The
Magic Flute
By
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Tamino
is the hero of this opera. He is
being chased by a big snake and is knocked out.
The Ladies in Waiting of The Queen of the Night hear him cry out and they
kill the snake and sing. They go
off an odd looking man, dressed in feathers, called Papageno, who is the
Queen’s bird catcher is
there when Tamino wakes up. Papageno
tells him that he killed the snake and that Tamino is now in the country of the
Queen of the Night. The Ladies in
Waiting come back and put a padlock on Papageno’s mouth for telling the lie.
Then they show Tamino a picture of the Queen’s daughter, Pamina, who
they say is a prisoner of Sarastro. The
Queen then shows up and tells Tamino she is upset that she has lost her daughter
and that he can marry her if he can rescue her.
Tamino vows to rescue Pamina from Sarastro.
The Ladies in Waiting remove the padlock from Papageno’s mouth and give
him a set of chimes. They give
Tamino a flute. Three Genii are
going with them on their journey to rescue Pamina.
Now in the palace of Sarastro, a Moor
called Monostatos is after Pamina and wants her for himself.
Then Papageno appears, the Moor flees.
Papageno recognizes Pamina. He
tells her that she will soon be rescued by someone who loves her, but he is sad
there is nobody who loves him.
The three Genii have led Tamino to
the temples of Wisdom, Reason and Nature. Tamino
decides to look inside the temples, but he is not allowed in the first two.
At the third a priest tells him that Sarastro is not wicked, but a wise
man. Tamino plays his flute and some animals come and sit at his
feet. Then he hears Papageno’s
pipes and runs off to find him.
Papageno then appears leading Pamino,
but they are caught by Monstratos. Papageno
then starts to play his pipes which set Monostatos and his servents dancing so
that Paminio and he can escape. Then Sarastro comes on the scene with a procession.
Pamina explains to him that she was escaping from the Moor.
Monostatos then brings Tamino to Sarastro expecting a reward, but he is
flogged instead. Tamino and Pamina
are in love. Sarastro tells Tamino
and Papegeno to go to the Temple of Ordeal where they must prove they are worthy
of happiness. Sarstro tells the priests that Pamina is to be Tamino’s bride,
but only if he is worthy to be admitted to the temple.
In front of the Temple Tamino and
Papegeno that they must keep silent. When
the priests go the Ladies of the Queen of the Night appear and try to get them
to break their vow, but Tamino and Papegeno remain silent.
The preists then tell them they have passed their first test.
Pamina is sleeping when Monostatos
approaches, the Queen of the Night appears and gives her daughter a knife with
which to kill Sarastro. Monostatos
threatens to tell Sarastro about the plot to kill him
if Pamina does not give him her love.
Sarastro then appears and the Moor flees.
In the temple an old crone appears
and says to Papageno that she is the sweetheart he has yet to meet.
The Genii then appear as the crone disappears and bring the flute and
chimes. Pamina appears and talks to
Tamino, but is surprised that he does not reply (he is still under the vow of
silence).
Next we are in a vault where Sarastro
tells Pamina that they will have to say their last farewell of
each other. Papageno is told he can have one wish granted.
He is not satisfied when he has drunk the wine he asked for.
The crone appears again and tells Papageno that he must be true to her. He so swears and she reveals herself to be young and
attractive. The priest tells Papageno he is not yet worthy of her.
In a garden Pamina thinks about killing herself but he Genii. Two men in armor guard the door. Tamino is brought in by the priests for the last stage of his initiation, the test of fire and water. For the final ordeals, he is accompanied by Pamina. He is pleased to see her again and now he can may speak with her freely. Pamina acts as Tamino's guide as they undergo the ordeals of fire and water. At the end, they are welcomed into the Temple by Sarastro and the Priests. Before the Temple, Monostatos leads the Queen and her Ladies who are making their last bid at revenge on Sarastro. Their appearance coincides with a flood of light that drives away the forces of the night.