e M ag ic F lu te M ozart d escribed each fem ale as a S op ran o, bu t the d ifferen ce in ran g e betw een the characters is astou n d in g .
M ezzo-S op ran o Literally meaning “half-soprano”, a mezzo-soprano has a lower range and usually richer sound than a soprano. Often reserved for older racters or “trouser role” characters (where a female will be playing a male role).
T en or The highest male voice. The tenor is often the young hero, or older comic character. In Mozart’s operas there are relatively few tenor roles.
B ariton e The most natural and usual range for the male voice and fits in between tenor and bass in range. The baritone is often the “hero’s best friend” or sometimes the villain of the opera.
B ass The lowest and rarest voice type of all. True basses tend to be much older than their counterparts and so the voice type is usually reserved for older males or authority figures.
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T he V oice typ es in T h e M ag ic F lu te An im p ortan t task for the op era com p oser is choosin g the ap p rop riate voice ty p e for each of the p rin cip al characters. D u rin g the p ast tw o or three cen tu ries, the p arts of rom an tic heroes have m ost freq u en tly been su n g by ten ors, ju st as heroin es have often been sop ran os. T he d eep er voices, both m ale an d fem ale, have ten d ed to be associated w ith characters in p osition s of tru st or resp on sibility or, in som e cases, for characters w ho p ossess u n p leasan t q u alities. T hese, of cou rse, are g en eralisation s, an d there have been n otable excep tion s that break the g en eral ru le.
In T h e M ag ic F lu te M ozart has follow ed op eratic con ven tion fairly closely . T am in o, the you n g hero, is a ten or; P am in a, the you n g heroin e, is a sop ran o. P ap ag en o is certain ly n ot a rom an tic hero, bu t n or is he a villain ; he is a likeable rog u e. T he p art is w ritten for a bariton e, a voice that is low er in ran g e than a ten or bu t lackin g the heavier q u alities of the bass voice. H is P ap ag en a is a sop ran o. T he u n ctu ou s M on ostatos is su n g by a ten or, althou g h the role sits very low in the ten or reg ister to g ive the character a d ark sin ister q u ality; the d ig n ified an d m atu re S p eaker is a bass. B u t, vocally, the m ost in terestin g an d m ost d em an d in g roles are those of the Q u een an d S arastro. As created by M ozart these characters rep resen t the extrem es of the hu m an voice. T he Q u een is a coloratu ra sop ran o w ho is req u ired to d isp lay rem arkable vocal versatility, athleticism an d brillian ce - in clu d in g several top F ’s. S arastro exp lores fu lly the d ark, rich d ep ths of the bass voice.
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T hem es an d In flu en ces T he Ag e of M ozart T he 18 th cen tu ry is g en erally referred to by historian s as T he Ag e of E n lig hten m en t. It w as a p eriod w hen m en (an d w om en ) beg an to v alu e the freed om to thin k for them selves an d to break from the absolu te au thority of the m on archy an d the Chu rch. T hey d id n ’t h ave to believe som ethin g ju st becau se som eon e in au thority said it w as so.
L og ical reason in g based on facts becam e im p ortan t. S cien tific exp erim en tation becam e m ore w id ely resp ected , an d the scien tific q u estion in g of relig iou s ‘facts’ becam e p ossible. N ew ton ’s theories brou g ht abou t a n ew u n d erstan d in g of the u n iverse. T here d evelop ed a g reater accep tan ce of the d ifferen ces across an d w ithin societies an d cu ltu res. It w as an excitin g p eriod in history . Artists, an d thin kers g en erally , thrived in the clim ate of the ag e.
B u t the en cou rag em en t to thin k freely, com bin ed w ith the exp losion of n ew kn ow led g e an d theories, d id n ot n ecessarily clarify ‘the tru th’. ‘T he tru th’ an d ‘w isd om ’ are q u alities that can n ot be tou ched , seen or w eig hed , an d yet the search for them is a d rivin g force in the lives of m an y . It is often referred to as a search for ‘the lig ht’, in con trast w ith the d arkn ess of ig n oran ce.
T hese are all id eals reflected an d rep resen ted in the story of T h e M ag ic F lu te, an d , w hile in the story T am in o sets ou t to join the Colleg e of P riests, a brotherhood head ed by S arastro, M ozart join ed the brotherhood of the F reem ason s.
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T am in o an d P am in a rep resen t E verym an an d E veryw om an ; they rep resen t u s. T he trials they u n d erg o sym bolise the su fferin g s an d hard ship s w e face in life. T he q u alities that en abled them to su cceed , an d by in feren ce w ill help u s to su cceed , w ere love, beau ty an d w isd om .
F reem ason ry M ozart’s ow n search for su ch id eals led him to becom e a F reem ason ; a brotherhood of m en seekin g to attain hig h id eals, both p erson al an d social. F reem ason ry had its orig in s in E g yp t. It is characterised by its ritu als, an d an y m an w ishin g to join the brotherhood m u st u n d ertake a series of sym bolic trials. If he is su ccessfu l he is ad m itted to the fratern ity.
T he sim ilarities betw een this p rocess an d the stru ctu re of T h e M ag ic F lu te are self-ap p aren t an d , in case w e m iss the lin k, n u m erou s heavy clu es are sp read arou n d . F or exam p le, the n u m ber three has a p articu lar sig n ifican ce in F reem ason ry . In the op era w e have the three solem n chord s at the op en in g , the T hree L ad ies atten d an t on the Q u een of the N ig ht, the T hree B oys, the three tem p le d oors, the three virtu es (stead fastn ess, p atien ce an d silen ce) an d the three sets of trials. T he colleg e of p riests, head ed by S arastro, is the brotherhood T am in o w ishes to join .
Id eal of A F reem ason F rom T h e H isto ry o f F reem aso n ry by O tto K lotz
If you see a m an w ho q u ietly an d m od estly m oves in the sp here of his life, w ho, w ithou t blem ish, fu lfils his d u ty as a m an , a su bject, a hu sban d an d a father; w ho is p iou s w ithou t hyp ocrisy, ben evolen t w ithou t osten tation , an d aid s his fellow m an w ithou t self-in terest; w hose heart beats w arm for frien d ship , w hose 24
seren e m in d is op en for licen sed p leasu res, w ho in vicissitu d es d oes n ot d esp air, n or in fortu n e w ill be p resu m p tu ou s, an d w ho w ill be resolu te in the hou r of d an g er;
T he m an w ho is free from su p erstition an d free from in fid elity; w ho in n atu re sees the fin g er of the E tern al M aster; w ho feels an d ad ores the hig her d estin ation of m an ; to w hom faith, hop e an d charity are n ot m ere w ord s w ithou t m ean in g ; to w hom p rop erty, n ay even life, is n ot too d ear for p rotection of in n ocen ce an d virtu e, an d for the d efen ce of tru th;
T he m an w ho tow ard s him self is a severe ju d g e, bu t is toleran t w ith the d ebilities of his n eig hbou r; w ho en d eavou rs to op p ose errors w ithou t arrog an ce, an d to p rom ote in tellig en ce w ithou t im p atien ce; w ho p rop erly u n d erstan d s how to estim ate an d em p loy his m ean s; w ho hon ou rs virtu e thou g h it m ay be in the m ost hu m ble g arm en t, an d w ho d oes n ot favou r vice thou g h it be clad in p u rp le; an d w ho ad m in isters ju stice to m erit w hether d w ellin g in p alaces or cottag es.
T he m an w ho, w ithou t cou rtin g ap p lau se, is loved by all n oble-m in d ed m en , resp ected by his su p eriors an d revered by his su bord in ates; the m an w ho n ever p roclaim s w hat he has d on e, can d o, or w ill d o, bu t w here n eed is w ill lay hold w ith d isp assion ate cou rag e, circu m sp ect resolu tion , in d efatig able exertion an d a rare p ow er of m in d , an d w ho w ill n ot cease u n til he has accom p lished his w ork, an d then , w ithou t p reten sion , w ill retire in to the m u ltitu d e becau se he d id the g ood act, n ot for him self, bu t for the cau se of g ood !
If you , m y B rethren m eet su ch a m an , you w ill see the p erson ification of brotherly love, relief an d tru th; an d you w ill have fou n d the id eal of a F reem ason .
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M ozart an d P atron ag e M ozart w as born in an ag e w hen su rvival as a com p oser d ep en d ed absolu tely u p on receivin g som e form of p atron ag e, g en erally from the chu rch or from the aristocracy. T he com p oser w as treated as a servan t; w as req u ired to d ress as a servan t, eat w ith the servan ts an d live in servan ts’ accom m od ation .
M ozart w as g iven an hon orary ap p oin tm en t at the cou rt of Archbishop H ieron ym u s Collored o of S alzbu rg , bu t w ou ld g row in creasin g ly u n hap p y w ith his role as servan t. Ad d ed to this w ere con d ition s to w rite m u sic to m eet w ith Collored o’s ap p roval; he had to w rite m asses for chu rch, cham ber m u sic for w hatever com bin ation of in stru m en ts w as available an d p ieces to celebrate birthd ays or an n iversaries. H e con tin u ed his search for m ore su itable em p loym en t an d , in 1777, travelled to P aris accom p an ied by his m other. F ollow in g his m other’s d eath in P aris he retu rn ed to S alzbu rg an d to the Archbishop ’s cou rt.
T he relation ship w ith his overbearin g em p loyer becam e in creasin g ly strain ed u n til in 178 1 M ozart w as fired , larg ely becau se the Archbishop refu sed to let M ozart p lay elsew here. T his w as a sig n ifican t even t in the history of m u sic an d w en t a lon g w ay to en d the p atron ag e system m akin g it p ossible for com p osers su ch as B eethoven to live as freelan ce com p osers.
M ozart an d O p era U n til the late 18 th cen tu ry m ost G erm an -born com p osers su ch as M ozart shied aw ay from w ritin g op era in their n ative lan g u ag e. T he taste at cou rt w as for op era in Italian , w hich w as view ed as a m ore refin ed lan g u ag e. In 1778 the H oly R om an E m p eror Josep h II attem p ted to chan g e this by creatin g a G erm an -lan g u ag e op era g rou p , the N atio n al
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Sin g sp iel, at the B u rg theater in V ien n a. T his exp erim en t lasted u n til 178 3 on ly , yet the p reviou s year it had p rod u ced on e u n d ou bted su ccess w ith D ie E n tfu h ru n g au s d em Serail by the you n g M ozart. H ow ever, he follow ed this w ith hu g ely su ccessfu l op eras su ch as L e N o zze D i F ig aro , D o n G io van n i an d C o sì F an T u tte – all in Italian . O p era w as still very m u ch a p u rsu it of the aristocracy . As the cen tu ry d rew to a close how ever, thin g s w ere abou t to chan g e.
S chikan ed er, S in g sp iel an d the T heater au f d er W ied en T he librettist for T h e M ag ic F lu te w as called E m an u el S chikan ed er, w ho w as an actor/m an ag er or im p resario . H e first cam e to p rom in en ce in the theatrical trou p e of F .J.M oser, w hich p erform ed farces an d Sin g sp iele. H e becam e the d irector of his trou p e in 1778 . H e m et M ozart in S alzbu rg in 178 0 , d u rin g an exten d ed stay there by his com p an y.
S chikan ed er p erform ed at the K ärn tn ertortheater in V ien n a from 178 5 , w hile still w orkin g w ith the S alzbu rg g rou p as tim e p erm itted . H is p lan to bu ild a theatre in V ien n a w as vetoed by E m p eror Josep h II, w hich p rom p ted him to tem p orarily leave for R eg en sbu rg . H is com p an y retu rn ed to V ien n a in 178 9 an d becam e the resid en t com p an y of the su bu rban T heater au f d er W ied en .
T he theatre p rovid ed en tertain m en t for the g en eral p u blic, n ot m erely for the aristocracy w ho had form ed the core of the au d ien ce for several of M ozart’s p reviou s op eras.
T h e M ag ic F lu te u ses both sp oken d ialog u e as w ell as recitative. T his is very m u ch in the trad ition of Sin g sp iel - m ean in g "son g -p lay". Sin g sp iel is a form of G erm an -lan g u ag e m u sic d ram a, reg ard ed as a g en re of op era. T he first Sin g sp iele w ere p robably tran slation s of E n g lish ballad op eras from the late 18 th cen tu ry. Sin g sp iele w ere con sid ered p op u lar 27
en tertain m en t, an d w ere u su ally p erform ed by travelin g trou p es, rather than by established com p an ies w ithin m etrop olitan cen ters. It is clear that M ozart an d his librettist S chikan ed er, w an ted to create an op era that cou ld be en joyed by all, n ot ju st by the aristocracy .
Sin g sp iel p lots are g en erally com ic or rom an tic in n atu re, an d freq u en tly in clu d e elem en ts of m ag ic, fan tastical creatu res, an d com ically exag g erated characterization s of g ood an d evil.
In w ritin g T h e M ag ic F lu te M ozart evid en tly kep t in m in d the skills of the sin g ers in ten d ed for the p rem iere, w hich in clu d ed both virtu osi an d ord in ary com ic actors, asked to sin g for the occasion . P ap ag en o (p layed by S chikan ed er him self) an d M on ostatos are often stated first in the strin g s so the sin g er can fin d his p itch, an d are freq u en tly d ou bled by in stru m en ts. In con trast, M ozart's sister-in -law Josep ha © Catherin e Ashm ore
H ofer, w ho p rem iered the role of the
Q u een of the N ig ht, evid en tly n eed ed n o su ch help : this role is fam ou s for its d ifficu lty. In en sem bles, M ozart skillfu lly com bin ed voices of d ifferen t ability levels.
F airy T ales, M ag ic an d M ystery F airy tales have p rovid ed the basis for m an y stag e p lays an d m u sic theatre w orks throu g hou t history. A fairy tale is d efin ed as a fiction al story that u su ally featu res folklore characters (su ch as fairies, g oblin s, elves, w itches an d talkin g an im als) an d often in volvin g a far-fetched (or m ag ical) seq u en ces of even ts. T hese d ays, the term is also u sed to d escribe som ethin g blessed w ith u n u su al hap p in ess, as in "fairy tale 28
en d in g ". Colloq u ially, a "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also m ean an y farfetched story. S chikan ed er seem s to have ‘borrow ed ’ the id ea for the story from a fairy tale en titled L u lu , o r th e M ag ic F lu te, from a collection of fairytales p u blished three years before he beg an w ritin g the libretto for the op era. T he p lot con tain s typ ical fairytale featu res: the rescu in g of the p rin cess, m ag ical an d fan tasy elem en ts, the triu m p h of g ood over evil an d the hap p y en d in g . In som e w ays the libretto step s over the bord er that sep arates fairy tale from p an tom im e. T he creation of the P ap ag en o character is an obviou s exam p le an d it is n o su rp rise to learn that this is the p art S chikan ed er him self p lay ed . R eg u lar atten d ers at S chikan ed er’s theatre exp ected there to be su ch a com ic character an d they w ou ld n ot be d isap p oin ted .
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F rom S ou rce to P erform an ce M ozart beg an com p osin g T h e M ag ic F lu te in M arch 179 1, an d con tin u ed w ork on it u n til Ju ly that sam e y ear. It w as read y for first p erform an ce on 30 S ep tem ber 179 1, in V ien n a, in the T heatre au f d er W ied en . M ozart con d u cted the orchestra, S chikan ed er p layed P ap ag en o, w hile the role of the Q u een of the N ig ht w as su n g by M ozart's sister-in -law Josep ha H ofer.
M ozart w as ren ow n ed for w ritin g his w orks q u ickly (he cou ld even d ictate m u sic that he heard exactly, n ote for n ote), an d his ou tp u t is stag g erin g w hen you con sid er that he d ied at the y ou n g ag e of 35 .
D u rin g the com p osition p rocess of T h e M ag ic F lu te he collaborated w ith S chikan ed er, w ho rep orted ly offered M ozart ad vice abou t som e of the settin g .
T he d ram atist I.F .Castelli w rote that: "T he late bass sin g er S ebastian M eyer told m e that M ozart had orig in ally w ritten the d u et w here P ap ag en o an d P ap ag en a first see each other q u ite d ifferen tly from the w ay in w hich w e n ow hear it. B oth orig in ally cried ou t "P ap ag en o!", "P ap ag en a!" a few tim es in am azem en t. B u t w hen S chikan ed er heard this, he called d ow n in to the orchestra, "H ey, M ozart! T hat's n o g ood , the m u sic m u st exp ress g reater aston ishm en t. T hey m u st both stare d u m bly at each other, then P ap ag en o m u st beg in to stam m er: 'P a-p ap ap a-p a-p a'; P ap ag en a m u st rep eat that u n til both of them fin ally g et the w hole n am e ou t"
Castelli ad d ed that the M arch of the P riests w hich op en s the secon d Act w as also a su g g estion of S chikan ed er's, ad d ed to the op era at the last m in u te by M ozart. T hese stories have n ot n ecessarily been accep ted as
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tru e bu t they p rovid e a fascin atin g in sig ht in to the relation ship betw een Com p oser an d L ibrettist.
N o review s exist of the first p erform an ces, bu t M ozart an d S chikan ed er had triu m p hed . T here w ere several hu n d red p erform an ces in the 179 0 s, althou g h it took m an y years for the op era to travel across E u rop e, firstly to P aris in 18 0 1, as L es M ystères d 'Isis; to L on d on at the K in g ’s T heatre in 18 11 (su n g in Italian ); an d to N ew Y ork’s P ark T heatre in 18 33 (su n g in E n g lish).
T he su ccess of T h e M ag ic F lu te help ed to lift M ozart’s m ood . H e w rote to his w ife Con stan ze on 7 O ctober 179 1: “I have this m om en t retu rn ed from the op era, w hich w as as fu ll as ever. B u t w hat alw ays g ives m e the m ost p leasu re is the silen t ap p ro val! Y ou can see how this op era is becom in g m ore an d m ore esteem ed .'
It w as on ly w eeks later that M ozart d ied .
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P rod u ction an d D esig n O p era is m ean t to be seen . H ow ever in terestin g an d excitin g the m u sic is, it can on ly p rovid e on e p art of an art form that has three com p on en ts: d ram a, m u sic an d d esig n . It is the d esig n er’s resp on sibility to create the sp ace (the en viron m en t) in w hich the sin g ers p erform an d to d esig n the costu m es they w ear. T he d irector an d the d esig n er m u st w ork closely so that each u n d erstan d s w hat the other is tryin g to achieve. A sp ecialist lig htin g d esig n er is also a valu able m em ber of the team . A m ajor challen g e associated w ith d esig n in g for T h e M ag ic F lu te is how to p rovid e a w id e ran g e of location s an d en viron m en ts w ithou t in terru p tin g the flow of the op era. If the sets are too realistic the resu lt becom es fu ssy an d irritatin g becau se of the n eed for freq u en t an d d isru p tive scen e chan g es. In this p rod u ction the p roblem has been resolved by the selective u se of lig htin g , both to g ive focu sed lig ht an d to create shad ow . O ften a sen se of p lace is su g g ested by the atm osp here created by lig ht rather than throu g h a relian ce on d etailed d esig n featu res.
Act I •
W hat is you r reaction w hen the cu rtain rises? D escribe the m ood . H ow is it created ? (Con sid er the lig htin g , colou rs u sed , atm osp here, the effectiven ess of the m u sic in con veyin g T am in o’s state of terror)
•
H ow has the d esig n er m ad e the serp en t a threaten in g m on ster?
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•
N otice the ‘three of a kin d ’ ap p earan ce of the T hree L ad ies. O bserve their m akeu p ; the colou rs of their costu m es.
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P ap ag en o’s ap p earan ce p rovid es clu es to his occu p ation . -
T he cag e, the n et an d the p ip es are exam p les of ‘p rop s’ (short for
© Catherin e Ashm ore
‘stag e p rop erties’). -
P rop s are loose item s w hich are carried on stag e an d are cap able of bein g m oved arou n d .
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O ther exam p les are the ston e an d the p ad lock g iven to P ap ag en o an d the m in iatu re p ortrait of P am in a g iven to T am in o.
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L ook for other exam p les as the op era p rog resses. Are there m an y ?
•
T he Q u een ’s ap p earan ce is an n ou n ced by a clap of thu n d er, bu t w hat d esig n featu res associate her w ith the n ig ht an d w ith evil? N otice the sim ilarity in ap p earan ce betw een the L ad ies an d their Q u een .
•
H ow are M on ostatos an d his slaves m ad e to ap p ear u n p leasan t? (Con sid er the u se of m ake-u p , the colou rs u sed , the n atu re of their m ovem en ts, their g estu res, the u se of lig htin g to exag g erate their featu res etc).
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•
N otice that the m ovem en ts of the ‘an im als’ are in character; for exam p le, con trast the m ovem en ts of the tig ers an d the m on key s.
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H ow is the tem p le scen e tran sform ed in to a w ood lan d ?
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W hat is the d om in an t colou r? H ow d oes it con trast w ith the earlier scen es? Com p are the u se of lig ht w ith earlier scen es.
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H ow w ou ld you com p are an d con trast S arastro an d the Q u een of the N ig ht in ap p earan ce an d behaviou r? H ow d oes each m ake his or her en tran ce?
ACT II •
W hat featu res of the op en in g scen e p rovid e clu es to the brotherhood ’s in terest in kn ow led g e an d w isd om ? (N otice that the w om en are m erely lookers-on !)
•
M u ch of the lig htin g throu g hou t the op era is d irection al rather than g en eral; that is to say, it is u sed to p ick ou t certain shap es, characters or hap p en in g s. S cen es in volvin g the Q u een an d her L ad ies reg u larly hig hlig ht the characters ag ain st a d ark backg rou n d .
•
W hen M on ostatos, an other d ark character, ap p roaches the sleep in g P am in a, n otice how the lig ht from his can d les an n ou n ces his arrival an d d istorts even fu rther the featu res of his face.
•
L ook for exam p les of ‘stag e m ag ic’ u sed d u rin g Act II.
•
H ow has the d esig n er created the elem en ts of air, fire an d w ater?
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Activities 1. If y ou w ere asked to d esig n a p oster for T he M ag ic F lu te, w hich in cid en t, scen e or character m ig ht you choose to ‘cap tu re’ an im p ortan t asp ect of the op era? R em em ber, the p u rp ose of the p oster shou ld be to arou se cu riosity an d fu rther in terest.
2. O p era is m ean t to be seen . L ist p articu lar exam p les of in cid en ts or hap p en in g s in the op era that d ep en d on bein g seen in ord er to be fu lly u n d erstood an d ap p reciated .
3. W ere there an y m om en ts w hen you felt the lig htin g m ad e an esp ecial con tribu tion to the d ram atic atm osp here?
4. Com m en t on the u se of m ake-u p , lig ht, colou r an d n atu re of m ovem en t/g estu res as aid s to d istin g u ishin g the ‘bad ’ characters from the ‘g ood ’ on es.
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G lossary of term s Accom p an im en t an orchestra or p ian o u su ally p lay s w ith the sin g ers to p rovid e the harm on ic stru ctu re n eed ed to su stain the m elod y. S om etim es it is there to su p p ort the voices, at others to create m ood s in its ow n rig ht.
Aria a solo for an y voice w hich u su ally exp resses em otion s rather than m ovin g the action on .
Choru s a g rou p of p eop le w ho often p lay the crow d e.g . the p riests, slaves, m em bers of the com m u n ity.
D u et tw o p eop le w ho m ig ht either be sin g in g tog ether an d con tin u in g a d ialog u e, or follow in g their ow n story sep arately an d exp ressin g their em otion s to the au d ien ce. S om etim es the m elod y is in harm on y , som etim es they have their ow n m elod ic lin e.
E n sem ble as above bu t w ith m ore than fou r sin g ers.
L ibretto w ord s of an op era, w ritten by a librettist.
M elod y a su ccession of m u sical ton es, i.e. a tu n e, u su ally p ossessin g or im p lyin g lyricism an d /or au ral p red ictability. 36
O vertu re from the F ren ch ou vrir - to op en , an orchestral p iece p layed before the op era beg in s, u su ally con tain in g them es of the p iece.
R ecitative d ialog u e w hich is su n g bu t to n o recog n izable m elod y, w here the rhythm p attern s follow sp eech.
R ep etiteu rs m u sic staff w ho rehearse an d coach the sin g ers, p lay in g the p ian o d u rin g the rehearsal p eriod .
S core m u sical n otation of a p iece. E ach vocal an d in stru m en tal lin e is w ritten sep arately for clarity . A score for sin g ers w ith p ian o accom p an im en t is a vocal score. O n e w ith all the orchestral p arts an d u sed by the con d u ctor is a fu ll score.
T essitu ra vocal term to d escribe w here the m ain ran g e of the vocal w ritin g lies.
T rio as d u et bu t for three p eop le, Q u artet for fou r.
U n d erscorin g m u sic w hich is u sed to accom p an y stag e action .
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P rod u ction p hotog rap hs u sed w ith kin g p erm ission from Catherin e Ashm ore. T his resou rce w as created by B ert G ill, K evin R ain ey an d R O H E d u cation .
R oyal O p era H ou se E d u cation D irect T el: 0 20 7212 9 410 D irect fax: 0 20 7212 9 441 E m ail: ed u cation @ roh.org .u k W ebsite: w w w .roh.org .u k/d iscover
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