Conductor's Notes
by
Stephen Lord
Mozart's opera has been beloved since its opening performance, but what is it, exactly? Not an opera in the standard definition. Is it a Singspiel, in the style of his Die Entführung aus dem Serail ? No, much too serious for that! And yet...
As with many works at the highest level of inspiration this amorphous creature fits no particular mold. I would call it a play with some profound music that underlines its emotional, rational and symbolic themes. It is also a folk tale with light, childlike music so that we can learn from the simplicity of children whatever our age. This mixture of many forms reflects its boundless aspirations. As part of that mix, we have the highest and the deepest of human voices singing right next to the innocent sound of young boys. We have conventions of opera seria (the music of the Queen of the Night, the music of the Two Armed Men and the incomparable Overture), and we have elements of folk opera (Papageno's entrance music). We have the new-born love of Ancient Egypt, and (also as in Aïda ) we have the new awareness of issues of race and tolerance. "If there are black birds, why should there not be black people?"
Critics love to write about the 'symbolism' contained in Die Zauberflöte , and they started two years after the premiere. Some characters may represent personages of the day - is the Queen of the Night Maria Theresa, a person famous for her persecution of Masons? Is the plot a Masonic allegory created by Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder, the librettist who also played Papageno? Both were fellow Masons in Viennese Masonic lodges. At the time of the writing of Die Zauberflöte , various other operas were based on similar stories, including Lulu, oder Die Zauberflöte. Could the creative team have added more Masonic references to the plot just to distinguish it from the other piece?
Of the many books about this opera, the most complete is the one written by Jacques Chailley in the late 1960's The Magic Flute, Masonic Opera in which he convincingly shows the work's essential Masonry. He explains in great detail the significance of the padlocking of Papageno's mouth (part of a Masonic ritual) and the treatment of women in relation to the treatment of men within a closed society. The elements of Tamino's trials parallel those of Masonic initiation, including the vow of silence.
But the work is more than this. A popular aphorism from my years in music school states that Mozart is "too simple for children, too difficult for adults." This sums up not only the instrumental music of Mozart but his complete oeuvres, and especially Die Zauberflöte . It has been enjoyed by people of all ages, on all levels, whether the symbolism is understood or not - or if it even exists at all. This defines a true work of art, a true masterpiece by the most true of all composers.
