“The Magic Flute is the last magical opera composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart during June and July 1791, towards the end of his life. The libretto was written by Emanuel Schikaneder, the director of the Vienna traveling theater. There are records that the true author of the text was Karl Ludwig Giesecke, a singer in Schikaneder’s choir, and that Schikaneder himself asked Mozart to compose something for him to help him out of financial difficulties. The opera was first performed on September 30, 1791, at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, under Mozart’s personal direction. The audience received it rather coldly. However, its success grew from performance to performance, and by November 1792, it had reached its hundredth performance and soon became a staple of the house, performed each time to a packed hall.”
“The Magic Flute, as a complete work, is a true fairytale of unimaginable power carved out of Mozart’s pure soul during the painful and bitter moments of his last summer. The difficult life circumstances that he constantly struggled with not only failed to defeat him, but rather served as a source of inspiration that led to the creation of this magical masterpiece.” His wives didn’t leave a mark on his creativity, but on the contrary, it seems like they helped bring even more joy, ease, and simplicity to his creations.
The Magic Flute cannot be experienced just by listening, watching, or reading about it. If you try to grasp it this way, it will seem like it slips away like a dream. Because, that’s what it is – an enchanted dream full of new, unknown, forgotten landscapes that you can only enter with an open heart and allow the living sounds of the Magic Flute to inscribe ancient, lost traces like rays of sunlight.
A Fairy Tale about the Magic Flute:
In ancient times, somewhere in the East, there lived a wise king known far and wide for his kindness. He possessed the Sevenfold Circle of the Sun, which held great power to rule over people and discover the many secrets of nature. In the hands of careless and selfish individuals, the Circle of the Sun could be misused. The king knew this very well, so he controlled it carefully for the benefit of all mankind. He resisted the pleas of his wife to help The power and grandeur of the Sun’s circle spread. The queen was as beautiful as a fairy, but arrogant and cold-hearted. As the king’s only heir, she gave birth to a daughter whom they named Pamina.
On one of his lonely journeys, the king got lost in the high mountains where he was caught in a terrible storm. He found shelter under a bare thousand-year-old oak tree. From its branch, he carved a beautiful flute. When he played it, its sounds brought him back to his castle, his wife, and child. The gods bestowed upon the flute a magical power to protect anyone who played it from all troubles, and to guide all those who listened to its sound on the path of Good.
There were journeys in which they had to prove their existence, silence, courage. With their rich, centuries-old experience, they dedicated the area of the Temple and set an example for human activity; with their wisdom, they helped people in the fight against evil forces.
However, there were also envious people and those who looked at the true glory of the wise with hostility. They often tried to disrupt the purity and sanctity of the Temple area and destroy the Covenant through fire and murder. But it would resist each time and grow even greater and more magnificent.
In such moments of danger and in all difficult decisions, the Council assembled. The members of the Council determined the First Devoted among themselves. During the reign of a wise and just king, it was Sarastro, chosen as a young man for this responsible duty due to his great nobility. The wise king and Sarastro were close friends, and the people loved and respected them both. Although the king was aware of the role of the Covenant, he was not a member. The old law of the Covenant did not allow a member to belong to the royal family. to ensure the security and well-being of his kingdom. Tamino and Pamina grew up without knowing each other, but Pamina was under the protection and guidance of Sarastro. Tamina is in love with Tamino.
When the king closed his eyes, the queen cursed him because she felt robbed of the largest possession. However, Sarastro did as his friend had asked him to. Pamina grew up under Sarastro’s protection to become the most beautiful girl in the land. Sarastro’s heart was captured by his deep love for her, but he was aware of the vow he had made to her father.
After some time, what the king had suspected happened. Under the arbitrary rule of the queen, who was then called the Queen of the Night, the land was deteriorating. She skillfully spread the news that her husband had cheated on her and that Sarastro had stolen from him. The majority of the people in the land believed her. Discord and confusion reigned. The queen’s only goal was to obtain the Circle of the Sun, and for that, she allied herself with dark forces, but all her attempts were thwarted by the forces of the devoted. However, she continued to plot new schemes.
One day, during a hunt, Tamino got lost in the realm of the Queen of the Night. He was left without weapons, and she pursued him. is a giant snake. He was saved from death by three queen’s ladies. He didn’t know that the queen had actually lured him in this way because she chose him to conquer the Circle of the Sun for her. That’s why she gave him a picture of her daughter Pamina. Overwhelming love immediately seized the young man’s heart and he decided to set her free. The queen gave the prince a magical flute to protect him on his journey, and appointed the birdcatcher Papageno as his companion, who lived near the palace and caught precious birds for the queen. So Tamino set off against Sarastro.
Sarastro knew about his arrival. He asked his friend, the first speaker of the Alliance, to meet Tamino at the entrance to the Temple. With wisdom and kindness, the speaker dissuaded Tamino from his hostile intent. Tamino realized that Sarastro was not an evil sorcerer and realized that the queen had deceived him. Meanwhile, Papageno found Pamina. When Tamino and Pamina saw each other, a great love immediately arose between them, but Sarastro had to separate them.
The ancient laws of the Alliance did not allow that Tamino faced challenges because he was a prince, but Sarastro recognized that Tamino could bring salvation to the divided land. He also wanted Tamino to eventually replace him in leading the Alliance. Because of this, he was willing to break the old law for the welfare of the land. After convincing the dedicated ones of this, he ordered Tamino and Papagena to be taken to the Temple of Trials.
Thus, Tamino began his difficult journey with Papagena. His trust in the gods and his love for Pamina gave him fearlessness, and the magical flute protected him. He bravely endured many dangers.
Meanwhile, the Queen, after waiting in vain for Tamino’s return, entered the area of the Temple. She learned from Pamina that Tamino was with the dedicated ones and, consumed by hatred, she demanded that her daughter kill Sarastro. But Pamina refused to do so.
Tamino successfully passed the trials. He still had to go through two dangerous paths on his own – Fire and Water. Pamina joined him and together, with the help of the magical flute, they overcame these trials. After that,
The Queen of the Night, with the help of Monostatos, Sarastro’s servant, attempted her final blow. She attacked the initiates in an attempt to wipe out the Alliance from the face of the Earth. The bright light of the Sun Circle blinded her and cast her into eternal night.
That was the beginning of a new era. Tamino became the heir of both kingdoms and was chosen as Sarastro’s successor. Thus, wisdom and earthly power became one.
Like all fairy tales, The Magic Flute is a story about a Path. Prince Tamino doesn’t come on this Path by his own intention. He simply gets entangled in certain “accidental” circumstances, and all he can do is consciously try to respond to them. Giving an answer to the challenges of destiny is not something reserved only for the main hero with exceptional potential, for someone who is special and chosen. Each of the other characters in this fairy tale also goes through certain trials that are offered to them as an opportunity to progress in life. Because “the path of virtue “The journey goes on,” as J.R.R. Tolkien would say. Noble and wise priest Sarastro encounters the same challenges and trials as bird catcher Papageno.
The journey begins in the dark realm of the Queen of the Night, where the young prince confronts and acquaints himself with his own darkness. He then embarks on an unknown and uncertain journey, recognizing his inner longing for the divine in the form of Pamina. He is accompanied by bird catcher Papageno, representing his human nature and the miraculous sound of virtue carried within his flute. The flute, made from a tall, old oak tree on a stormy night, holds within it the power of Earth and the power of Heaven.
It is hard to believe that these and many other symbolic elements are coincidental. Both Mozart and Schikaneder knew exactly what they wanted to awaken and ignite in people through this magical work – to awaken a latent aspiration, a living being within them, and to provide them with a guiding light that draws upon the long spiritual history of humanity, from which this opera emerged. For it carries within it elements of the Egyptian mysteries of Osiris. And so, the outcomes portray the idea of Pythagorean philosophical school through the depiction of the Temple, Plato’s idea of a philosopher-king, and a universal faith in humanity, in Man.
Therefore, The Magic Flute is a sound of hope for all of us who have been gifted with it, celestial music that accompanies the soul on its return to divine origins.