DISAPPOINTED and suffering, Mozart returned to Vienna in the middle of September. While his wife again repaired to Baden, he divided his time between the labours involved in the completion and scenic arrangements of the "Zauberflöte" (620 K.) and the Requiem. The chorus "O Isis und Osiris," Papageno's song, which Schikaneder had stipulated for, and the second finale, must have been written after September 12; 1 on September 28 he completed the overture and the march which formed the introduction to the second act. After many rehearsals under the conductorship of the Kapellmeister Henneberg, then still a very DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. young man, the first performance took place on September 30. Mozart conducted at the piano, and Süssmayr turned over for him. The playbill ran as follows: 2 —[See Page Image]
This day, Friday, September 30, 1791, the Company of the Imperial Theatre auf der Wieden have the honour of performing for the first time Die Zauberflöte.
Grand Opera in Two Acts, by Emanuel Schikaneder.
The music is by Herr Wolfgang Amade Mozart, Capellmeister and Imperial Chamber Composer. Esteem for an appreciative public and friendship for the author of the work have induced Herr Mozart to consent on this occasion to conduct the orchestra in person. 3
Books of the opera, with two copper-plate engravings, representing Herr Schikaneder in his actual costume as Papageno, may be had at the box-office, price thirty kreutzers.
The scenery and stage accessories have been intrusted to Herr Gayl and Herr Nessthaler, who flatter themselves that they have performed their task with all due regard to the artistic requirements of the piece. DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. The success was not at first so great as had been expected, and after the first act Mozart rushed, pale and excited, behind the scenes to Schikaneder, who endeavoured to console him. In the course of the second act the audience recovered from the first shock of surprise, and at the close of the opera Mozart was recalled. He had hidden himself, and when he was found could with difficulty be persuaded to appear before the audience, not certainly from bashfulness, for he was used by this time to brilliant successes, but because he was not satisfied with the way in which his music had been received. The story that Haydn consoled Mozart by his approbation is untrue, 4 for he was in London at the time. But Schenck relates in his manuscript autobiography that he had a place in the orchestra at the first performance, and that after the overture, unable to contain his delight, he crept along to the conductor's stool, seized Mozart's hand and kissed it; Mozart, still beating time with his right hand, looked at him with a smile, and stroked his cheek. At the second performance on the following day he again conducted, but afterwards resigned the conductorship to Henneberg. On October 9 notice was sent to Berlin:—
The new spectacular drama, "Die Zauberflöte," with music by our kapellmeister, Mozart, has been performed at great expense and with much magnificence of scenery, &c.; but it has not attained the success hoped for, owing to the inferiority of the subject and diction of the piece. 5
Schikaneder, however, persevered, and with every repetition the applause increased; Mozart's pleasure thereat, and more especially at the approbation expressed by Salieri and Cavalieri, may be gathered from his letters to his wife. The "Zauberflöte" soon became the most popular of operas. It was performed twenty-four times in October; on November 23, 1792, Schikaneder announced the hundredth, and on October 22,1795, the two hundredth performance of the opera. 6
Schikaneder 7 had long varied his favourite farcical pieces by the production of operas, either adaptations of earlier ones or works expressly composed for him, 8 and in 1791 he had achieved a great success with the romantic-comic opera "Oberon, König der Elfen," adapted by Gieseke from Wieland, and composed by Wranitzky (1756-1808). 9 The brilliant appointments of scenery, costume, and machinery, and the satisfaction with which the dramatisation of Wie-land's universally popular poem was viewed by the public, heightened the interest in the opera to a degree far beyond the deserts of the light and popular music. It was first performed in Frankfort during the coronation festivities in 1790, and, rapidly spreading over the whole German stage, shared, and for a short time rivalled, the popularity of the "Zauberflöte." 10 In order to assure himself of a repetition of this success, Schikaneder selected as a subject for his new opera the tale of Lulu, oder die Zauberflöte, from Wieland's Dschinnistan. 11 The story is briefly as follows:—
In the kingdom of Chorassan there dwelt in an old magician's castle the good fairy Perifirime, called the "radiant fairy." Hunting in the neighbourhood, Prince Lulu, son of the King of Chorassan, enters the usually avoided castle, and the fairy, appearing to him in her full radiance, promises him rich reward if he will obey her behests. She discloses to him that the wicked magician Dilsenghuin, with the help of her faithless DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. attendant Barsine, has deprived her of her precious talisman, a golden fire-steel, which is obeyed by the spirits of the elements and of all earthly regions, every spark struck from it becoming a powerful spirit, subject to the possessor; none but a youth whose heart is as yet untouched by love can regain the talisman for her by stratagem. She designates Lulu as her deliverer, and promises him the best gift that she has if he will undertake the task. This is none other than the beautiful Sidi, daughter of Perifirime and Sabalem, King of Cashmere, whom the magician keeps in his power, making tender advances to her which she is only able to resist owing to her magic power of repelling attacks so long as her heart is untouched by love. The fairy dispatches Lulu with two magic gifts—a flute which has the power of winning all hearts, and of exciting and appeasing every passion at will; and a ring, by turning which the wearer can assume any form, and by throwing it away can summon the fairy herself to his aid.
Thus provided, Lulu approaches the magician's stronghold in the form of an old man, and by his flute-playing entices first the forest beasts, and then the magician, who takes him into the fortress to try his art upon the obdurate beauty. Lulu gains the confidence of the magician and his son, with Barsine and the dwarf Barka; the love of the beautiful Sidi is also soon his. He succeeds in throwing the magician and his companions into a deep sleep during a banquet, and possesses himself of the talisman. By the aid of the genü now subject to him, and finally by the appearance of the fairy, he overcomes all the dangers and obstacles prepared for him by the magician, who is finally changed into an owi, and flies away with his son, similarly transformed. The fairy destroys the fortress and carries the lovers to her castle upon her cloud-chariot; there the Kings of Chorassan and Cashmere bless their union. 12
This story was treated as follows in Schikaneder's opera:—
The "Japanese" Prince, Tamino, while hunting, is pursued by a great serpent, and falls in a swoon; three ladies of the Queen of Night slay the monster.. On the awaking of the Prince there enters the bird-catcher Papageno, the comic character of the opera, contrasting in the traditional manner with the grave heroic lover (who does not, however, display any great daring here). Papageno is a good-tempered, pleasure-loving, loquacious poltroon, whose feather costume is a sort of reminiscence of Schikaneder's bird comedies. He gives himself out to Tamino as the slayer of the dragon, but is punished for his boasting by the veiled ladies, who reappear and fasten up his mouth with a padlock, at the same time presenting the Prince with the portrait of a beautiful damsel, of whom he instantly becomes deeply enamoured. Hearing that the original of the portrait is Pamina, daughter of the Queen of THE LIBRETTO-RIVAL THEATRES. Night, and that she has been carried away by a wicked demon, he swears to free her from the power of the enemy, whereupon the Queen herself appears and promises him the hand of her daughter as the reward of his success. The ladies then command Papageno, from whose mouth they remove the padlock, to accompany Tamino to the castle of the magician Sarastro, which he is reluctantly obliged to do. They provide Tamino with a magic flute, Papageno with a chime of bells, and promise that "three boys, young, beautiful, pure, and wise," shall hover round them as guides. 13
In Sarastro's castle Pamina, who has endeavoured by flight to escape the hated advances of her jailer and tormentor, the Moor Monostatos, has been recaptured and is kept in bondage. Papageno makes good his entry; he and the Moor are mutually alarmed at each other's appearance, and run away in opposite directions. Papageno, venturing in again, finds Pamina alone, and acquainting her with Prince Tamino's commission from her mother to liberate her, they hasten to seek for him together.
So far the original story has been followed in its essential parts. The modifications which have been made in the characters and situations to enhance the dramatic interest are such as would occur naturally in the development of the story. But when Schikaneder had proceeded thus far in his adaptation he learnt that an opera founded on the same story was finished and about to be produced at the Leopold-stàdter Theatre, which often placed itself in competition with his.
It was in 1781 that Marinelli opened his newly erected theatre in the Leopoldstadt. 14 He produced operas, among which the "Sonnenfest der Braminen" had a great run, and after the brief span of popularity which German opera had enjoyed at the National Theatre, the suburban theatre became a formidable and finally a successful rival. But the proper element of this theatre was in popular farces. The comic actor Laroche had created the part of Kasperl, the direct descendant of Hanswurst, and the people were never tired of seeing him play his coarse tricks and antics in the most widely different situations. It had been the custom to bring Hanswurst into contact with witches and magicians, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. and Kasperl was consequently introduced to the same society, with some differences in colouring, due to French taste and to the Eastern fairy tales disseminated mainly by Wieland. Popular songs played their part in these "Kasperliads," and out of modest vaudevilles, such as "Kasperl's Ehrentag," a fairy tale by Hensler (1789), in which the music was confined to some short choruses and an accompaniment to the supernatural apparitions, arose gradually comic magic operas. The Leopoldstàdter Theatre had possessed since 1786 a fruitful composer in Wenzel Müller, 15 whose place as a comic popular musician was somewhat similar to that of Laroche as an actor. On May 3, 1791, "Kasper der Vogelkràmer," by Hensler, was performed with his music, followed on June 8 by "Kasper der Fagottist, oder die Zauberzither," a vaudeville in three acts, the words adapted from "Lulu" by Joach. Permet. 16 The piece follows the plot of the original pretty closely, and the dialogue is as far as possible verbally transcribed; nevertheless the whole effect is that of a travesty, and the text of the "Zauberflöte" displays a decided superiority in comparison with it:—
Prince Armidoro, attended by Kaspar Bita, loses himself in the chase, and comes upon the fairy Perifirime, who despatches them to the magician Bosphoro, bestowing on the prince a guitar with the same virtues as the magic flute, and on Kaspar (through the little sprite Pizichi, who frequently reappears in time of need) a magic bassoon, which gives occasion to some very questionable pleasantry. The magic power of the ring, which enables the Prince to assume at will the form of an old man or of a youth, is very naively employed, the fancy of the audience being alone called in to represent the metamorphosis. The magician has a swaggering boon companion, Zumio, who guards the damsels and is in love with Palmire, playmate of the beautiful Sidi, afterwards in a similar relation with Kaspar. Having conciliated Bosphoro and Zumio by means of their magic instruments, and gained entrance into the castle, they win the love of the damsels, but not without exciting the mistrust and jealousy of the magician and his companion, who seek to possess themselves of the instruments. They are saved by Perifirime from a storm raised by the spirits subject to Bosphoro; an attempt to poison them fails through Pizichi's warning; finally they are all put to sleep at KASPAR DER FAGOTTIST. supper by the magic instruments, and Armidoro possesses himself of the talisman which makes the spirits subject to him. Perifirime appears, punishes Bosphoro, and carries the lovers back to her palace.
Apart from Kaspar's broad jokes, the opera is not wanting in effective situations, both dramatic and comic, and now and then the music takes a more ambitious flight. Thus, the opera opens with a grand hunting chorus, and the first act closes with the sprites tormenting the followers of the Prince, who are in search of him; the spinning song, the boat scene with the storm, and the sprites playing at ball with Zumio, all form good musical situations. The composer rises above the level of the librettist. In some of the songs and dances he has caught the popular tone very well, but has failed in the fresh humour which he elsewhere displays. In spite of all defects, or rather in great measure because of them, the opera, the music, and the mise en scène completely hit the popular taste, and 125 representations took place in the course of a very few years. As a consequence of this success there appeared in 1792 "Pizichi," or the continuation of "Kaspar der Fagottist," by Perinet and Wenzel Müller, which had an equally brilliant reception, and was dedicated by the author "To the illustrious public, as a token of gratitude." Schikaneder could not hope to rival such a success as this with an opera on the same subject. He resolved therefore to transform the piece as much as possible, while utilising what had already been done on it, and to turn the wicked magician into a noble philosopher who wins Tamino to be his disciple, guides him to higher wisdom and virtue, and rewards him with the hand of Pamina. The idea was capable also of being turned to account in the interests of Freemasonry. The change in the political views of the government under Leopold II. had been unfavourable to Freemasonry, which began to be regarded with much distrust as the organ of political and religious liberalism. A glorification of the order upon the stage, by a performance which would place its symbolical ceremonies in a favourable light and justify its moral tendency, would be sure to be well received as a liberal party demonstration compromising neither the order as a body nor DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. its individual members. The effect was heightened by the consciousness of a secret understanding among the initiated, while the uninitiated could not fail to suspect a deeper meaning behind the brilliant display of spectacular effects. 17 Whether Schikaneder, himself a Freemason, 18 was the author of this idea, or whether it was suggested by the order, we have no means of ascertaining; the execution of it was principally due to Joh. Georg Karl Ludw. Gieseke. He was born in Braunschweig, studied at the university of Halle, and joined Schikaneder's troupe to earn his living as an actor and a chorus-singer. He had tried his hand already as an author, having prepared the text for Wranitzky's "Oberon," and enriched Schikaneder's repertory with a number of pieces in part translated and in part original. Schikaneder, never averse to accepting foreign aid, 19 made use of Gieseke's labours as a groundwork, which he altered to suit his purpose, inserting, for instance, the characters of Papageno and Papagena, and giving himself out as the sole author of the piece. 20 We have no means of ascertaining how far this alteration in the plan of the opera affected the first part; points here and there may have been retouched, but no important corrections were made, or some very striking contradictions would certainly have been removed. With the first finale we find ourselves in an altogether new new world:—
The three boys lead Tamino into a thicket, where stands the temple of wisdom, knowledge, and nature, exhort him to be steadfast, enduring, and silent, and leave him alone. He learns from a priest that Sarastro reigns in the temple of wisdom, and that Pamina has been taken from THE LIBRETTO. her mother for certain good reasons, which must remain concealed from him until all shall be revealed—
After being encouraged by invisible voices, and assured that Pamina still lives, he joyfully seizes his magic flute, whose tones have power to draw all living beings to him. At Papageno's signal he hastens in search of him. Papageno enters with Pamina; they are surprised by Monostatos and his slaves; Papageno has recourse to his bells, which set all who hear them singing and dancing. Scarcely are they free from the intruders when Sarastro is heard returning from the chase in his chariot drawn by six lions, and accompanied by a solemn march and chorus. Pamina, kneeling, informs him that she seeks to escape the love advances of the Moor, and implores him to allow her to return to her mother; this Sarastro refuses, but pardons her with the aphorism:—
In the meantime Monostatos enters, having captured Tamino; as soon as the latter perceives Pamina, he rushes to her, and they embrace tenderly. The Moor, to his consternation, is rewarded by Sarastro with "seventy-seven strokes of the bastinado," and the strangers are conducted into the temple of expiation, that their heads may be covered and they may be purified.
Here we may still trace the original design, for the magic instruments, the wicked Moor, and the chariot drawn by lions, have little affinity with the temple of wisdom; but with the second act we set forth on altogether fresh ground:—
In the assembly of the eighteen (3x6) attendants dedicated to the great gods Isis and Osiris, 21 Sarastro announces that the virtuous Prince Tamino stands at the gate of the temple, seeking permission to gaze on the "great lights" of the sanctuary; questioned by the devotees, he assures them of the Prince's virtue, discretion, and benevolence; and, on the assembly giving their consent with a thrice-repeated blast of trumpets, he thanks them with emotion in the name of humanity. For, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. when Tamino, united with Pamina, shall become one of the devotees of wisdom, he will destroy the empire of the Queen of Night, 22 who by superstition and imposture seeks to undermine their power; and virtue shall triumph at the overthrow of vice. The Orator warns him of the severity of the probation that he must pass through—but he is a prince, "nay more, he is a man"; he is able to endure all, "and once devoted to Osiris and Isis, he will feel the joys of the gods sooner than we." Tamino and Papageno are to be led into the antechamber of the temple, and there the Orator, in virtue of his "holy office" as "dispenser of wisdom," shall acquaint them both with the duty of man and the power of the gods. A solemn appeal to Isis and Osiris to endow the pair with wisdom, and to strengthen and protect them in the hour of trial closes this scene, which bears the impress of Freemasonry throughout.
The tests begin, after Tamino has declared that, impelled by love, he is ready for any trial to acquire wisdom and gain Pamina, and Papageno has agreed to make the attempt to win the love of Papagena, a pretty little woman, just suited to him. The impression here intended to be conveyed is evidently that of the higher nature and strivings of man in Tamino and of the limited and purely sensual side of his nature in Papageno. The first trial is that of silence. They are scarcely left alone in the darkness when the three Jadies of the Queen of Night enter and strive to excite their terrors, which is easily accomplished as far as Papageno is concerned, the steadfast Tamino with difficulty restraining his cries. The ladies disappear upon the summons of the priest; the Orator praises Tamino, and again covers his head that he may continue his "pilgrimage." Monostatos finds Pamina asleep in the garden, and is on the point of kissing her, when the Queen of Night appears, gives Pamina a dagger, and commands her to avenge her wrongs on Sarastro, to whom Pamina's father had bequeathed the omnipotent talisman which she had hoped to possess; by Sarastro's death Pamina will gain her freedom, Tamino's life, and her mother's love. Monostatos, who has overheard, takes the dagger from Pamina, and threatens to betray her unless she will grant him her love; on her refusal, he tries to kill her, when Sarastro enters, liberates Pamina, and promises to wreak a noble vengeance on her mother by securing her daughter's happiness.
Tamino and Papageno are conducted into a hall, to remain there in THE LIBRETTO. silence until they hear a trumpet sound. Papageno cannot refrain from chattering to an old woman who brings him a glass of water and, to his horror, claims him as her lover; a fearful thunder-clap terrifies him, and he only recovers when the three boys bring him a richly furnished table, and, reiterating the warning to silence, restore the magic instruments. While they are eating, Pamina enters, and construes Tamino's silence into a proof of his want of love for her; not even her lamentations, however, can tempt him to speak. After this proof of steadfastness, he is conducted to the assembly, and informed by Sarastro that two paths of danger still remain to be trodden; Pamina is brought in to bid him farewell, and, to her despair, he still refuses to utter a word to her.
Papageno is informed by the Orator that he shall be excused the punishment for his loquacity, but that he is never to feel "the divine joys of the initiated." He declares himself quite content, and only wishes for a cup of wine and "ein Mädchen oder Weibchen"; the old woman appears, and is changed into the youthful Papagena, but only to vanish again the same instant.
Pamina, plunged in deep melancholy by Tamino's apparent aversion, is on the point of stabbing herself, but is restrained by the three boys, who promise to restore Tamino to her. Tamino is just then conducted to the gates of horror by two men in armour, with the injunction—
and left to tread the path of danger through fire and water, when Pamina rushes in, resolved to endure this trial in company with him. They sustain it happily to the sound of the magic flute, and are received with solemn rejoicings by the assembly in the temple. Papageno, in despair at the loss of his Papagena, whom he calls in vain to return, is about to hang himself, when the three boys appear, and remind him of his bells: at the sound of them Papagena returns, and his happiness is complete. In the meantime the Queen of Night, with her ladies, has gained admittance into the sanctuary by the help of Monostatos, and promises him her daughter's hand, if he aids her to victory; but a fearful storm drives them back, and Tamino and Pamina are united with priestly pomp by Sarastro in the circle of the temple votaries:—
It would be superfluous to criticise this libretto. The small interest of the plot, the contradictions and improbabilities in the characters and in the situations, are clear DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. to all; the dialogue is trivial, and the versified portions wretched doggerel, incapable of improvement by mere alteration. Nevertheless, a certain amount of stage dexterity is not to be denied to it. Schikaneder knew how to excite and sustain the interest of his audience by theatrical effects of combination and alteration. On this point the testimony of Goethe 23 is added to the lasting and wide-spread approval of the public; he declares that the "Zauberflöte" is "full of improbabilities and of jokes that it is not easy to appreciate or to enjoy; but it must be allowed that the author has thoroughly grasped the idea of contrast and of producing grand theatrical effects"; he undertook a translation of the piece, and was for some time seriously occupied with it. 24 Undeniable as it is that the opera owes to Mozart's music the charm that it exercises over young and old, cultivated and uncultivated, it must be acknowledged that the piece, 25 poor from a dramatic point of view, affords many and good opportunities for the production of musical effects. 26 Whether THE OVERTURE. we think much or little of the Masonic views which are here seen embodied in the mysteries of Isis, 27 Mozart at any rate was inspired by the zeal of a partisan in giving them utterance.
The dignity and grandeur with which the music reveals the symbolism of these mysteries certainly have their root in his intense devotion to the Masonic idea.
A clear indication of this devotion was given to the initiated in the overture, 28 but in a way that showed how well he distinguished Masonic symbolism from artistic impulse. It opens with a short adagio, whose solemn accents raise the expectation of an apparition of grave importance, The trumpets, which are added to the full choir of wind instruments, give a fulness and brilliancy to the chords which had not at that time been heard before. The allegro; begins with a regular fugue on the theme—[See Page Image] the first bars reminding us of dementi's sonata, played before the Emperor Joseph (Vol. II., p. 199):—
The reminiscence may have been conscious or unconscious.
But the first glance at the subject of an overture to J. H. Collo's cantata, "Lazarus Auferstehung" (Leipzig, 1779)—[See Page Image] shows a considerable similarity to the motif of the overture before us, 29 with which it cannot have had anything to do, since Mozart in all probability never knew the cantata.
After the regular fourth entry of the whole motif, a free fantasia begins with the separate parts of it and the counter motif, in the most varied shades of expression, with an ease and elegance which lets nothing appear of the technicalities of counterpoint, and displays an animation and liveliness of truly sparkling brilliancy. After the close of the movement on the dominant with a marvellous crescendo, there follow three chords three times repeated, with pauses between, given out by the wind instruments alone, with powerful effect of climax: 30 —[See Page Image]
They are the same that occur in the temple assembly as a sign that Tamino is accepted and appointed to undergo the itests, and were suggested by the knocking or other rhythmical sounds to which members were admitted to be initiated in the mysteries of the Masonic lodge. This does away with the frequent suggestion that the second and third chords are THE OVERTURE. intended to baboimd, 31 indeed André declares in the preface! to his edition that this solemn introduction, "uncomprehended of a profane public," to the mystic work which follows would be quite spoilt by the binding of these chords! Winter has accentuated the rhythm still more sharply in the "Labyrinth," the second part of the "Zauberflöte," the overture of which begins with the chords—[See Page Image] which are repeated several times. The chords suggest to the musical mind only the solemn warning sound calling attention to what is to follow, but to the initiated they recall the probation which must be undergone by those who engage in the search for a higher light. In the allegro which follows the first theme is taken up again, not in regular fugal form, but working out the different motifs with unusually elaborate contrapuntal treatment, for the most part in the stretto. The very form of thematic treatment gives an impression of force, but of force opposed by many obstacles and hard to overcome; this is strengthened by the use of the minor key and by the startling harmonic progressions which intensify the character of gloom, until it amounts to horror. Serenity returns only with the recurrence of the principal key, and gradually rises to a glorious radiance, troubled only towards the close by a few startling chords, and shining out again with all the purer beauty, till one seems to float in a very sea of light. 32 Let the contrapuntist admire in this inimitable masterpiece of German instrumental music the science and intellectual mastery which it displays; let the Freemason delight in the refinement with which his mystical ideas are clothed in a musical dress; the true triumph of genius consists in having created a work which, quite apart from DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. scholarship or hidden meaning, produces by its perfection an effect on the musical mind which is quite irresistible, animating it to more active endeavour, and lifting it to an atmosphere of purest serenity. 33
The belief that Mozart selected the severer musical forms for his overture in order to prefigure the serious mood in which he approached the opera, obtains confirmation from his employment of them again at the solemn moment of trial. The entrance of the men in armour, who fortify Tamino with the words quoted above, before he proceeds on his dangerous voyage through the elements, is announced by an imitative passage for the strings—[See Page Imge] following a few solemn introductory bars, and retained in the subsequent working-out as a figured accompaniment to the song of the two men. The Cantus firmus, however, which they sing in unison, in octave, supported by flutes, oboes, bassoons, and trombones, is the old chorale "Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein," 34 unaltered except in the division of the crotchets into quavers, where the words ACH GOTT VOM HIMMEL. require it, and in the closing line added by Mozart. 35 He learnt the melody no doubt from Kirnberger, who often made use of it as an example, and twice worked it into a Cantus firmus. 36 This may be gathered from the fact that Kirnberger as well as Mozart raised the second line by a third, and that a motif interwoven with it by Mozart is an evident reminiscence 37 of one employed by Kirnberger in the working out of the chorale "Es woll uns Gott genàdig sein":—[See Page Image]
The attraction which the melody had for him as a Cantus firmus for contrapuntal elaboration is proved by a sketch preserved in the Imperial Library at Vienna, which contains the beginning of another four-part elaboration of the theme, adhering still more closely to Kirnberger. According to Al. Fuchs, 38 this was the first of Mozart's drafts for the opera, to which it can only be said that in that case he made use of an earlier contrapuntal study. In the autograph score the movement is written continuously in connection with the whole finale, but the handwriting, at first neat, afterwards more and more hasty, shows clearly that it was copied from an earlier sketch. 39 Even those who are incapable of appreciating the contrapuntal art with which this movement is worked DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. out, 40 and who have no suspicion that they are listening to an old church melody, 41 will receive an impression of mystery and solemnity admirably expressive of the dramatic situation to which Mozart strove to give effect.
Mozart has throughout the opera given to the music which touched on the mysteries and the initiation into them a peculiarly solemn character, and this is consistently maintained through every shade of feeling, from mild gravity to inspired ecstasy. To this sphere belong the three boys, who, although emissaries of the Queen of Night, are represented in the course of the plot as the visible genü of the secret bond. In the quintet (6) the announcement of the guidance they offer to Tamino and Papageno is accompanied by a peculiar fexpression in the music, produced by a change in the harmonic and rhythmic construction 42 and in the instrumentation. The marchlike movement to which they lead Tamino to the gates of the sanctuary fulfils to admiration the expectation which has been raised. The sound-effects also are very uncommon. The clear boys' voices, supported by the stringed instruments without the double-bass, are sustained by the full, lightly touched chords of the trombones and muted trumpets and drums; and a long-sustained G for the flutes and clarinets sheds a mild radiance like a nimbus over the whole. The thrice-repeated warning "Sei standhaft, duldsam und verschwiegen," taken up by the firm tones of the wind instruments, raises the march whose solemn course it interrupts to a higher dignity and force; the few bars sung by Tamino throw into greater prominence the unusual character of the apparition, and the repetition of the boys' song strengthens the impression which has been given of the higher world to which we now have access. Such an introduction as this was essential to give the right tone and TAMINO. groundwork for the long recitative which follows, in which Tamino, prejudiced against Sarastro's wisdom and virtue, is gradually confounded and half-convinced by one of the priests of the temple. In liveliness of dramatic expression and successful rendering of the contrasts of animated conversation, combined with the seriousness proper to the surroundings and to the dignity of the priest, this recitative stands alone. The climax of the scene is reached in the consolatory assurance of the priest that all shall be made plain—[See Page Image] which is twice repeated by invisible male voices, accompanied by trumpet chords. A solemn expression, in which emotion and exaltation are united, betokens the announcement of an oracle. The requirements of musical climax, of dramatic effect, and of mystic symbolism are here again at one.
Meanwhile we are conducted to the temple portals; Tamino is consoled and reanimated by the intelligence that Pamina still lives, and, still far from having attained the philosophic calm of the votaries, he has no thought but for his love. As soon as he begins to express this purely personal and human emotion, the music becomes freer and lighter, and solemn seriousness gives place to cheerful geniality. The part taken at this juncture by the magic flute in assembling the listening animals round Tamino has no connection with the situation nor with the symbolism of the piece; it is a relic of the old fable. It was probably owing to Mozart's aversion to the flute (Vol. I., p. 385), as well as to the moderate proficiency of the tenor Schack, who played it himself, that the flute is brought so little forward as a solo instrument; another reason being that, as Tamino played it himself, it could only be inserted in the pauses of his songs. In this place it is a ballad-like cantilene to which the flute supplies the prelude and interlude; afterwards, during the visit to the dark cave, Mozart has left the flute part to the fancy of the flautist. During the fire and water ordeal, the flute has the melody of a slow march, and the peculiar accompaniment of low chords for the trombones, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. horns, trumpets and drums give it a curious, weirdlike character. 43
The three boys, or genü, in accordance with the numerical symbolism pervading the whole, appear three times. After acting as guides to Tamino, they appear to him and Papageno as they wait in silence within the gloomy cavern, and bring them for their consolation meat and drink, as well as the magic flute and bells. The musical characterisation is therefore lighter and more cheerful. Mozart, hopeless of making anything out of the nonsensical words, has kept to the delineation of an attractive ethereal apparition, and has created a short movement of marvellous grace and charm (17) endowed, as it were, with wings by the lovely violin passage which accompanies it.
The third appearance is again of a solemn character. The boys announce that soon "superstition shall disappear and wisdom shall triumph." The character of the melody and rhythm approaches that of the first movement, the instrumentation, as befits the situation, being less brilliant, although the tone-colouring of the combined clarinets, horns, and bassoons has a significance all its own. 44 The object here is to restrain Pamina from suicide and to offer her consolation; thus, while the boys are interwoven in the plot, they stand necessarily outside of the narrow circle of allegorical personages, and become, as it were, human; besides this, the exigences of the music require that they should be subordinate to Pamina. In the course of this scene, therefore, they lay aside their proper character to some extent, and become more pliant and less reserved. Mozart has rightly avoided too close an adherence to any external characterisation of the boys, and has adopted such means of expression as were best suited to each situation, not forgetting, however, to assert their individualities at every appropriate point. Pamina, on her side, is brought CHORUSES. into closer contact with the boys from the moment when she yields to their persuasions, and thus the ensemble with which the scene closes is endowed with a nobler, more exalted expression than that of the purely subjective emotion of Pamina's longing for her lost lover. A solemnity of a more exalted order belongs to those scenes in which Sarastro and the temple priests take part. This is at once manifest in the first finale, which has an altogether exoteric character. The march and chorus with which Sarastro is received, the closing chorus which celebrates his virtue and justice, combine force and dignity with a perfect radiance of beauty; they correspond to the choruses at the end of the opera when Tamino and Pamina, having withstood every ordeal, are welcomed within the temple and crowned with glory and wisdom. They are distinguished above the ordinary operatic choruses of the day as much by their dignity of expression as by their construction and mode of treatment; and the wealth of the instrumentation, more especially the introduction of the trumpets, gives a character of solemnity and magnificence then unknown in operatic music. Nevertheless they do not obtrude beyond the natural framework of the opera, and the limits of a work of art are never exceeded in the effort to express a higher meaning in the music. The analogy of the choruses with those in "König Thamos" has already been pointed out (Vol. II., p. 111). There they are treated very elaborately as independent pieces of music, while here the greater concentration of musical forces and the maturer, more elevated forms of beauty, display the mastery of a finished artist.
The esoteric character of the mysteries is brought to view in the second act. A solemn, slow march (10) introduces. the assembly of the priests in the most appropriate manner. It is said that in answer to the accusation of a friend that he had stolen this march from Gluck's "Alceste" (Act I., sc. 3), Mozart laughingly replied that that was impossible, as it still stood there. It was perhaps the best answer to such an impertinence. The similarity to Gluck's march, as well as to the last march in "Idomeneo" (25), consists entirely in the fitting expression of closely related moods.
But the special points in the conception are altogether new and original. A presageful mood, tinged with a gentle melancholy, rising to greater energy towards the close, transfuses this wonderful movement, the very tone-colouring of which is affecting. The soft muted tones of the basset-horn and bassoons are made clearer and purer by the addition of a flute, while the full chords of horns and trombones and the stringed instruments bind these elements into unity. The same tone-colouring, only several shades deeper (the flute being omitted, and of the strings only violas and violoncelli retained), is continued in the prayer (11) which follows, addressed to Isis and Osiris in a mysterious twilight, from which the simple impressive melody for the bass voice sounds forth with majestic and soothing effect. The repetition of the closing passage by the male chorus is of quite indescribable effect, when Sarastro's characteristic passage—[See Page Image] is given an octave higher. The earnest religious conception which underlies this prayer shows the spirit in which the symbols and rites of Freemasonry were approached by Mozart, who once thanked God that through Freemasonry he had learnt to look upon death as the gate of true happiness (Vol. II., p. 323).
The duet for the two priests (12)—a warning against feminine malice—does not come up to the same high standard, and only becomes at all imposing at the closing bars, "Tod und Verzweiflung war sein Lohn." The words could not be delivered with gravity without producing too comic an effect; Mozart has therefore treated them as a piece of friendly counsel, not as a priestly admonition, The second chorus of priests (19), which greets Tamino at the successful issue of his first trial, has, on the other hand, quite the dignity and solemnity of the first; although doubt and anxiety are for the present at an end, there is as yet none of the jubilant delight with which the victor is hailed at the final victory. A character of purity and elevation is expressed with a manly confidence differing from the SARASTRO—AIR—TERZET. intense sympathy of the first chorus, and the instrumentation is modified accordingly. Trombones and horns give an imposing tone, lightened by trumpets, flutes and oboes, instead of basset-horns, while the prevailing low position of the stringed instruments supplies force and gravity to the movement. The moderate length of this chorus, as of all the movements which have the same solemn and mystic tone, is a fresh proof of Mozart's sure insight. The powerful impression is made, the excited mood is appeased, without fatiguing the mind or dulling the charm of the unusual characterisation.
Sarastro never descends altogether from his high priestly eminence, but he shows a genial side to his character, and sometimes, as on his first appearance in the finale, a fatherly one. This more genial nature is expressed in the air (16),
"In diesen heiligen Hallen," which, as with so many other pieces from the "Zauberflöte," we have first to forget having so often heard maltreated before we can realise the original impression made by it. The simple instrumentation and the easy treatment of the cavatina shows at once that the priestly character is not meant to be maintained here: it is the paternal friend speaking words of comfort to the maiden who confides in him. 45 Mozart, convinced that Freemasonry is the key to true philanthropy and friendship, has not contented himself with merely setting the trivial words before him to music, but has given expression with all the warmth and intensity of his nature to the highest and noblest feelings of the human heart. The beautiful terzet (20) gives a peculiarly elevated calm to Sarastro's sympathy in a situation which is more dramatic and musical than almost any other in the opera. Pamina is led in to bid farewell to Tamino before he sets forth for his final ordeal. This in itself is a test of his fortitude, for he is constrained to oppose reserve to her excitement, and to endure her reproaches for his apparent want of tenderness in silence. Between them stands Sarastro, consoling and DIE ZAUBERFLöTE. exhorting them, like a higher power holding the fate of them both in his hand. 46
It was Mozart's task to blend into one these conflicting elements of passionate grief, of deep emotion restrained by an inflexible will, and of unyielding earnest exhortation. It was comparatively easy to accentuate the contrasts. Pamina and Sarastro are in absolute opposition, and Tamino, joining issue now with one, now with the other, forms a natural middle point. It is fortunate, from a musical point of view, that the arrangement of the parts falls in with these conditions, land that the natural course of the emotions depicted lends itself to a musical climax. The simplicity of the orchestral means here made use of by Mozart shows how much he was able to accomplish with very little, especially in the accompaniment passage, which renders so marvellously the agitation of the situation. 47 It may at first sight appear fcommonplace; but the unusually low position of the violas, violoncelli, and bassoons gives it a striking expression of power and of breathless urgency. 48
The part of Sarastro taxed all the resources of a deep bass voice, such as that for which Franz Gerl, the original supporter of the part, was celebrated. 49 It was in another way as original a conception as that of Osmin. The latter may be said to have had a predecessor in the buffo of the Italian opera, but Sarastro is the first of his kind, and can as little be compared to the regulation bass parts of Italian opera as Almaviva and Don Giovanni to the baritones. The dignity and calm of the philosopher to whom passion is unknown would have afforded little opportunity for musical characterisation had not Mozart's genuinely German nature gone down to the intellectual depths of the character. For TAMINO. Sarastro's good temper and amiability, which might so easily do violence to the idealism of the conception, show their German origin unaffected by the symbolism around them. Mozart sought and found in the powerful sonorous tones of the bass voice the musical organ for the expression of a nature passionless indeed, but open to all that is good and noble, and possessing the benevolence and truthfulness of a mind matured in the graver experiences of humanity.
The intrusion of Masonic mysteries into the plot has had a bad effect upon the treatment of the characters, Tamino especially being injured by it. At first he scarcely presents an heroic appearance—rather that of a susceptible and generous youth longing to meet danger and strife that the right and his love may prevail. The original course of the plot leads him into dangers which he has to overcome by strength and courage; here, for some incomprehensible reason, he is to be converted to a belief in Sarastro. The fact of his probation taking place for the most part in silence is of disadvantage to him, both as a tenor and a lover; the dark cave and the wandering through fire and water are not particularly terrifying to the spectators, and his praiseworthy endeavours after virtue are too abstract to be interesting. And yet Mozart has filled in this colourless outline with the warm tints of youthful enthusiasm for all that is noble in life and in love. The first air (4) strikes the tone which is to prevail throughout. We may trust the word of the poet, that the sight of a lovely woman is sufficient to inspire the heart with a love that is irresistible, and to rouse it to a new and blissful life; but the musician alone has the power of so realising the miracle to the mind of the hearer that he feels it working in himself; and such a musician is Mozart. After a twice-repeated sort of sigh from the orchestra, there streams forth from an overflowing heart:—[See Page Image]
More agitated feelings follow this first glad expression of love, and the development of strong emotion is expressed by the form of the musical representation which follows every DIE ZAUBERFLöTE. turn of thought, breaking off the threads and joining them again without any connected flow of melody. The whole piece is a well-constructed cantilene, formed from separate symmetrical phrases, and recurring at the close with the words, "und ewig ware sie dann mein," to the same melody which followed the first exclamation with "mein Herz mit neuer Regung füllt."
Stormy passion and fierce longing are the proper accompaniments to all youthful love, and the moderation with which Tamino keeps them in check gives at once the keynote to his character. His enthusiasm for an ideal, and his noble and intelligent mind, are opened to us in the fine recitative, and the calmer expression of love which follows completes the picture of character.
Benedict Schack, the original Tamino (b. 1758) was both musically and intellectually a cultivated man. He was a good flautist, and composed several operas for Schikaneder's company, which he joined as a vocalist in 1784. He had become very intimate with Mozart in Vienna. When the latter called for him, as he often did, to take a walk, he used, while Schack was dressing, to seat himself at his writing-table and compose little bits of the opera which lay there. Schack was equally famed for his flexible and metallically pure tenor voice and his artistic and refined execution, but he.was a very inferior actor. 50
As the piece proceeds the love intrigue takes a peculiar tone from its association with the mysteries and with the ordeals belonging to them. Many allusions are made to the dignity of marriage as the consummation of righteous love, and this is apparently the sense intended to be conveyed by the oft-quoted ludicrous doggerel:—