Die Zauberflote by Trazom Gnagflow
In honor of the UNLV Opera Theater’s performance of Die Zauberflote from March 19-21, I give you Mozart’s last opera in 30 seconds.
Die Zauberflote is an unholy mixture of Masonic ideology, German mythology and a touch of ambivalence. True, the characters spend much of the time in some sort of pain or anguish, but it’s Mozart who shows a streak of indifference for right versus wrong.
Take the Sun Priest, Sarastro. Seemingly, he is a stickler for reason and logic, as was the trend when Die Zauberflote was written. But he kidnaps Pamina, claiming that women are emotional wrecks and men are more reasonable. How rational is kidnapping? Or owning slaves, as Sarastro has several, including Moorish Monostato? Not very enlightened.
Papageno, the bird keeper sings of happiness without all the high-falutin’ vows of silence and cave trials. And he appears much happier for it after finally finding his soulmate, Papagena.
Die Zauberflote is filled with racist and sexist overtones, but I have a feeling Mozart was making a mockery of such “widsoms” of the day. If you have ever read his letters, you’d see he takes great joy in ridiculing high-minded idealism and lavishing in base humor and earthy delights.
So what is Mozart really trying to say? Does male-rational-light always conquer female-emotional-dark?
Tags: 30 seconds, animation, die zauberflote, flash, magic flute, mozart, opera
