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The Magic Flute
OPERA CLASSICS LIBRARY™SERIES
Edited by Burton D. Fisher Principal lecturer, Opera Journeys Lecture Series Opera Journeys Publishing™ / Miami, Florida Opera Classics Library Series Page 6
The Magic Flute Page 7
a prelude
The Magic Flute
Commentary and Analysis
Principal Characters in The Magic Flute
Brief Story Synopsis
Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples
Act I - Scene 1
Act I - Scene 2
Act I - Scene 3
Act II - Scene 1
Act II - Scene 2
Act II - Scene 3
Act II - Scene 4
Act II - Scene 5
Act II - Scene 6
Act II - Scene 7
Act II - Scene 8
Act II - Scene 9
Act II - Scene 10
Libretto with Music Highlight Examples
Act I - Scene 1
Act I - Scene 2
Act I - Scene 3
Act II - Scene 1
Act II - Scene 2
Act II - Scene 3
Act II - Scene 4
Act II - Scene 5
Act II - Scene 6
Act II - Scene 7
Act II - Scene 8
Act II - Scene 9
Act II - Scene 10
Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms
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a Prelude.
to OPERA CLASSICS LIBRARY's
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute possesses many levels of interpretation: it is a fairy tale in which moral forces struggle against evil; it is a political and social allegory of late eighteenthcentury Austrian politics; it is an archetypal story of man's elevation to consciousness andawareness; and it is an exposition of the ideals of Freemasonry. Mozart's sublime musicscore emphasizes the opera's underlying intellectual elements: those noble sentiments offreedom, truth, and human brotherhood that pervaded the minds of men of intelligence andgoodwill during the Enlightenment, reaching their full fruition in the French Revolution of1789.
OPERA CLASSICS LIBRARY explores the greatness of The Magic Flute. The Commentary and Analysis offers pertinent biographical information about Mozart's mind-set at the time of the opera's composition, the genesis of the opera, its premiere andperformance history, and insightful story and character analysis.
The text also contains a Brief Story Synopsis, Principal Characters in The Magic Flute, and Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples, the latter containing originalmusic transcriptions that are interspersed appropriately within the story's dramaticexposition. In addition, the text includes a Discography, Videography, and a Dictionaryof Opera and Musical Terms. The Libretto has been newly translated by the Opera Journeys staff with specific emphasis on retaining a literal translation, but also with the objective to provide a faithfultranslation in modern and contemporary English; in this way, the substance of the dramabecomes more intelligible. To enhance educational and study objectives, the Libretto alsocontains music highlight examples interspersed within the drama.
The opera art form is the sum of many artistic expressions: theatrical drama, music, scenery, poetry, dance, acting and gesture. In opera, it is the composer who is thedramatist, using the emotive power of his music to express intense, human conflicts.
Words evoke thought, but music provokes feelings. As such, opera's sublime fusion ofwords, music, and all the theatrical arts, provides powerful theater, an impact on one'ssensibilities that can reach into the very depths of the human soul.
Mozart's The Magic Flute is a work possessing serene spirituality; it remains a masterpiece of the lyric theater, and a tribute to the art form as well as to its ingeniouscomposer.
Burton D. FisherEditor OPERA CLASSICS LIBRARY Opera Classics Library Series Page 10
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The Magic Flute
A Singspiel Opera in German in two acts
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by:
Emanuel Schikaneder and Carl Ludwig Giesecke
Wiedener Theater, Vienna,
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Commentary and Analysis
T he Magic Flute is a supremely outstanding operatic work, whose underlying story provides various interpretative probabilities. Its basic story is essentially a fantastic fairy tale that is imbedded with mystery, sorcery and witchcraft. In that sense, its underlyingconflict, the Queen of the Night against Sarastro in a battle for the custody and educationof the Queen's daughter, Princess Pamina, can ultimately be viewed as a power strugglebetween the forces of good against the forces of evil.
The Magic Flute is also an allegory clothed in the ideals of Freemasonry: its story provides an idealistic portrayal of humanity's struggle for truth, wisdom, and nobility, andthe adversity and self-sacrifice inherent in achieving those goals. But in the 18th century,Freemasonry was a secret brotherhood that was in conflict with the uncompromisingAustrian Hapsburgs. As a political and social allegory, the story therefore represents aveiled assault on the autocratic rule of Empress Maria Theresa, who was known for herintense passion in suppressing Freemasonry: in that sense, Maria Theresa appearsallegorically as the Queen of the Night; Prince Tamino as the Emperor Josef II, a defenderof the secret order; and Pamina as the Austrian people who were caught in the conflictingpolitical struggle. A final interpretive possibility is that The Magic Flute is synonymouswith mythological tales in which classical archetypes, in conflict with mighty adversaries,are nurtured to maturity and elevated to consciousness.
That variety of interpretations and underlying meanings of The Magic Flute provide one reason for the opera's endurance for over two centuries. Nevertheless, viewing the whole aswell as the sum of its parts, The Magic Flute is a truly magical blend of noble social andpolitical ideas, mythology, mystery and magic, romance, and even comedy: all of theseelements are ingeniously underscored with Mozart's extraordinarily sublime music.
I n May 1791, Mozart's old friend from Salzburg, Emanuel Schikaneder (1748-1812), actor, singer, and somewhat jack-of-all theatrical trades, commissioned him to compose The Magic Flute for his suburban Viennese playhouse, the Theater auf der Wieden ("TheWiedener Theater"). Schikaneder was convinced that from a theatrical point of view, TheMagic Flute story was powerfully attractive: likewise, there was but one composer qualifiedto endow it musically, and that was his friend Mozart. The new opera was to be asingspiel, the traditional German song-play with spoken dialogue. Although it did indeedfollow those theatrical conventions, it evolved quite differently from the singspiel, DieEntführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), which Mozart hadrecently composed in 1782.
At the time, Mozart was in dire financial straits. Joseph II had died in March 1790, right after the premiere of Così fan tutte, and the new emperor, Leopold II, lacked theidealism, imaginative sympathy, and love of music of his predecessor. In effect, Mozart'sloss of royal patronage had placed him in a desperate financial situation; in particular, hismounting debts, and Constanze's new baby. The 40 year-old Schikaneder was likewise inthe midst of one of his many periods of financial embarrassment, and his profound beliefin the viability of The Magic Flute offered him a possibility for financial recovery.
At the same time, Mozart was yearning to write an opera in German, something he had not done since Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Nevertheless, he desperately needed alibrettist to inspire him. Lorenzo da Ponte, the venerable librettist for his recent successes, Opera Classics Library Series Page 14
The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte, was no longer available: daPonte, soul-mate of the illustrious Casanova, had been obliged to leave Austria because ofhis notorious and scandalous escapades with women.
But it was Schikaneder who became the spiritual force guiding The Magic Flute to fruition. Schikaneder's art and life seemed to be fused. He came from a childhood ofimmense poverty, became an itinerant fiddler, and then an entrepreneurial manager,eventually graduating to acting; he toured in his own company portraying the title roles inKing Lear, Macbeth, and Hamlet. But his theatrical legacy remains controversial: he hasvariously been regarded as an errant rogue as well as a wayward genius. Nevertheless, atheart he was the consummate showman, a man who possessed good theatrical instinctsand read his audience's pulse well: he always provided his audiences with what theywanted — musicals, rodeo — or any attraction that would result in paying customerseven though the ultimate result might descend into vulgar entertainment.
Schikaneder was convinced that the fairy-tale, The Magic Flute, would not only have great appeal to his audiences, but that it would indeed become a financial success: itcontained ancient mysteries and magical themes, all of which, were very much in thecurrent vogue. The Magic Flute's plot was also an ideal theatrical vehicle: it was filled witha magnificent conflict of good versus diabolical forces, the ultimate triumph of love, and atthe same time, it provided for burlesque characters in an exotic Oriental setting.
Notwithstanding, the fairy tale aspects of the story provided Schikaneder with theopportunity to produce his trademark lavish theatrical spectacle, such as elaborate stagemachinery, live animals, and ambitious lighting, effects which he cleverly interspersedwith vaudeville-style comedy and songs.
In the end, Schikaneder's The Magic Flute became an inspiration for Mozart: it was a work that was saturated with a magnificent combination of allegorical symbols, subtlesatire, love, romance, humor, and an opportunity for the display of theatrical wizardry.
The plot of The Magic Flute evolved from a pseudo-oriental genie-type of tale, Lulu, or The Magic Flute, originating from a collection published by Wieland in 1789 under the Schikaneder, Mozart, and a flamboyant actor, Carl Ludwig Giesecke, the latter, the pseudonym for Johann Metzler, a versatile lawyer and sometime Professor of Mineralogyand Chemistry at the University of Dublin, were the collaborating librettists: coincidentally,all were members of the same Viennese Freemason lodge, although it is reputed thatSchikaneder had been earlier expelled for his philandering.
Schikaneder's initial conception for his "magic" opera placed the simple fairy tale plot in an exotic Oriental setting. But as the story developed, modifications were made, and thevenue was transplanted from the Orient to ancient Egypt. It had been theorized that thechange of venue was made to avoid competing with another fairy tale opera that featuredmagical musical instruments in an Oriental setting: The Magic Zither, by Schikaneder'srival, Marinelli. However, contemporary musicologists have discarded that theory: it hasbeen determined that authors in those days cared little about the originality or freshness oftheir fairy tale operas; they cared only about spectacle. Further, it has been determinedthat Mozart saw The Magic Zither and considered it a worthless play; thus, the sharing ofa similar subject was inconsequential.
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Now, the writers had transplanted their original story's locale to ancient Egypt.
Freemasonry's roots evolved from ancient Egypt, and the librettists as well as the composerwere Freemasons, who, by design, specifically intended their story to include much Masonicritual and symbolism. The simple fairy tale that originally dealt with a power strugglebetween the forces of good and evil and the ultimate triumph of love, was ultimatelytransformed into a highly complex allegory glorifying the ideals of Freemasonry: inherentlyand implicitly, the story would become a satire and allegory that would addressFreemasonry's contemporary political struggles for survival within Austria.
Many musicologists have hypothesized that many of the events in the opera derive logically from Masonic laws and rituals, all of which, Mozart and Schikaneder were veryprofoundly familiar with: in particular, the solemn choral scenes involving Sarastro and thePriests, and the impressive fire and water ordeals, all of which, are patterned after Masonicrituals and symbolism. In the end, a simple good vs. evil fairy tale story evolved into amini-saga containing spiritual Masonic ideologies, which also incorporated political andallegorical satire, and even archetypal mythological significance.
The story contains many unique and dramatic character transformations: characters who are deemed evil during the first part of the story — Sarastro and the Priests —suddenly turn out to be virtuous and wise, and those who are initially deemed to bevirtuous — the Queen of the Night and the Three Ladies — become the embodiment ofwickedness and evil. Those character reversals provide the plot with intensely dramaticmoments of conflict and tension: the Queen of the Night becomes a potent counter-forceagainst Sarastro. Her wickedness and obsession for revenge compel her to command herdaughter Pamina to commit murder, and when that fails, she invades Sarastro's strongholdwith similar intensions.
In the opening scenes, the Queen of the Night and her Three Ladies are ostensibly noble and sympathetic characters: they are sincere, righteous, morally above reproach,benevolent, and compassionate. The Queen has an obviously legitimate grievance againstSarastro, the man who forcibly kidnapped her daughter, Pamina. The Queen's anguish anddespair are expressed in powerful words, and in profoundly dramatic music; Mozart usedhis traditional technique of the coloratura style to express these excessive passions. TheQueen tells Prince Tamino how her daughter trembled and cried for help while she wasbeing kidnapped: "Noch seh ich ihr Zittern mit bangem Erschüttern, ihr ängstliches Beben,ihr schüchternes Streben" ("As a scoundrel abducted her, I still see her shiver, tremble andquiver, with no strength to resist.") And as the Queen reveals the story, she condemnsSarastro as a powerful sorcerer and the incarnation of all evil.
The Three Ladies initially uphold the standards of morality by punishing Papageno for lying about killing the serpent. But they pardon him, remove the padlock from his lips,and then deliver the first of many pious exhortations that makes the opera story a seeminglyclassic fairy-tale morality play: "If only all liars would get such a padlock on their mouths,we would have love and friendship instead of hate and slander." Similarly, those sameThree Ladies furnish Tamino with a magic flute that possesses divine powers and willprotect and safeguard him in danger. They tell him, "You can reverse human suffering andconvert sadness to happiness, and assure that the loveless will always be loved." Opera Classics Library Series Page 16
The opening scenes of The Magic Flute are weighted with powerful expressions of male chauvinism and antifeminism: the struggle seems to be concerned with worthy male virtues opposed to less worthy female virtues.
The Queen has already persuaded Tamino that Sarastro possesses monstrous evil; thus, filled with sympathy and compassion for the Queen, Tamino easily becomes her instrumentfor revenge. But Tamino will shortly face contradictions in his beliefs. After he arrives at thetemples in Act I - Scene 3, the Elderly Priest listens patiently as Tamino attacks Sarastro'swickedness, but the Elderly Priest very quickly and convincingly persuades Tamino that he hasbeen misled by a woman. Now confused, Tamino learns that the "unhappy woman, oppressedby great sorrow," is not to be trusted, or for that matter, no woman is to be trusted.
The Elderly Priest follows with a tirade condemning women, by modern standards, deplorable statements of male chauvinism: "Women do little and talk too much." It is Sarastro,at the close of Act I, who condemns the Queen before Pamina: "Only a man should guidewomen's hearts, because without man, every woman would stray." And the Priests exhortPapageno in Act II - Scene 2: "Your first duty is to be aware of woman's treachery, becausemany men found themselves forsaken, led astray and ensnared by them"; all sentiments againstwomen that were prevalent during the 18th century Enlightenment.
Tamino, previously convinced of Sarastro's evil and guilt, has become enlightened with new attitudes toward women. In Act II - Scene 2, after the Queen's Three Ladies try to arouseboth Tamino and Papageno against Sarastro, Tamino repeats his new-found convictions whenhe warns Papageno not to listen to idle chatter spread by women and devised by hypocrites:"Women have repeated what bigots have invented!" Freemasonry reached its flowering during the eighteenth-century Enlightenment: both share many similar attitudes and ideologies toward women. The Enlightenment containedinferences and allusions of antifeminism, deeming woman's actions the antithesis of theirennobled reason, a capacity and gift that particularly belonged to males.
Mozart may have shared those Enlightenment attitudes, and even if he did not, he certainly delighted in portraying them in his operas. Così fan tutte's primary theme pontificates thatwomen cannot be trusted: in Don Giovanni, Masetto complains about his fickle fiance, Zerlina;in the glorious duet from Don Giovanni, "Là ci darem la mano," Zerlina's "should I or shouldn'tI" is saturated with female fickleness; and in The Marriage of Figaro, in Figaro's last-act aria,"Aprite un po' quell'occhi" ("Open your eyes a little"), he assures husbands emphatically thatall wives are unfaithful.
The antifeminist diatribes of The Magic Flute seem to be echoes of fundamental ideologies of the Enlightenment, and likewise, those of Freemasonry. Yet metaphorically, The MagicFlute's antifeminism could very well be more specific to just one woman: it could represent acondemnation against a power-hungry and politically motivated woman; the Queen of theNight may be the operatic representation of the abusive Empress Maria Theresa of Austria,perceived to be the incarnation of arch evil by the oppressed Freemasons.
Nevertheless, from a dramatic point of view, to justify Tamino's transformation and change of allegiance after the admonishment from the Elderly Priest, the authors had to stressthe basic unreliability of female credibility, an idea not too difficult during the Enlightenment.
As a result, in The Magic Flute story, the Queen's allegations cannot be trusted and she isdeemed a liar; as such, the story becomes endowed with an antifeminist or male chauvinist bias.
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The rituals and ceremonies portrayed in The Magic Flute contain an aura of real mystery: all are associated with ancient Egyptian religious traditions that ultimately had become fundamental to Freemasonry.
About 3000 years ago, the son of Ramses I, Seti, (or Sethos), elevated the god Osiris, his wife Isis, and their child Horus, to the loftiest niches in the Egyptian pantheon of gods.
At the end of Act II - Scene 1 of The Magic Flute, the fraternal order's solemn praise of Isisand Osiris is hauntingly depicted in a majestic and awe-inspiring chorus: "O, Isis undOsiris." With respect to the "magic flute" instrument itself, according to legends, Osiris invented a flute that possessed supernatural powers. It became an integral accompaniment tomysterious ceremonial rites, but also possessed the power to subjugate nations and disarmenemies.
In ancient Egypt, life on earth was a stage in the passage toward a glorious afterlife: death, the hereafter, and reincarnation pervaded their spiritual world; Isis and Osiris weredivine functionaries who accompanied deceased souls on their spiritual journey. As such,Isis and Osiris can be viewed as complementary or rhyming gods; symbols of regenerationand rebirth. In many respects, the ordeals that Pamina and Tamino face in their purificationritual represent an elevation of consciousness, but in a mythological interpretation, theyalso signify the idea of rebirth through union.
Three thousand years after Seti, during the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, legends associated with his towering monuments and achievements captivated the imagination of the European mind: they stimulated a proliferation of books about Egypt, all of which containedimaginative visions of exotic landscapes, the flowing Nile, palm trees, sandy wastes, majesticpyramids, and most of all, arcane religious rituals.
One of the most popular novels about Egypt was Sethos (1731), by Abbé Jean Terrasson, a French professor of philosophy, which contained an account of Seti's education and initiationinto the mysteries of ancient Egyptian religions. Although the work's authenticity becamequestioned and controversial, the author eventually became the accepted authority on ancientEgyptian religion, their initiation rites, as well as their underlying philosophies and ideologies.
There are numerous incidents and characters in The Magic Flute which have counterparts inTerrasson's novel: there is no doubt that the authors of the opera libretto had more than a casualfamiliarity with the novel, as well as with those esoteric rituals and exotic symbolisms ofFreemasonry, all of which were specifically derived from ancient Egyptian religious rites.
Freemasonry began its organized existence in the early eighteenth century in England, originally evolving from guilds of cathedral-building stonemasons from the Middle Ages; withthe decline of cathedral building, lodges began to bolster membership by accepting honorarymembers. Very soon thereafter, Freemasonry spread quickly throughout Europe, all the lodgespracticing their arcane religious rituals and symbolism largely from descriptions in Terrasson'spopular novel, Sethos. By the mid-eighteenth century, Freemasonry had become a potentspiritual force in Europe.
The secrecy of Freemasonry rituals was in part their protection against powerful antagonists.
From its inception, societies encountered considerable opposition from religious groups, inparticular, the Roman Catholic Church, as well as from the ruling European monarchies andautocracies: all those opponents maintained their conviction that the French Revolution wasfomented, at least in part, by Masonic lodges.
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However, Freemasonry is not a religious institution, although it contains many essential elements of religion such as the belief in the existence of a Supreme Being, and in theimmortality of the soul. Early Freemasons intended to propagate Enlightenment ideals:reason and wisdom, freedom, equality and justice, a strong advocacy of morality, charity, andobedience to the law of the land. Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton were Freemasons:neither they nor the ideas espoused in the new American Constitution endeared themselvesto European monarchies. Nevertheless, Freemasonry has survived for two centuries: aFreemasonry group prevalent in the United States and known for their charitable work is theAncient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine: the "Shriners." At The Magic Flute's premiere, its theatrical presentation of Masonic secret rites was recognized immediately, igniting antagonism and controversy from both Freemasons as well as from their usual opponents, the Church and the autocracies.
In Austria, the practice of Freemasonry was discouraged, persecuted, and even outlawed.
In 1742, the first Vienna lodge, "The Three Firing Glasses" was founded, and among itsmembers was Francis of Lorraine, the husband of the then Archduchess Maria Theresa. It isrumored that she precipitated a raid on the lodge which obliged her husband to escape by theback stairs, nevertheless, the members — her husband included — continued to meet insecret. Two more lodges were founded in Austria by the time of her death, and four moreduring the reign of her more liberal son, Emperor Joseph II. In 1784, Mozart joined the LodgeZur Wohltatigkeit, or the Lodge of Benevolence, eventually attaining the grade of master.
In addressing Masonic symbolism contained in The Magic Flute, and considering its suppression by Austrian authorities, the story's possible political associations endow itwith much historical interest and curiosity: the characters may represent real historicalpersonages disguised in their operatic alter egos.
The Queen of the Night has been compared to her royal counterpart, the Empress Maria Theresa. The Queen transforms from a good woman into a raging, avenging, and evil antagonist:likewise, the Empress Maria Theresa was initially deemed righteous and principled, butmany Austrians believed that she later betrayed them. In 1791, the year of The Magic Flute'spremiere, the Empress Maria Theresa had been dead for seven years, but her earlier actionsto suppress Freemasonry were not forgotten: she was condemned posthumously.
The Empress dutifully shared the prevalent conviction that the French and American Revolutions were inspired by Freemasons. In fact, an official Viennese government memorandumexpressed those sentiments and condemned the secret societies: "The defection of the Englishcolonies in America was the first operation of this secret ruling elite . . and there can be nodoubt that the overthrow of the French Monarchy is the work of such a secret society." TheQueen of the Night, who transforms into an angry, frustrated, and vindictive woman, is anoperatic characterization uncannily close to that of the controversial Austrian Empress.
In contrast, Maria Theresa's son, Joseph II, openly protected the Masonic orders when he came to the throne: he was a man of noble character and has been likened to Prince Tamino.
The austere Sarastro was supposedly modeled after the Masonic scientist, Izgnaz von Born, an expert on the myths of Greece and Egypt, although he had parted with the Masonsseveral years before The Magic Flute was written.
Pamina, in an allegorical sense, presumably represented Austria: she becomes enlightened by the wisdom of freemasonry, and rescues its people from the powerful, autocraticchurch.
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Why would Schikaneder and Mozart, both Freemasons, choose to expropriate the Masonic secrecy they had sworn to uphold? One hypothesis speculates that their public display of Masonic secrets emanated from their desires to enlighten the world about the benevolentnature of the order, and thus, they would combat the fierce hostility and opposition to their ideals.
Another hypothesis speculates that at the time, Freemasonry was in decline, and most Austrianlodges had disbanded in response to official hostility: the authors may have considered anyrevelation of Masonry's secret rites to be insignificant.
Nevertheless, The Magic Flute indeed publicly reveals Masonic secret rites and symbols, as well as some of its profound philosophical ideology. As a result, The Magic Flute's revelationsnaturally offended other members of the Brotherhood, eventually inflaming bitterness and animositythat would hound Mozart to the grave and beyond.
The premiere of The Magic Flute took place on September 30, 1791, at Schikaneder's Theater auf der Wieden. Mozart himself conducted from the clavier, and Schikaneder played the role of thebird-catcher, Papageno. Very soon thereafter, the opera became an unqualified success. A fewyears afterwards, a resident of the area described his pursuit of an inexpensive ticket to a performance:it was necessary to arrive at the theater by mid-afternoon, and wait for three hours while being"bathed in heat and sweat and impregnated by the garlicky fumes of the smoked meats beingconsumed." Of all of Mozart's operas, The Magic Flute became his greatest popular success.
Just hours before he died, Mozart's wife, Constanze, had great difficulty persuading a cleric to perform the rites. The hesitation was no doubt caused by Mozart's openly avowed Masonicaffinity, which he clearly engraved in The Magic Flute's text and music. In mid-November, twomonths after The Magic Flute's premiere, Mozart, depressed and ill, took to his bed and died.
The actual cause of Mozart's death remains a highly controversial subject in musical academia.
The popular dramatic play, "Amadeus," posed the theory that Mozart died from a poison givento him by the court composer, Antonio Salieri, a fiction that has been thoroughly discredited byhistorical fact.
Another theory hypothesizes that his publicizing of Masonic rituals in The Magic Flute aroused so much enmity from fellow Masons that they murdered him in revenge. Anotherspeculates that his rather harsh portrayal of the Queen of the Night, therefore, Maria Theresa,provoked a political assassination. And yet another, that his use of a Catholic Kyrie and aLutheran hymn, both clothed in the finale's Masonic ceremony, were blasphemous, and thusprovoked a death plot.
In 1936, Mathilde Ludendorff, wife of the Nazi general Erich Ludendorff, suggested that Mozart participated in a plot to rescue Marie-Antoinette from her captors, all allegedly Masons,which ultimately resulted in a fatal counterplot against him.
In recent years, these claims have all been proven to be absurd fantasies. Mozart's medical records have been examined by respected modern medical professionals, who have conclusivelydetermined that he died from a streptococcal infection, renal failure, bronchopneumonia, andcerebral hemorrhage: there has been no evidence of poison.
The quality of The Magic Flute's libretto continues to spark controversy. The great English musicologist, Ernest Newman, writing in the 1920s, noted quite contentiously that "The greater part of the text is miserable hack work that would be within the powersof anyone who could handle a pen." Before him, the Mozart scholar Professor Edward J.
Dent termed the libretto "one of the most absurd specimens of that form of literature inwhich absurdity is only too often a matter of course." Opera Classics Library Series Page 20
Contrarily, Goethe became so overwhelmed by The Magic Flute's folk elements and popular romanticism that he began to write a sequel in which his scenario had the Queenof the Night reappearing to rescue not Pamina, but Pamina's infant son: Sarastro abandonsthe order to journey across the earth as a nameless wanderer. Goethe's sequel remained afragment, partly because no composer dared to risk composing it and thus be compared toMozart. But Goethe's indulgence with The Magic Flute clearly indicates that the greatestintellectual of the century believed that The Magic Flute's story was far from absurd, andcertainly was imbedded with profound insights into universal humanity.
The fairytale elements of The Magic Flute make a profound statement about the moralistic themes of right vs. wrong, and good vs. evil: good represents enduring virtuesand qualities which benefit humanity; evil represents actions that are devoid of conscienceor principle whose ambitions cannot be suppressed.
It is a magnificent moment of dramatic tension and conflict in Act II - Scene 3 when the Queen of the Night, seething with vengeance, forces a dagger into Pamina's hand andcommands her to murder Sarastro. If Pamina should refuse, the Queen threatens to disownher: an unbearable curse. But Pamina stands, dagger in hand and without fear, courageouslydefending the principles of right, and refusing to commit murder.
One of The Magic Flute's underlying messages is that humanity can never abandon conscience: an inhumane, immoral, or evil act, cannot be justified in the name of obedienceto a parent, or a command from a higher authority. It is a powerful message that alludes touniversal conflicts involving man's duty to god, state, and humanity, and the inherenttension in which moral convictions must remain unyielding.
T he Magic Flute's story can be viewed in terms of mythological symbolism: it is an archetypal story representing man's progression from nature to culture, or from instinct to reason. The late Robert Donington, author of two impressive books whichheavily rely on the discoveries of the twentieth-century psychiatrist Carl Jung, providedan illuminating interpretation of opera characterizations and stories from the point of viewof conscious and unconscious mythological symbols: Opera & Its Symbols (1990), andearlier, (Wagner's) The Ring and its Symbols (1963).
Joseph Campbell's popular interpretations of mythology confirm that in all civilizations, myth reflects man's collective unconscious. In most myths, the hero embarks on aninitiation into manhood and maturity: he breaks from his blissful state with mother (nature,the physical source of being), and seeks the father (wisdom, culture, discipline, and reason).
In The Magic Flute, Tamino is the symbolic and archetypal young mythological hero: heembarks on an adventure that becomes his initiation into maturity; that classic synthesisof maternal love and paternal reason.
The hero traditionally encounters a fearsome female, often represented in the figure of the dragon: he is liberated when he slays the dragon — or Sphinx — and thus defeats thatpotentially destructive aspect of the female: he has destroyed the "Terrible Mother"image. In The Magic Flute, the serpent represents that fearsome female image to Tamino.
He then encounters Sarastro and the Priests of Isis, his masculine archetypes who representfather figures, and therefore consciousness and wisdom.
Sarastro integrates Tamino's experiences. Tamino and Pamina pass through the initiation ordeals: fire, the archetypal male symbol; water, the archetypal female symbol; and finally,the hero and heroine arrive at maturity. It is significant that Pamina also experiences that The Magic Flute Page 21
same maturing process. At first, her world encompasses only her mother, the Queen of theNight, but as she is elevated to consciousness and awareness, she seeks wisdom from thefather image.
The Queen of the Night represents that quintessential, ambivalent matriarch who appears to have been snatched right out of classical mythology and legend. Like allarchetypes, she is ambivalent. At first she is despairing, sympathetic, and grieving, butthen she transforms into a destructive, savage, vengeful, and evil woman. Pamina's motherrepresents the instinctive or intuitive aspects of nature, ambivalent elements which can beirrational: nature nurtures, but it also destroys; it can provide good as well as bad. Innature, reason is nonexistent, so Pamina, like Tamino, seek the father's wisdom and reason.
Sarastro, the archetypal benevolent and just father, is a name that is uncannily similar to the ancient Persian god Zoroaster: the god of eternal wisdom. Like all archetypalcharacters, Sarastro is ambivalent and therefore represents elements of both good and evil:he abducts Pamina because he deems that she is in need of enlightenment, and he subjectsPamina and Tamino to cruel and terrifying ordeals, because he is convinced that they servea greater good.
Papageno, a "child of nature," also transforms from his carefree state of irresponsibility and protection from the mother — his employer, the Queen — to culture. Papageno alsolearns wisdom and reason, and is rewarded with a feminine counterpart, Papagena, hisultimate fulfillment.
Pamina and Tamino embark on their perilous ordeals into the swirling fires, and then into the rushing water. Textually and musically, they complement each other like Isis andOsiris, the ancient Egyptian gods of rebirth and regeneration. If Tamino must face death,Pamina will undergo the trial with him. In fact, she will lead him, ensuring their safepassage with the magic flute. Tamino and Pamina emerge from the trial unscathed, passingthe supreme test of ritual purification by fire and water. With their transition andtransformation complete, they have arrived at a new level of understanding: an archetypaljourney from innocence to maturity, or, perhaps, in its counterpart, to a Masonic revelationof wisdom and enlightenment.
T he Magic Flute possesses Mozart's ingenious musical truthfulness: its noble music complements its story about man's spiritual growth, and his progress toward wisdom Mozart brilliantly used his music to truthfully portray character and circumstance: in The Magic Flute, he provided each character with a distinct and separate musical idiom; theQueen's music lies in the ornamental, high coloratura; Papageno's is almost folk-tunish;Tamino's, Italian and classical; and Pamina's, very German and romantic.
There is also a wonderful completeness, a marvelous lightness, a radiance, and a deceptive simplicity in the music: there is delicacy in Tamino's aria, "Dies Bildnis istbezaub schön" ("No one has seen such magical beauty as in this portrait"), when hebreathlessly addresses the portrait of Pamina and his passion for the beautiful girl becomesinflamed.
Sarastro's music is virtually unique in Mozart's canon: he seems to be communicating on a higher musical plane than ever before. George Bernard Shaw commented that Sarastro'smusic sounds so sacred and holy that it would seem to come from the mouth of God.
Perhaps Mozart was composing in a new "Masonic style": his low bass, Sarastro, and Opera Classics Library Series Page 22
indeed, the Brotherhood's ceremonial music, possess an unusual solemnity and depth;Mozart's musical language is clearly exalting Freemasonry's ideals and ideology.
In the glorious final scene, Mozart combines two distinct liturgical idioms: a Kyrie from the Catholic Mass that was popular in his times with a Lutheran chorale. Theunderlying music seems holy and divine, commensurate with the moving inscription inscribedon the pyramid; "Der, welcher wandert diese Strasse voll Beschwerden" ("He who pursuesthis path full of dangers, becomes purified by fire, water, air, and earth.") And it continues,"If he can overcome fear and death, he will rise to heaven. Thus purified, he then will beable to devote himself completely to Isis's mysteries." T he Magic Flute has become one of the most popular operas in the repertory for over two centuries: it is a magical story possessing many arcane and exciting secrets, and a story whose characters have become household names.
The excitement of The Magic Flute story is that it possesses profound hidden meanings: it is a fairy tale emphasizing the moral struggle between good and evil; it is an allegorydealing with Freemasonry and its contemporary political struggles; and it is a mythologicalstory possessing archetypal significance.
Mozart was a supreme musical dramatist who endowed The Magic Flute with his universally understood musical language: his music possesses a sublime power as it reachesdeeply into the human soul and conscience. Like the journey to wisdom, reason andenlightenment, for Pamina and Tamino, The Magic Flute provides a sublime "magical"adventure as it elevates its listener to a transcendent world through Mozart's incandescentmusic, music of unrivalled beauty.
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Principal Characters in The Magic Flute
Brief Story Synopsis
Story Narrative with Music Highlight Examples
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The Magic Flute Page 25
Principal Characters in The Magic Flute
Tamino, a Javanese prince Papageno, a birdcatcher, employed by the Queen of the Night The Queen of the Night Coloratura soprano Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night Sarastro, Priest of Isis and Osiris Elderly Priest (Sprecher, Orator, or Speaker) Bass, Tenor, and Spoken Monostatos, a Moor, overseer of the Temple Three Ladies, attendants of the Queen Old Woman (later Papagena) Three Young Boys (the Spirits) Priests of the Temple of Isis, attendants and slaves Ancient Egypt, about the time of Ramses I PLACE: Vicinity of the Temple of Isis and Osiris Brief Story Synopsis
In the first act of The Magic Flute, Prince Tamino and his new-found friend, the birdcatcher Papageno, embark on their quest to rescue Pamina, the beautiful daughter ofthe Queen of the Night. Pamina was abducted by Sarastro, the High Priest of Isis andOsiris, Sarastro; his purpose was to separate Pamina from the evil influence of her mother.
With the aid of a magic flute, Tamino rescues Pamina, and they fall in love.
In the second act, Tamino and Papageno enter a series of initiation trials into the secret order of Sarastro's temple: Tamino becomes inspired toward wisdom and enlightenment,and Papageno toward a wife for whom he yearns. Pamina misunderstands Tamino's duty-bound silence as rejection: Papageno, also duty-bound to silence, chatters incessantly andalmost loses his new-found love, Papagena.
With the aid of the magic flute, Tamino and Pamina succeed in the order's ordeals: all have matured and discovered love and wisdom.
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Story Narrative with Music Highlights
An Adagio, solemn and somber, announces the Dreimalige Akkord: the "thrice played chord" that has been interpreted as a musical simulation of the three traditional knocksmade by Freemasons on the door to their fraternal lodges. The mood is tranquil, yet itconveys a mysterious and supernatural ambience.
A brilliant Allegro in fugue form repeats, weaves, and develops successive themes in breathtaking musical counterpoint.
Act I - Scene 1: A forest area in the mountains.
Tamino, a prince, appears, bearing a bow without arrow. He was separated from his traveling companions, and is now being pursued by a serpent. He is in fear and fright, criesout vainly for help, and then falls to the ground unconscious.
"Zu Hülfe! Zu Hüfle!"
Three Ladies, attendants to the Queen of the Night, suddenly appear and slay the Opera Classics Library Series Page 28
"Stirb, Ungeheur! durch unsre Macht!"
The Three Ladies admire the handsome, unconscious youth: they fantasize that if they were permitted to love, they would dedicate themselves to him wholeheartedly. TheThree Ladies decide to tell the Queen about this dashing young man: he might possibly aidher in resolving her present dilemma.
A delightfully comic quarrel develops between the Three Ladies, each insisting that she remain behind to protect the unconscious young prince. Nevertheless, they bid farewellto the prince, and yearn to see him again.
Prince Tamino awakens, dazed and bewildered, and wonders whether he is alive or dead: his anxieties dissolve when he notices the dead serpent at his feet. In the distance, hehears the sounds of a Waldflötchen, a forest-piccolo, and he hides behind a tree.
The music heralds the arrival of Papageno, the Queen of the Night's roguish bird- catcher and would-be ladies' man; he is feather-clad, and on his back he bears a large cagefilled with birds. He brags boastfully about his occupation, but admits that he would muchrather be catching pretty girls in his net than birds. Papageno, simple and innocent, is acharming child of nature: carefree, perky, quick-witted, and good-humored.
"Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja"
Tamino emerges from hiding and converses with the quaint but outlandish looking stranger. At first, he seemingly insults him by claiming that he looks more like a bird thana human being. Papageno refutes him, claiming that he possesses a giant's strength; however,the sight of the dead serpent terrifies him. After he assures himself that the serpent isindeed dead, he boasts that he strangled the monster with his bare hands: graciously,Tamino thanks him for saving his life.
Tamino reveals that he is a prince, and Papageno explains that he catches birds for the mysterious "star-flaming" Queen and her Three Ladies, and that he is rewarded for his The Magic Flute Page 29
services daily with "wine, cake, and sweet figs." Tamino becomes excited, for he realizesthat he is in the realm of the powerful Queen of the Night about whom his father had oftenspoken.
The Three Ladies reappear. They overheard Papageno's boastful lie about having killed the serpent, and in punishment, withhold his usual reward: they give him a bottle ofwater instead of wine, a stone instead of cake, and no sweet figs. Instead, they punish himby fastening his mouth with a padlock; Papageno is unable to speak, and his conversationis reduced to "Hm, hm, hm." The Third Lady reveals to Tamino that she and her colleagues killed the serpent. Then she shows him a portrait of Pamina, the Queen of the Night's beautiful daughter. Sheexplains that if he finds her engaging, happiness, honor, and fame will await him. After theLadies depart, Tamino passionately rhapsodizes on the girl's beauty: his love for herintensifies and he vows to possess her.
"Dies Bildnis ist bezabernd schön"
As Tamino pledges eternal love to the beautiful girl in the portrait, a clap of thunder announces the arrival of the Queen of the Night. She has come to persuade Tamino tobecome her daughter's rescuer.
The sobbing Queen recreates the events of Pamina's abduction, a terrifying moment in which Pamina was cruelly kidnapped by the wicked Sarastro. She could only look on,because she was powerless to help her daughter. With resolution, the Queen suggests thatTamino rescue her daughter: if he succeeds, she will reward him with her daughter's handin marriage.
The Queen expresses her despair and anguish in a dramatic explosion of passion in an energetic coloratura aria.
"Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren"
At the sound of a thunderclap, the Queen departs. Tamino becomes deeply moved by the Queen's despair.
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Tamino agrees to undertake Pamina's rescue. To help him, the Three Ladies furnish him with a magic flute, explaining that when in danger, the sounds from the flute willprotect its bearer and ensure his safety. Papageno is assigned to accompany Tamino. TheThree Ladies remove the padlock from his lips, and sternly warn him about future lying:Papageno promises never to lie again.
The Three Ladies give Papageno a glockenspiel (chimes), whose magic power, like Tamino's flute, will protect him when in danger. After the Three Ladies depart, Tamino andPapageno set out on their mission, guided on their journey by Three Youths (The ThreeBoys or Three Spirits).
Act I - Scene 2: A room in Sarastro's palace.
Monostatos, a Moor serving Sarastro, has been assigned to guard Pamina: she is chained and unconscious, and Monostatos expresses his lust for her.
While the Moor remains entranced by the beautiful sleeping young maiden, he does not notice that Papageno has been watching him from a window. Papageno suddenlyenters the room; they eye each other in shock and terror, each believing that the other is thedevil. In fear, each flees in different directions.
After Papageno returns, Pamina awakens. Papageno becomes excited, realizing that he has found Pamina, the incarnation of the portrait, and therefore the Queen's daughter. ButPamina looks upon him with suspicion. Papageno ensures her trust by showing her theribbon he wears around his neck, a symbol given to him by the Three Ladies to identifyhim.
Pamina and Papageno conspire to escape and seek the help of Tamino. Just before they depart, Pamina learns that Papageno has neither wife nor sweetheart: shecompassionately consoles him, telling him about the virtues of love.
"Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen"
Act I - Scene 3: A grove. There are three temples, each bearing an inscription: Temple
of Wisdom, Temple of Reason, and Temple of Nature.
The Three Boys lead Tamino to the grove that overlooks Sarastro's three temples: before they leave, they caution him to be steadfast, persevering, and silent.
Tamino expresses his resolve, warning the wicked sorcerer — Sarastro — that he is determined to free Pamina. He begins his search by striding to the door of the Temple of The Magic Flute Page 31
Reason. He opens the door and hears the stern voice of a priest from inside warning himnot to enter. He then goes to the Temple of Wisdom, where the Elderly Priest advises himthat Sarastro can be found inside the temple. Tamino, persuaded by the Queen thatSarastro is a wicked and evil man, condemns his hypocritical association with wisdom.
The Elderly Priest interrogates Tamino and discovers that his conviction that Sarastro is evil emanates from what he has been told by a woman. The Elderly Priest admonisheshim about woman's treachery: "So a woman tricked you? Women do little and talk toomuch." Nevertheless, Tamino condemns Sarastro for what he believes was hisunconscionable act of kidnapping Pamina from her mother. At the same time, Taminobecomes fearful that the young girl he has fallen in love with has perhaps become asacrificial offering.
The Elderly Priest describes Sarastro's noble character to Tamino, explaining that he is a man of lofty ideals who governs their brotherhood with virtue and truth. Tamino sneers,reminding the Elderly Priest that abducting Pamina contradicts virtue. Apologetically, theElderly Priest reveals that his duty forbids him to speak further: he is bound by an oath ofsilence which can only be broken "As soon as the hand of friendship leads you into thesanctuary of the sacred brotherhood." After the Priest disappears inside the temple, Tamino becomes prey to his conflicting thoughts and emotions: he loves Pamina, although he has only seen her in her portrait, andhe has pity for the Queen who has lost her daughter. Suddenly, Tamino becomes possessedto learn the truth: he yearns for wisdom and knowledge; he wants to learn about Sarastroand the brotherhood. With intense poignancy, Tamino prays that he may learn the truth.
Solemn and mysterious voices are heard from inside the temple, assuring Tamino that Pamina lives, and that he will soon learn the truth. Overjoyed and thankful, Tamino beginsto play his flute. Suddenly, animals congregate to hear him, but when he stops, they runaway. Tamino becomes frustrated: of all living creatures it seems that only Pamina remainsunaffected by the magical tones of his flute. Tamino takes up his flute again, hoping thatthis time Pamina will heed his call: each time he plays, he only hears the distant echoesfrom his flute.
Then, seemingly answering his flute, Tamino hears Papageno's glockenspiel. Ecstatic that he has found his companion, he rushes off to greet him. However, the echoes fromPapageno's glockenspiel have misled him, and he takes the wrong direction. He has scarcelyleft, when Pamina and Papageno arrive anxiously in search of Tamino.
Now Papageno plays his glockenspiel and hears an answer from Tamino's flute.
Pamina and Papageno, delighted that they have discovered Tamino so near to them, set offto find him, but they are barred by Monostatos, who is sneering and gloating over his new-found captives: he calls for slaves to put Pamina and Papageno in chains.
Papageno has an inspired idea to overcome danger: he begins to play a tune on his glockenspiel. His music casts a spell on Monostatos and his slaves who become entranced,passive, and then erupt into song and dance.
Immensely relieved, Pamina and Papageno express their dream: it would be so wonderful if every one had a "magic" glockenspiel; not only would their enemies disappear, but allhumanity would live happily and in harmony.
Just as Pamina and Papageno are about to set out again in search of Tamino, a fanfare of drums and trumpets herald the arrival of Sarastro, the High Priest of Isis, who makes amajestic entrance followed by a host of attendants and followers. Papageno panics and Opera Classics Library Series Page 32
trembles with fear and fright: Pamina remains calm and advises Papageno that above all,they must be truthful to Sarastro.
Pamina kneels before Sarastro and confesses her guilt: "Lord, I am guilty, because I wished to flee from your power." But Pamina explains that the reason she fled was becausethe evil Monostatos lusted for her. With an aura of gentleness, dignity, wisdom, andbenevolence, Sarastro comforts Pamina with assurances that he knows well her goodnessand virtue. However, he advises her that she must remain with him for her own benefit: hewill not reunite her with her mother because the Queen of the Night is a haughty womanwho is possessed by evil. Gently and sentimentally, Pamina responds to Sarastro's mentionof her mother: "The mention of my mother sounds so sweet to me." Sarastro immediatelydismisses the subject of the Queen of the Night, and introduces Pamina to Tamino, whohad also been captured by Monostatos and his Slaves.
Tamino and Pamina behold each other for the first time, but as they embrace rapturously, Monostatos separates them. Monostatos kneels before Sarastro, prides his cleverness andvigilance, and seeks a reward for capturing Tamino and Pamina. Sarastro prescribes hisreward: Monostatos is to be whipped. Monostatos complains, but Sarastro grimly respondsthat his duty compelled him to exact the punishment. As Monostatos is led away, Sarastro'sfollowers praise their High Priest for his divine wisdom and judiciousness: he is a leaderwho rewards and punishes with impartiality.
Solemnly, Sarastro orders that Tamino and Papageno be veiled and begin their initiation rituals into the brotherhood: they are led to the temple to be purified by the secret rites ofthe order of Isis and Osiris.
Act II – Scene I: A palm grove in which all of the trees are silver, and their leaves are
golden
In an awe-inspiring procession embedded with almost supernatural solemnity, Sarastro arrives with the Priests to praise their gods, Isis and Osiris.
"O Isis und Osiris"
Sarastro, the Elderly Priest, and other Priests, have assembled to consider whether Tamino is a worthy candidate for initiation into their order's austere mysteries. Sarastroreveals that the gods have ordained Tamino's marriage to Pamina, and assures his followersthat the young prince possesses all of the order's attributes: he is virtuous, benevolent, andcan maintain his silence. The Priests signify their acceptance and approval by blowingtheir horns three times: the Dreimalige Akkord.
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Sarastro explains his reasons for abducting Pamina: "I kidnapped her from her haughty mother, who considers herself great. She hopes to beguile the populace through delusionand superstition, and to destroy the firm foundations of our temples." Sarastro emphasizesthat if Tamino succeeds and becomes an initiate, he shall help them defend their nobleideals and punish wickedness in the world.
The Elderly Priest expresses his doubts whether Tamino, a prince, possesses the endurance necessary to survive the severity of the initiation ordeals, but Sarastro reaffirmshis faith in Tamino. As the Dreimalige Akkord is sounded again, Tamino and Papageno areinstructed about their responsibilities. Sarastro solemnly invokes Isis and Osiris, and begsthe gods to grant wisdom, patience, strength, and guidance to the young initiates in theirimpending trials.
Act II - Scene 2: The courtyard of the Temple.
It is a dark night, the menacing atmosphere accentuated by the sound of distant thunderclaps. Tamino and Papageno, their heads veiled, are advised by the Priests thattheir first test of endurance is silence: when Tamino beholds Pamina, he must not speak toher, and likewise, when Papageno sees Papagena, the beautiful bride who awaits him, hemust also maintain silence. The Priests caution them that the most important rule of theirfraternity is to beware the wiles of women: he who surrenders and falls into a woman'spower, will wring his hands in vain.
Tamino and Papageno, their veils removed, are left alone in the darkness. Suddenly, torches herald the arrival of the Three Ladies, who become horrified when they discoverthat Tamino is being initiated into Sarastro's evil world, a betrayal of his vow to the Queen.
They warn him that "those who join the brotherhood are doomed for life!" The Three Ladies try to confound Tamino and Papageno, break their endurance, and tempt them to betray their oaths of silence. They succeed in cajoling Papageno, a naturalchatter-box, who, fearing the Queen, loses his resistance and speaks. Tamino rebukes himfor breaking his oath and admonishes him, explaining that the Queen is a woman, and assuch, is not to be trusted. Bursts of thunder announce the arrival of Priests who immediatelycondemn the Three Ladies. In fear, they depart.
The Elderly Priest congratulates Tamino for successfully passing his first trial and maintaining his silence. Tamino and Papageno, their heads covered again, are led off to facetheir next ordeal.
Act II - Scene 3: A garden. Pamina sleeps, and the moon shines on her face.
Monostatos reflects on the harsh punishment he has received from Sarastro. He gazes at the sleeping Pamina and becomes smitten by her beauty. He laments his frustration atnot being granted the pleasures of love.
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"Alles fühlt der Liebe Freuden"
Monostatos approaches the sleeping Pamina and is about to kiss her when he becomes scared by a sudden roll of thunder. The Queen of the Night has arrived. She ordersMonostatos away, and stands before Pamina.
The Queen imperiously explodes into a dramatic tirade about her obsession for revenge.
Then, she commands Pamina that it is her duty to avenge her mother; if not, she will bedisowned as her daughter.
The Queen, aware of her daughter's love for Tamino, advises her that she must persuade Tamino to escape from the evil brotherhood or he will be forever doomed. Pamina, confusedand distraught, asks her mother why she bears such animosity toward the brotherhood.
After all, her father was a member of the order, and he was a man of goodness, reason, andvirtue.
The Queen explains that her father bore the order's all-powerful zodiac, the seven- sided sun shield that she willfully surrendered to Sarastro, the High Priest of thebrotherhood, after her father's death. Without the zodiac, the Queen's power vanished.
The Queen reaffirms that Sarastro is her mortal enemy. She gives Pamina a dagger and orders her to kill Sarastro and retrieve the mighty zodiac. Pamina protests, and the Queenbecomes inflamed, erupting into a vigorous fury, and defiantly calling for the vengeance ofhell against Sarastro and the initiates.
"Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen"
After a roar of thunder, the Queen departs.
Pamina, alone, gazes in bewilderment at the dagger in her hand, and vows that she cannot and will not kill Sarastro. Monostatos approaches the anxious girl, seizes thedagger from her, and threatens that unless she yield to him, he will tell Sarastro that she andher mother are plotting to assassinate him. Pamina is terrified, but resolutely refuses toyield.
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Just as the Moor is about to physically assault her, Sarastro suddenly appears and steps between them. Monostatos declares that Pamina was plotting to kill him, andproudly announces that he has saved his master's life. But the omniscient Sarastro wellknows the Moor's wickedness and condemns him; Monastatos decides to seek revenge byjoining forces with the Queen.
Pamina begs Sarastro not to punish her mother, and he relieves her fears by advising her that revenge is contrary to the teachings of their order: enemies receive forgiveness.
Nevertheless, he assures her that ultimately the Queen's wickedness will be defeated byTamino's courage and fortitude: Pamina's happiness with Tamino will injure the Queen'spride, forcing her to return to her castle in shame and defeat.
"In diesen heilgen Hallen kennt man die Rache nicht"
Act II - Scene 4: A Hall in the Temple of Probation.
Tamino and Papageno await their next ordeal. Papageno, overcome with a craving thirst, cannot restrain himself from chattering with an old woman who bears a jug of water.
The woman scares him by announcing that they are to be lovers. Just as she is about toreveal her name, a menacing roar of thunder frightens her away: the thunder remindsPapageno that he has vowed silence, and he swears he will not speak another word.
The Three Youths appear, bearing Tamino's flute and Papageno's glockenspiel. They prepare a lavish table laden with food and drink. Suddenly Pamina appears. She is overjoyedto have found Tamino and greets him rapturously. But Tamino — and Papageno —maintain their vows and remain silent. Confused and frustrated, Pamina begs to know thereason for Tamino's silence: she concludes that Tamino no longer loves her. Tamino gazesat Pamina sorrowfully while she pours out her grief and hopelessness. In her despair, sheconsiders suicide.
"Ach, ich fuhl's es ist verschwunden"
Trumpets announce that Tamino and Papageno must proceed to the next phase of their initiation.
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Act II - Scene 5: Interior vaults of the pyramid.
Tamino, veiled again, appears before Sarastro and the Priests. Pamina is brought before them and is told to be patient: ultimately a happy outcome will befall both her and herlover. At the urging of Sarastro, the lovers bid each other farewell.
Act II - Scene 6: A small garden.
After all depart, Papageno arrives in search of Tamino, his thirst is so profound that he is prepared to renounce all hope of bliss for but one glass of wine. A large jug of winemagically appears from the ground. Papageno drinks the wine, recovers from his thirst,takes his glockenspiel, and accompanies himself in a song expressing his yearning for awife.
"Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen wünscht Papageno sich"
The old woman reappears and threatens Papageno with a permanent diet of bread and water unless he swears eternal fidelity to her. After Papageno agrees, the old womanbecomes transformed into Papagena, dressed identically in feathered clothes, and announcingthat she is to become his coveted bride.
Just as he is about to embrace her, the Elderly Priest intervenes and gruffly sends Papagena away, telling her that Papageno is not yet worthy of her. Defying the ElderlyPriest, Papageno tries to follow her, but suddenly the earth opens and Papageno is swallowedup.
The Three Youths appear and pray that the powers of light will overcome darkness.
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Just as they lament Pamina's suffering, she arrives, disconcerted and holding the dagger in her hand. In her distress and despair at having been spurned by Tamino, shepoignantly addresses the dagger: it will be her bridegroom; a means to end her sorrow. Asshe raises the dagger to kill herself, the Three Youths intervene and explain that suicide ispunishable by god. They reassure her that Tamino indeed loves her. Pamina rejoices andasks to be brought to Tamino.
Act II - Scene 7: Rugged cliffs at twilight. A huge iron gate stands between two mountains;
on one side, a rushing and roaring stream, and on the other, a brightly glowing fire.
Men announce that those who are purified by fire, water, and air, shall be enlightened and devote themselves to the noble mysteries of Isis.
Pamina appears, and in a happy reunion with Tamino, the lovers embrace ardently.
Pamina is deemed worthy to be ordained, and together, they are to begin purification andface the ordeal of fire and water. Pamina explains to Tamino that the magic flute willprotect them in danger; her father fashioned it from a thousand-year-old oak and endowedit with magical powers.
Tamino plays the flute while they pass through the fiery cave. They emerge unscathed.
They proceed to the cave of rushing water; Tamino again plays his flute, and they emerge unharmed. The lovers thank the gods, and a chorus of Priests hail them as newinitiates to be consecrated to Isis.
Act II - Scene 8: A garden.
Papageno, now rescued after have fallen into the earth, searches for Papagena: in his sorrow at his loss, he decides to hang himself. Just as he ties a rope to a tree, the ThreeYouths arrive, scold and chide him for his rashness, and suggest that he play his magicglockenspiel to help find Papagena. After he plays the glockenspiel, Papagena appears: thecouple explode in their joyous reunion, realizing that their destiny is to share a happyfuture together.
Act II - Scene 9: Rugged cliffs outside Sarastro's palace.
Monostatos, the Queen of the Night, and the Three Ladies, bearing torches in the dark night, move stealthily toward Sarastro's temple. They are conspiring to break into theTemple and destroy Sarastro. Monostatos confirms that the Queen has promised Paminaas a reward for his help. Suddenly a storm erupts, with thunder, lightning, and the roar ofgushing water. The earth opens, and all the villainous conspirators disappear.
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Act II - Scene 10: The Temple of the Sun.
Sarastro presides over a solemn assembly of Priests. Tamino and Pamina, both dressed in priestly robes, appear before them.
Majestically, Sarastro announces that Tamino and Pamina have succeeded in their trials and have become purified; they are now worthy to be consecrated to the worship ofIsis and Osiris. The celebrants raise their voices in homage: "The strong have conquered,and as their reward, they are crowned with eternal beauty and wisdom." The powers of darkness and evil have been destroyed by the noble ideals of reason and The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 39
Act I - Scene 1
Act I - Scene 2
Act I - Scene 3
Act II - Scene 1
Act II - Scene 2
Act II - Scene 3
Act II - Scene 4
Act II - Scene 5
Act II - Scene 6
Act II - Scene 7
Act II - Scene 8
Act II - Scene 9
Act II - Scene 10
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The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 41
Act I - Scene 1
A rocky, rugged cliff setting. Tamino, dressed in hunting clothes, appears with a bow but no arrows. He is being pursued by a serpent. Zu Hülfe! Zu Hülfe! Sonst bin ich verloren, Help! Help! Otherwise I'm lost, and I'll der listigen Schlange zum Opfer erkoren.
become a victim of the cunning serpent.
Barmherzige Götter! Schon nahet sie sich! Merciful Gods! It's already getting closer.
Ach, rettet mich! Ach, schützet mich! Oh, save me! Oh, protect me! Exhausted, Tamino falls down and becomes unconscious. Three veiled ladies appear, carrying silver darts. DREI DAMEN:
THE LADIES:
Stirb, Ungeheur! Durch unsre Macht! Die, you monster, our strength will kill you! (The Three Ladies kill the serpent.) Triumph! Triumph! Sie ist vollbracht, We did it! We did it! We accomplished a heroic die Heldentat! Er ist befreit durch unsres deed! He has been saved by our courage.
Armes Tapferkeit.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY: (looking at Tamino)
Ein holder Jüngling, sanft und schön! What a noble, gentle, handsome young man! ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
So schön, als ich noch nie gesehn! I've never seen such a handsome man! Opera Classics Library Series Page 42
DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
Ja, ja, gewiß zum Malen schön! He's handsome enough to be painted! DREI DAMEN:
Würd' ich mein Herz der Liebe weihn, If I would give my heart away, so müßt es dieser Jüngling sein.
it would be to this young man.
Laßt uns zu uns'rer Fürstin eilen, Let's hurry to our Queen and tell her about ihr diese Nachricht zu erteilen.
Vielleicht daß dieser schöne Mann Maybe this handsome man can calm her die vor'ge Ruh' ihr geben kann.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
So geht und sagt es ihr, So go and tell her. In the meantime I'm ich bleib indessen hier.
staying here.
ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
Nein, nein, geht ihr nur hin, ich wache hier für ihn! I'll watch over him! DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
Nein, nein, das kann nicht sein! No, no, that can't be! I'll protect him Ich schütze ihn allein.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Ich bleib' indessen hier! I'll stay here in the meantime! ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
Ich wache hier für ihn! I'll watch over him! DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
Ich schütze ihn allein! I'll protect him! ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
I'll protect him! DREI DAMEN:
THREE LADIES: (each to themselves)
Ich sollte fort? Ei, ei, wie fein! I should leave? Ha, ha, great! Sie wären gern bei ihm allein.
She would love to be alone with him.
Nein, nein! Das kann nicht sein! No, no! That can't be! The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 43
(each by themselves and then together) Was wollte ich darum nicht geben, What I wouldn't give if I could live with könnt' ich mit diesem Jüngling leben! Hätt' ich ihn doch so ganz allein! If I only I had him all to myself! Doch keine geht; es kann nicht sein, But that can't be, they're not leaving.
am besten ist es nun, ich geh'.
Therefore, it's best that I leave now.
(to Tamino) Du Jüngling, schön und liebevoll, You handsome and lovable young man, du trauter Jüngling, lebe wohl, farewell till I see you again.
bis ich dich wiederseh'.
The Three Ladies leave. Tamino awakens and looks around him fearfully. Wo bin ich? Ist's Fantasie, daß ich noch Where am I? Am I really still alive or did a lebe? Oder hat eine höhere Macht mich higher power save me? (He gets up and looks around) Wie? Die bösartige Schlange ist tot? What? That evil serpent is dead? (The sound of a flute is heard in the distance.) Was hör ich? Ha, eine männliche Figur What do I hear? Oh, I see a man nähert sich.
Tamino hides behind a tree. Papageno arrives, dressed in feathers. He carries a large bird cage on his back that is filled with various birds. In his hands he holds a small flute. Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja, I'm the bird-catcher, who's always happy! stets lustig, heisa, hopsasa! Ich Vogelfänger bin bekannt I'm known all over by young and old.
bei Alt und Jung im ganzen Land.
I know how to whistle every sound, Weiß mit dem Locken umzugehn and I know all the birdcalls.
und mich auf's Pfeifen zu verstehn.
That's why I can be merry and happy, Drum kann ich froh und lustig sein, because all the birds are mine.
denn alle Vögel sind ja mein.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 44
Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja, I'm the bird-catcher, who's always happy! stets lustig, heisa, hopsassa! Ich Vogelfänger bin bekannt I'm known all over by young and old.
bei Alt und Jung im ganzen Land.
Ein Netz für Mädchen möchte ich, I'd like to have a net to catch girls by the ich fing sie dutzendweis für mich.
Dann sperrte ich sie bei mir ein, I would lock them safely at home so that und alle Mädchen wären mein.
they'd all be mine.
Wenn alle Mädchen wären mein, When they'd be mine, I'd give them sugar, so tauschte ich brav Zucker ein.
but I'd give sugar right away to the one I Die, welche mir am liebsten wär', der gäb' ich gleich den Zucker her.
Und küßte sie mich zärtlich dann, Then if she would kiss me tenderly, it wär' sie mein Weib und ich ihr Mann.
would be as if we were husband and wife.
Sie schlief' an meiner Seite ein, She would sleep beside me, and I would ich wiegte wie ein Kind sie ein.
rock her like a baby.
As Papageno blows his flute and begins to leave, Tamino emerges from behind the tree where he was hiding. Sag mir, du lustiger Freund, wer du seist? Tell me who you are, jolly friend? PAPAGENO: (to himself)
Wer ich bin? Dumme Frage! Who I am? What a stupid question!(aloud) Ein Mensch, wie du. Und wenn ich dich I'm a man just like you. And what if I asked nun fragte, wer du bist? So würde ich dir antworten, daß ich aus I would answer you by telling you that I fürstlichem Geblüte bin.
come from royal ancestry.
Das ist mir zu hoch. Mußt dich deutlicher That's too complicated. You have to erklären, wenn ich dich verstehen soll! explain that better in order for me tounderstand you.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 45
Mein Vater ist ein Fürst, der über viele My father is a king who rules many lands Länder und Menschen herrscht; darum and peoples. That's why I'm called a nennt man mich Prinz.
Länder? Menschen? Prinz? Sagst du mir Many lands? People? Prince? Are you zuvor: gibt's außer diesen Bergen auch telling me that besides these mountains, noch Länder und Menschen? other lands and peoples exist? Da ließe sich ja eine Spekulation mit My birds can figure that out.
meinen Vögeln machen.
Aber wie nennt man eigentlich diese Tell me, what is this area called, and who Gegend? Und wer beherrscht sie? Das kann ich dir ebensowenig I can't tell you that, just as I don't know beantworten, als ich weiß, wie ich auf die how I came into this world.
Welt gekommen bin.
Wie? Du wüßtest nicht, wo du geboren, What? You don't know where you were oder wer deine Eltern waren? born and who your parents were? Kein Wort! Ich weiß nur so viel, daß nicht Quiet! I only know this much: that my weit von hier meine Strohhütte steht, die straw cottage, which isn't far from here, mich vor Regen und Kälte schützt.
protects me from the rain and cold.
Aber wie lebst du? But how do you live? Na, von Essen und Trinken, wie alle Just like everybody, from food and drink.
Wodurch erhältst du das? How do you get that? Opera Classics Library Series Page 46
Durch Tausch. Ich fange für die By trading. I catch various birds for the sternflammende Königin und ihre Jungfrauen star-flaming Queen and her young ladies, verschiedene Vögel; dafür erhalte ich täglich and in exchange, I get my daily food and Speise und Trank von ihr.
Sternflammende Königin? Wenn es etwa Star-flaming Queen? If only she would be gar die mächtige Herrscherin der Nacht the almighty ruler of the night! Tell me, wäre! Sag mir, guter Freund, warst du good friend, were you ever fortunate schon so glücklich, diese Göttin der Nacht enough to see this goddess of the night? Sehen? Die sternflammende Königin To see her? To see the star-flaming Queen? sehen? Welcher Sterbliche könnte sich What earthly mortal could boast to have rühmen, die je gesehn zu haben? TAMINO: (to himself)
Nun ist's klar; es ist eben diese nächtliche Now I understand. It is this Queen of the Königin, von der mein Vater mir so oft Night that my father so often spoke to me erzählte. Unfehlbar ist auch dieser Mann about. Undoubtedly, this man also is no kein gewöhnlicher Mensch.
ordinary person.
PAPAGENO: (to himself)
Wie er mich so starr anblickt! How he stares at me! Bald fang' ich an, mich vor ihm zu fürchten.
Soon I'll start to become afraid of him.
(aloud) Warum siehst du so verdächtig und Why do you look at me so slyly and schelmisch nach mir? Weil. weil ich zweifle ob du ein Mensch Because.because I doubt whether you're a real human being.
What did you say? Nach deinen Federn, die dich bedecken, According to all those feathers covering halt' ich dich.
you, I think you're.
(Tamino approaches Papageno) The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 47
Doch für keinen Vogel? Du, bleib zurück, Not a bird, I hope? I'm telling you, stay sag' ich, und traue mir nicht; denn ich habe back, and don't trust me, because I have gigantic strength.
(to himself) Wenn er sich nicht bald von mir schrecken If I don't scare him off soon, then I'll lässt, so lauf ich davon.
Gigantic strength?(He looks at the serpent.) Also warst du wohl gar mein Erretter, der So it was you who rescued me by fighting diese giftige Schlange bekämpfte? this poisonous serpent? Serpent?(He looks around and trembles) Ah! Ah! Ist sie tot oder lebendig? Is it dead or alive? Aber um alles in der Welt, Freund, wie hast My friend, how on earth did you conquer du dieses Ungeheuer bekämpft? Du bist this monster? You have no weapons! ohne Waffen.
Brauch keine! Bei mir ist ein starker Druck I don't need any! My strong hands are mit der Hand mehr als Waffen.
better than weapons.
Du hast sie also erdrosselt? So you strangled it? Strangled! (to himself) Bin in meinem Leben nicht so stark In my life, I've never been as strong as I gewesen, als heute.
The Three Ladies appear, wearing veils. The First Lady carries an urn with water, the second a stone, and the third a padlock and a medallion containing portrait. DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
(threatening and shouting in unison)
Aha, das geht mich an! Oh, they're calling me! (to Tamino ) Sieh dich um, freund.
Look around, friend.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 48
Wer sind diese Damen? Who are these ladies? Wer sie eigentlich sind, weiß ich selbst nicht.
I really don't know who they are.
Ich weiß nur so viel, daß sie mir täglich meine I only know that everyday they take my Vögel abnehmen, und mir dafür Wein, birds from me, and in exchange, give me Zuckerbrot und süße Feigen bringen.
wine, cake, and sweet figs.
Sie sind vermutlich sehr schön? Do you think they're very beautiful? Ich denke nicht! Denn wann die schön I do not think so, because if they were wären, dann würden die noch nicht ihre beautiful they wouldn't cover their faces.
Gesichter bedecken.
DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES: (threatening)
PAPAGENO: (aside to Tamino)
Sei still! Sie drohen mir schon.
Be quiet! They're threatening me already.
(aloud) Ah, du fragst, ob sie schön sind, da kann Oh, you asked if they're beautiful. I can ich dir nichts anderes darauf antworten, als only tell you that in my whole life, I've daß ich in meinem Leben nichts never seen such beauties.
reizenderes gesehen habe.
(to himself) Jetzt werd ich gleich wieder gut sein.
Now I'll behave myself again.
DREI DAMEN:
Was hab ich bloß heute verbrochen, daß die What in the world did I do wrong today to so aufgebracht wider mich sind? Hier, meine Schönen, übergeb ich euch Here, lovely ladies, here are my birds.
meine Vögel.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
(Gives Papageno the urn with water)
Dafür schickt dir unsere Fürstin heute zum In return, today our princess sends you ersten Mal statt Wein reines, helles Wasser.
clear water instead of wine.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 49
ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
Und mir befahl sie, daß ich, statt And I was ordered to give you this stone Zuckerbrot, diesen Stein dir überbringen instead of cake. I hope you'll enjoy it.
soll. Ich wünsche, daß er dir wohlbekommen möge.
Was? Steine soll ich fressen? What? I have to eat stones now? DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
Und statt der süßen Feigen, hab' ich die And I have the honor, instead of sweet figs, Ehre, dir dies goldene Schloß vor den to secure this golden padlock on your Mund zu schlagen.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Du willst vermutlich wissen, warum die You undoubtedly want to know why the Fürstin dich heute so wunderbar bestraft? Queen is punishing you so wonderfully today? (Papageno agrees by nodding his head) ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
Damit du künftig nie mehr Fremde belügst.
So that in the future you don't tell anymore lies to strangers.
DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
Und daß du nie dich der Heldentaten And that you'll never again take credit for rühmst, die andre vollzogen haben.
heroic deeds performed by others.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Sag an! Hast du diese Schlange bekämpft? Tell me! Did you fight this serpent? (Papageno shakes no with his head) ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
Well who did it then? (Papageno indicates that he doesn't know) THIRD LADY:
THIRD LADY: (to Tamino)
Wir waren's, Jüngling, die dich befreiten.
Young man, we were the ones who rescued Hier, dies Gemälde schickt dir die große you. Here, the great Queen sends you this Fürstin; es ist das Bildnis ihrer Tochter.
picture. It is a portrait of her daughter. She "Findest du," sagte sie, "daß diese Züge dir said that if you like what you see, nicht gleichgültig sind, dann ist Glück, Ehr' happiness, honor, and fame will be yours! und Ruhm dein Los! Auf Wiedersehen.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 50
ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
Adieu, Monsieur Papageno! Goodbye, Mr. Papageno! The Second and Third Ladies take the birdcage and leave. ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Fein nicht zu hastig getrunken! He didn't drink that so quickly!(The First Lady leaves laughing) Papageno hastens away in dumb astonishment. Tamino becomes captivated by the portrait, and his love becomes intensified. Dies Bildnis ist bezanbernd schön, No one has ever seen such magical beauty wie noch kein Auge je gesehn! as in this portrait! Ich fühl es, wie dies Götterbild As I look at this divine picture, my heart mein Herz mit neuer Regung füllt.
beats excitedly.
Dies Etwas kann ich zwar nicht nennen, I don't know what to call this feeling, doch fühl' ich's hier wie Feuer brennen.
but its like a fire burning inside of me.
Soll die Empfindung Liebe sein? Is this what love feels like? Ja, ja die Liebe ist's allein.
Yes, yes, this can only be love.
O wenn ich sie nur finden könnte! Oh, if I could only find her! O wenn sie doch schon vor mir stände! Oh, if she were already here! Ich würde, würde, warm und rein.
Then I would be faithful and true.
Ich würde sie voll Entzücken I would charm her, and hold her against my an diesen heißen Busen drücken, warm heart, and she would be mine und ewig wäre sie dann mein! As it grows dark, there is a short, loud clap of thunder. Tamino wants to leave, but the Three Ladies reappear. Ihr Götter! Was ist das? Good God! What is that? The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 51
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Rüste dich mit Mut und Standhaftigkeit, Prepare yourself with courage and schöner Jüngling! steadfastness, handsome young man! Die Fürstin.
ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
. hat mir aufgetragen, dir zu sagen.
.has ordered me to tell you.
DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
daß der Weg zu deinem künftigen Glücke that from now on, the road to your nunmehr gebahnt sei.
future happiness is paved.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Sie hat jedes deiner Worte gehört; Sie hat.
She has heard every word you said, and shehas.
ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
.jeden Zug in deinem Gesichte gelesen.
.read every feature in your face.
DRITTE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
.hat beschlossen, dich ganz glücklich zu .and has decided to make you very happy.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
"Hat dieser Jüngling," sprach sie, "auch so The Queen said: "if this young man has as viel Mut und Tapferkeit, als er zärtlich ist, O, much courage and bravery as he is tender, oh, so ist meine Tochter ganz gewiß gerettet." then my daughter will definitely be rescued." ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Ein mächtiger, böser Dämon hat sie ihr She was kidnapped by a strong and angry Sagt, sagt, wo ist des Tyrannen aufenthalt? Tell me, where does this tyrant live? ZWEITE DAME:
THIRD LADY:
Sehr nahe an unsern Bergen. Seine Burg ist Very near our mountains. His fortress is sorgsam bewacht.
cautiously guarded.
Pamina sei gerettet! Das schwör' ich bei Pamina will be rescued! I swear it by my meiner Liebe, bei meinem Herzen.
heart and by my love.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 52
Short thunderclaps are heard. Ihr Götter, was ist das? Oh God, what is that? DIE DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY:
Es verkündigt die Ankunft unserer It announces the arrival of our Queen.
(Thunder roars) DREI DAMEN:
Sie kommt! Sie kommt! Sie kommt! She's coming! She's coming! She's coming! Amidst the stars in the sky, the Queen of the Night appears. KÖNIGIN DER NACHT:
QUEEN OF THE NIGHT:
O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn! Oh don't be frightened, beloved son! Du bist unschuldig, weise, fromm; You are innocent, devout and wise.
Ein Jüngling so wie du vermag am besten, A young man like you surely knows how to Dies tiefbetrübte Mutterherz zu trösten.
comfort this deeply saddened mother's heart.
Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren, I have been doomed to suffer, and all of my denn meine Tochter fehlet mir; happiness has disappeared since my durch sie ging all mein Glück verloren, daughter was kidnapped.
ein Bösewicht entfloh mit ihr.
As a scoundrel abducted her, I still see her Noch seh ich ihr Zittern Mit bangem shiver, tremble, and quiver, with no Erschüttern, ihr ängstliches Beben, strength to resist.
ihr schüchternes Streben. Ich mußte sie mirrauben sehen,Ach helft! ach helft! war alles, was sie As I watched her being kidnapped, all she said sprach. Allein vergebens war ihr Flehen, was oh help me, oh help me. Her pleading was all Denn meine Hilfe war zu schwach.
in vain, since I was too weak to help her.
Du, du, du wirst sie zu befreien gehen, You, you, you will go and rescue her.
Du wirst der Tochter Retter sein.
You will be the rescuer of my daughter.
Und werd' ich dich als Sieger sehen, And if you succeed, she will be yours So sei sie dann auf ewig dein.
As thunder roars, the Queen and the Three Ladies disappear. The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 53
Ist's denn auch Wirklichkeit, was ich sah? O ihr guten Götter, täuscht mich nicht! Oh dear God, don't deceive me! PAPAGENO:
(pointing sadly at the padlock on his mouth)
Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm! Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hm! Der Arme kann von Strafe sagen, denn The poor man was guilty of lying, and as a seine Sprache ist dahin.
penalty he can't talk anymore.
Hm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hm! Hm! hm! hm! hm! hm! hm! hm! Ich kann nichts tun, als dich beklagen, I can't do anything but sympathize with weil ich zu schwach zu helfen bin.
you, because I'm powerless to help you.
Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hhm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! The Three Ladies reappear. The First Lady carries a flute and chimes. ERSTE DAME:
THE FIRST LADY: (to Papageno)
Die Königin begnadigt dich, I bring you the Queen's forgivenes and erläßt die Strafe dir durch mich.
(She takes the padlock from his mouth) Nun plaudert Papageno wieder! Now Papageno can chatter again! ZWEITE DAME:
SECOND LADY:
Ja, plaudert! Lüge nur nicht wieder! Yes, chatter! But never lie again! Ich lüge nimmer mehr, nein, nein! I'll never lie again, not ever! DREI DAMEN:
Dies Schloß soll deine Warnung sein.
Let this padlock be your warning! Dies Schloß soll meine Warnung sein.
This padlock shall be my warning.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 54
Bekämen doch die Lügner alle If only all liars would get such a lock on ein solches Schloß vor ihren Mund; their mouths, then we would have love and statt Haß, Verleumdung, schwarzer Galle, friendship instead of hate and slander.
bestünden Lieb' und Bruderbund.
ERSTE DAME
FIRST LADY:
(gives Tamino a golden flute)
O Prinz, nimm dies Geschenk von mir! Oh Prince, take this gift from me! Our Dies sendet uns're Fürstin dir.
Queen commanded us to give it to you. This Die Zauberflöte wird dich schützen, Magic Flute will protect you in danger and im größten Unglück unterstützen.
support you in your deepest sorrow.
DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Hiermit kannst du allmächtig handeln, With this flute you will possess divine powers.
der Menschen Leidenschaft verwandeln: You can reverse human suffering, convert der Traurige wird freudig sein, sadness to happiness, and assure that the den Hagestolz nimmt Liebe ein.
loveless will always be loved.
O so eine Flöte ist mehr als Gold und Kronen Oh, such a flute is worth its weight in gold, wert, denn durch sie wird Menschenglück und because it brings untold happiness and contentment to humanity.
Nun, ihr schönen Frauenzimmer, And now beautiful ladies, if I may, I'd like darf ich, so empfehl' ich mich.
DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Dich empfehlen kannst du immer, doch You can always leave, but the Queen bestimmt die Fürstin dich, mit dem Prinzen commands you and the Prince to hurry to ohn' Velweilen nach Sarastros Burg zu Sarastro's castle without delay.
Nein, dafür bedank' ich mich! Von euch selbsten hörte ich, daß er wie ein I myself heard you say that he's like a tiger.
Tigertier. Sicher ließ' ohn' alle Gnaden Surely Sarastro would have me Mich Sarastro rupfen, braten, Setzte mich unmercifully plucked and roasted, and I'd den Hunden für.
become a tasty meal for his dogs.
DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Dich schützt der Prinz, trau' ihm allein.
Trust the Prince, for he'll protect you, You'll Dafür sollst du sein Diener sein.
be his faithful servant.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 55
PAPAGENO: (to himself)
Daß doch der Prinz beim Teufel wäre! Maybe the Prince would risk his life, but I Mein Leben ist mir lieb; don't want to lose mine. And finally, he Am Ende schleicht, bei meiner Ehre, may well disappear on me when I need Er von mir wie ein Dieb.
ERSTE DAME:
FIRST LADY: (presents Papageno with a
box containing chimes: the glockenspiel)
Hier, nimm dies Kleinod, es ist dein.
Here, take this treasure, it's yours.
Ei, ei! Was mag darinnen sein? Oh, oh, what could be inside? DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Darinnen hörst du Glöckchen tönen.
You can hear the bells ringing inside.
Werd' ich sie auch wohl spielen können? And would I be able to play them too? DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
O ganz gewiß! Ja, ja, gewiß! Oh very definitely! Yes, yes, definitely! ALLE FÜNF:
ALL FIVE:
Silver bells and magic flutes are your/our Sind zu eurem/unserm Schutz vonnöten.
Lebet wohl! Wir wollen gehn.
Farewell! We're leaving.
Lebet wohl, auf Wiedersehn! Farewell, till we meet again! Doch, schöne Damen, saget an.
But beautiful Ladies, could you please tell us.
Wie man die Burg wohl finden kann? .where this castle is? Wie man die Burg wohl finden kann? How to find the way to this great castle? DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Drei Knäbchen, jung, schön, hold und Three handsome, kind, and wise young weise, Umschweben euch auf eurer Reise.
boys will surround you and show you the Sie werden eure Führer sein, way. Be sure to follow their advice! Folgt ihrem Rate ganz allein.
TAMINO AND PAPAGENO:
Drei Knäbchen, jung, schön, hold und weise, Three handsome, kind, and wise young boys Umschweben uns auf unserer Reise.
will surround us and show us the way.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 56
DREI DAMEN:
Sie werden eure Führer sein, They will be your guide. Make sure to Folgt ihrem Rate ganz allein.
follow their advice.
So lebet wohl! Wir wollen gehn.
Farewell! We're leaving.
Lebt wohl, lebt wohl, auf Wiederseh'n! Farewell, farewell, till we meet again! All depart Act I - Scene 2
A room in Sarastro's palace. Ha, ha, ha! Unser Peiniger, der alles Ha, ha, ha! Our tyrant, the Moor, will belauschende Mohr, wird morgen sicherlich surely be hung or speared in the morning, gehangen oder gespießt! Pamina entfloh vor because Pamina escaped from right under seinen Augen. So ist der Mohr nichts mehr his eyes. Nothing can save the Moor now, zu retten, auch wenn Pamina von Sarastros even if Sarastro's men would recapture her.
Gefolge wieder eingefangen würde.
He, Sklaven! Schafft Fesseln herbei! Hey, Slaves, bring the handcuffs! Fesseln? Doch nicht für Pamina? Der Handcuffs? We hope they're not for unbarmherzige Teufel, wie der sie bei den Pamina? I can't stand it, how the heartless Händen faßt. Das halt ich nicht aus.
devil mistreats her.
(Pamina is brought in by the Slaves) Du feines Täubchen, nur herein! Come in you lovely little dove! O welche Marter, welche Pein! What torture and pain! Verloren ist dein Leben! Your life is over! The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 57
Der Tod macht mich nicht beben, nur I'm not afraid to die. I only feel sorry for meine Mutter dauert mich; sie stirbt vor my mother, since she will certainly die Gram ganz sicherlich.
He, Sklaven, legt ihr Fesseln an! Hey, Slaves, shackle her! Mein Haß soll dich verderben! My hatred will destroy you! O laßt mich lieber sterben, Weil nichts, Tyrant, since you have no compassion, I Barbar, dich rühren kann! prefer to die.
(Pamina becomes unconscious) MONASTATOS: (to the Slaves)
Nun fort! Laßt mich bei ihr allein! Go away! Leave me alone with her! PAPAGENO: (from outside)
Wo bin ich wohl? Wo mag ich sein? Where am I? Where can I be? Aha! da find' ich Leute, gewagt, ich geh' Aha! I see some people, I guess I'll venture Papageno enters the room and notices Pamina. Schön Mädchen, jung und rein, Oh what a beauty, so young and pure, and viel weißer noch als Kreide.
whiter than snow.
Monostatos turns around. Papageno is terrified by Monostatos's gaze, and each becomes frightened by the other. MONOSTATOS and PAPAGENO:
Hu! Das ist der Teufel sicherlich! Ay! That's the devil for sure! Hab' Mitleid! Verschone mich! Have pity! Spare me! They both run away, looking back at each other cautiously over their shoulders. Mutter - Mutter - Mutter! Mother! Mother! Mother!(She regains consciousness) Wie? Noch schlägt dieses Herz? Zu neuen What? This heart is still beating? Did it awaken to new tortures? O das ist hart, sehr hart! Mir bitterer, als der Oh, it's so cruel, so cruel! It's worse than Opera Classics Library Series Page 58
(Papageno carefully enters) Bin ich nicht ein Narr, daß ich mich Am I not a fool to let myself be frightened? There are black birds in this world, so why Es gibt doch auch schwarze Vögel auf der Welt, not black people? warum denn nicht auch schwarze Menschen? (He notices Pamina) Ah, da ist ja das schöne Fräuleinbild noch.
Ah, here's the lovely maiden in the portrait! Du Tochter der nächtlichen Königin! The daughter of the Queen of Night! Nächtlichen Königin? Wer bist du? Queen of the Night? Who are you? Ein Abgesandter der sternflammenden A messenger from the star-flaming Queen.
Meiner Mutter? O Wonne! From my mother? How wonderful! What is your name? Papageno? Papageno. Ich erinnere mich, Papageno? Papageno. I remember having den Namen oft gehört zu haben, dich selbst heard that name often, but I never met you aber sah ich nie.
Ich dich ebensowenig.
I've never met you either.
Du kennst also meine gute, zärtliche Mutter? So you know my good and loving mother? Wenn du die Tochter der nächtlichen If you are the daughter of the Queen of the Königin bist, ja! O ich bin es.
Yes it's me.
Das will ich gleich erkennen.
Let me see if it's true.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 59
Papageno examines the portrait that Tamino received from the Three Ladies, which he wears on a ribbon around his neck. Die Augen schwarz - richtig, schwarz.
Blue eyes - very blue.
Die Lippen rot - richtig rot.
Red lips-very red.
Blonde Haare - blonde Haare.
Blond hair-blond hair.
Alles trifft ein, bis auf Hände und Füße.
Everything matches, except the hands and Nach dem Gemälde zu schließen, feet. According to the portrait you wouldn't sollst du weder Hände noch Füße haben; have hands or feet because they don't show denn hier sind keine angezegt.
Erlaube mir. Ja, ich bin's! Wie kam es in Permit me. Yes, it's me! But how did you Ich muß dir das umständlicher erzählen. Ich I must tell you the details of what happened.
kam heute früh, wie gewöhnlich, zu deiner As usual, I went this morning to your Mutter Palast mit meiner Lieferung .
mother's palace to make my delivery.
Ja, ich liefere deiner Mutter schon seit vielen Yes, for years I've been delivering all the Jahren alle die schönen Vögel in den Palast.
beautiful birds to your mother at the palace.
Ja, und eben, als ich im Begriffe war, meine You know, just as I was delivering the Vögel abzugeben, da seh ich einen Menschen birds, I saw someone who identified vor mir, der sich Prinz nennen läßt, und dieser himself as a Prince. The Prince so Prinz hat deine Mutter so von sich impressed your mother, that she gave him eingenommen, daß sie ihm dein Bildnis your portrait and ordered him to rescue schenkte und ihm befahl, dich zu befreien.
Sein Entschluß, der war ebenso rasch, als He fell in love with you, and immediately seine Liebe zu dir.
resolved to rescue you.
Er liebt mich also? O sage mir das noch Then he loves me? Please repeat that to me einmal, ich höre das Wort Liebe gar zu again, because I love to hear the sound of Opera Classics Library Series Page 60
Das glaube ich dir. Bist ja auch ein I believe you because you're a young Fräuleinbild. Kurz also, diese große Liebe girl, and therefore the idea of love strikes zu dir war der Peitschenstreich, um unsre you like a thunderbolt that urges you to Füße im schnellen Gang zu bringen, und seduce men to cater to you, and shower nun sind wir hier, dir tausend schöne und you with sweet words.
angenehme Sachen zu sagen.
Freund, wenn Sarastro dich hier erblicken If Sarastro would see you here, my friend, sollte, dann.
So würde mir meine Rückreise erspart Then, I have the feeling that I'll never blieben - das kann ich mir denken.
return home.
Dein martervoller Tod würde ohne You would suffer an agonizing death.
Grenzen sein.
Um diesem auszuweichen, gehn wir lieber To save our lives, we'd better leave right Wir haben keine Minute zu versäumen.
We can't waste a minute.
Ja, komm, du wirst Augen machen, wenn Let's go, you won't believe your eyes du den schönen Jüngling erblickst.
when you see this handsome young man.
Aber wenn dies ein Fallstrick wäre - wenn But what if this is a trick, and you're a dieser nun ein böser Geist von Sarastros villain employed by Sarastro? Was? Ich ein böser Geist? Wo denkst du What? Me, a villain? What are you hin? Ich bin der beste Geist von der Welt.
thinking? I'm the most honorable man onearth.
Vergib, vergib, wenn ich dich beleidigte! I'm sorry, forgive me if I have offended Du hast ein gefühlvolles Herz.
you! You're a very sensitive person.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 61
Ja, freilich habe ich ein gefühlvolles Yes, I am very sensitive, but what good is Herz! Aber was nutzt mir denn das alles? it? I sometimes want to pluck out all my - Ich möcht' mir doch oft alle meine feathers when I think about the fact that Federn ausrupfen, wenn ich bedenk', daß there still is no Mrs. Papageno.
Papageno noch keine Papagena hat.
Armer Mann! Du hast also noch kein Weib? Poor man! So you don't have a wife yet? Noch nicht einmal ein Mädchen, geschweige Not even a girlfriend, let alone a wife. And denn ein Weib! Und unsereiner hat eben every one of us has happy moments which auch so seine lustigen Stunden, wo man so he would like to share with someone he richtig so gesellschaftliche Unterhaltung haben möcht'.
Geduld, Freund! Der Himmel wird auch Patience, my friend! Heaven will take care für dich sorgen; er wird dir eine Freundin of you too, and send you a girlfriend before schicken, ehe du dir's vermutest.
you know it.
Wenn er's nur bald schickte! If only it would happen soon! Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen, fehlt Men who experience love also possess a auch ein gutes Herze nicht.
Die süßen Triebe mitzufühlen, ist dann der And it's a wife's priority to share those Weiber erste Pflicht.
Wir wollen uns der Liebe freun, wir leben It's love alone that makes us happy, and durch die Lieb' allein.
it's love alone that makes life worthwhile.
Die Lieb' versüßet jede Plage, ihr opfert Whatever will happen, it is love that will jede Kreatur.
heal every sorrow.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 62
Sie würzet unsre Lebenstage, sie wirkt im Love perfumes life with its rare fra- Kreise der Natur.
grance, and it's human nature to love.
Ihr hoher Zweck zeigt deutlich an, For husband and wife, the highest goal in nichts Edler's sei, als Weib und Mann.
life is the nobility of love. For husband Mann und Weib, und Weib und Mann and wife, and for wife and husband, reichen an die Gottheit an.
love becomes a divine union.
Pamina and Papageno exit. Act I - Scene 3
A sacred grove in which there are three temples: the Temple of Wisdom, the Temple of Reason, and the Temple of Nature. The Three Youths appear bearing silver palm branches. They accompany Tamino whose flute hangs at his side. DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Zum Ziele führt dich diese Bahn, doch This path will lead you to your goal, young mußt du, Jüngling, männlich siegen. Drum man, but you must be courageous!.
höre unsre Lehre an: Sei standhaft, Listen to our advice and be firm, patient, duldsam und verschwiegen! and discreet.
Ihr holden Kleinen, sagt mir an, ob ich Tell me boys, do you think that I can rescue Pamina retten kann? DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Dies kundzutun, steht uns nicht an: We don't know, but just be steadfast, Sei standhaft, duldsam und verschwiegen! patient and discreet! In short, think of this: Bedenke dies; kurz, sei ein Mann, be a man, and you, young man, will Dann, Jüngling, wirst du männlich siegen.
succeed like a man.
The Three Youths depart, leaving Tamino alone. The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 63
Die Weisheitslehre dieser Knaben I will never forget the wisdom that these Sei ewig mir ins Herz gegraben.
boys taught me.
Wo bin ich nun? Was wird mit mir? Where am I now? What will happen to Ist dies der Sitz der Götter hier? me? Is this perhaps where the gods Doch zeigen die Pforten, es zeigen die Säulen, Daß Klugheit und Arbeit und The portals and columns show that Künste hier weilen. Wo Tätigkeit thronet intelligence and art exist here, and that it und Müßiggang weicht, erhält seine is a place where industry dominates and Herrschaft das Laster nicht leicht.
vice is nonexistent.
Ich wage mich mutig zur Pforte hinein, I'll boldly enter through the temple door.
die Absicht ist edel und lauter und rein.
My purpose is noble, good, and pure.
Erzitt're, feiger Bösewicht! Tremble wretched villain! Pamina retten ist mir Pflicht.
To rescue Pamina's is my duty.
He approaches the temple at the right Zurück? Zurück? So wag' ich hier mein Go back? Go back? Then I'll try my luck He goes to the temple at the left. Auch hier ruft man: Zurück! Here too they call go back! He goes to the middle Temple of Wisdom. Da seh' ich noch eine Tür, Vielleicht find' I see another door over there. Maybe I'll be ich den Eingang hier.
able to enter there.
The middle door opens and an old Priest emerges. Wo willst du, kühner Fremdling, hin? Where do you want to go, daring stranger? Was suchst du hier im Heiligtum? What are you looking for in this sanctuary? Opera Classics Library Series Page 64
Der Lieb' und Tugend Eigentum.
A place of virtue and of love.
Die Worte sind von hohem Sinn! Your words are certainly noble! Allein wie willst du diese finden? But how do you expect to find these? Dich leitet Lieb' und Tugend nicht, You're not guided by love and courage, Weil Tod und Rache dich entzünden.
but by death and vengeance.
Nur Rache für den Bösewicht.
I'm guided by vengeance on the villain.
Den wirst du wohl bei uns nicht finden.
You surely will not find him here.
Sarastro herrscht in diesen Gründen? Doesn't Sarastro rule here? Ja, ja! Sarastro herrschet hier.
Yes, yes! Sarastro rules here.
Doch in dem Weisheitstempel nicht? In the Temple of Wisdom? Er herrscht im Weisheitstempel hier! Yes, in the Temple of Wisdom! So ist denn alles Heuchelei! So then all of this is hypocrisy!(Tamino wants to leave) Willst du schon wieder gehn? You want to leave already? Ja, ich will gehen, froh und frei, nie euren Yes, I want to leave, happy and free, and I never want to see your temple again.
Erklär dich näher mir, dich täuschet ein Explain yourself to me! You are deluded by Sarastro wohnet hier, das ist mir schon The fact that Sarastro lives here is enough The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 65
Wenn du dein Leben liebst, so rede, bleibe If you value your life, speak and stay here! da! Sarastro hassest du? Do you hate Sarastro? Ich haß ihn ewig, ja! I hate him intensely, and I always will! Nun gib mir deine Gründe an.
Give me your reasons for that! Er ist ein Unmensch, ein Tyrann! He is a brute and a tyrant! Ist das, was du gesagt, erwiesen? Do you have proof of what you just said? Durch ein unglücklich Weib bewiesen, It was proven to me by an unhappy Das Gram und Jammer niederdrückt.
woman, oppressed by great sorrow.
Ein Weib hat also dich berückt? So a woman tricked you? Ein Weib tut wenig, plaudert viel.
Women do little and talk too much.
Du, Jüngling, glaubst dem Zungenspiel? You believe this nonsense? O legte doch Sarastro dir die Absicht seiner Sarastro has clearly explained the motives for his action.
Die Absicht ist nur allzu klar! His motive is all too clear! Riß nicht der Räuber ohn' Erbarmen, Didn't the kidnapper tear Pamina unmerci- mina aus der Mutter Armen? fully from her mother's arms? Ja, Jüngling, was du sagst, ist wahr.
Yes, young man, what you say is true.
Wo ist sie, die er uns geraubt? Where is the kidnapped victim? Man opferte vielleicht sie schon? Has she been sacrificed already? Dir dies zu sagen, teurer Sohn, ist jetztund That my dear boy, I am not allowed to tell mir noch nicht erlaubt.
Erklär dies Rätsel, täusch' mich nicht! Explain this riddle! Don't deceive me! Opera Classics Library Series Page 66
Die Zunge bindet Eid und Pflicht.
Oath and duty forbid me to talk.
Wann also wird die Decke schwinden? When will you be able to talk? Sobald dich führt der Freundschaft Hand As soon as the hand of friendship leads you In's Heiligtum zum ew'gen Band.
into the sanctuary of the sacred brotherhood.
The Elderly Priest departs. O ew'ge Nacht! Wann wirst du Oh, eternal night! When will you disap- schwinden? Wann wird das Licht mein pear? When will daylight come? VOICES: (from inside the middle temple)
Bald, Jüngling, oder nie! Soon, young man, or never! Bald, sagt ihr, oder nie? Ihr Unsichtbaren, Soon, you say, or never? Tell me, invisible saget mir, lebt denn Pamina noch? ones, is Pamina still alive? Pamina lebet noch! Pamina is still alive! Sie lebt! Ich danke euch dafür.
She's alive! Thank you so much.
(Tamino takes his flute in his hand.) O wenn ich doch imstande wäre, Oh, almighty ones, if only I had the allmächtige, zu eurer Ehre, mit jedem Tone opportunity to honor you and express my meinen Dank zu schildern, wie er hier, entsprang.
thanks with each tone of my flute.
Tamino plays the flute, and wild animals and birds of every kind appear to listen. When he stops playing, they flee. Wie stark ist nicht dein Zauberton, The sweet melodious tones of your magic weil, holde Flöte, durch dein Spielen flute have the power to even delight wild selbst wilde Tiere Freude fühlen.
Doch Pamina, nur Pamina bleibt davon! But only Pamina doesn't come!(Tamino plays the flute again) The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 67
Pamina! Pamina! Höre, höre mich! Pamina! Pamina! Listen to me playing! Wo? Ach, wo find' ich dich? Where? Oh, where can I find you? (Papageno's flute is heard) Ha, das ist Papagenos Ton! Aha, that's the sound of Papageno's flute! Tamino replays his flute, and Papageno answers as before. Vielleicht sah er Pamina schon, Maybe he's seen Pamina already.
Vielleicht eilt sie mit ihm zu mir! Maybe she's coming with him.
Vielleicht führt mich der Ton zu ihr.
Maybe these flute tones will lead me to her.
Tamino leaves. Papageno and Pamina appear. Monostatos pursues them. PAMINA AND PAPAGENO:
Schnelle Füße, rascher Mut Quick steps and dauntless courage may schützt vor Feindes List und Wut.
save us from the foe's dreadful rage.
Fänden wir Tamino doch, If only we could find Tamino, otherwise sonst erwischen sie uns noch.
we'll surely be captured! PAMINA: (calling to Tamino)
Holder Jüngling! Handsome young man! Stille, stille, ich kann's besser! Quiet, I can do it better.
Papageno whistles, and Tamino answers with his flute. Welche Freude ist wohl größer? Could anything make me happier? Freund Tamino hört uns schon.
Our friend Tamino hears us now.
(pointing in the direction) Hierher kam der Flötenton.
There's where the flute sounds came from.
Welch ein Glück, wenn ich ihn finde.
Oh, how wonderful if I would find him! Nur geschwinde! Nur geschwinde! Let's hurry! Let's hurry! Opera Classics Library Series Page 68
Monostatos confronts them. MONOSTATOS: (mocking Pamina)
Nur geschwinde! Nur geschwinde! Let's hurry! Let's hurry! Ha, hab' ich euch noch erwischt? Ha, ha, I've caught you?(calling his Slaves) Nur herbei mit Stahl und Eisen.
Quickly, chain them!(to Pamina and Papageno) Wart', ich will euch Mores weisen.
Wait, I'll show you how to deceive den Monostatos berücken! Nur herbei mit Band und Stricken, Slaves, come over here and chain them!.
he, ihr Sklaven, kommt herbei! PAMINA , PAPAGENO:
Ach, nun ist's mit uns vorbei! Oh, we're finished! Wer viel wagt, gewinnt oft viel! One who dares often gains alot! Komm, du schönes Glockenspiel, Come, magic set of bells, let your tones fill laß die Glöckchen klingen, klingen, the air and resound in every ear.
daß die Ohren ihnen singen.
(Papageno plays the Glockenspiel) MONOSTATOS AND THE SLAVES:
(Subdued by the sound, Monostatos and
the Slaves sing and dance.)
Das klinget so herrlich, It sounds so delightful, das klinget so schön! Its sound is so beautiful! Larala la la larala la la larala! Tralala, lalala, tralalalala! Nie hab' ich so etwas gehört und geseh'n! Oh, I've never heard anything like it! Larala la la larala la la larala! Tralalala, trala lalala! (They leave while singing and dancing) PAPAGENO AND PAMINA:
Könnte jeder brave Mann solche If only everyone could own such magic Glöckchen finden! Seine Feinde würden dann ohne Mühe Then all enemies would easily disappear, schwinden, und er lebte ohne sie and without them, everyone would live in der besten Harmonie! in great harmony! Nur der Freundschaft Harmonie mildert die Only the harmony of friendship softens Beschwerden; ohne diese Sympathie every misfortune. And without this good ist kein Glück auf Erden.
feeling, there can be no happiness on earth.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 69
A fanfare of trumpets and drums are heard. Es lebe Sarastro! Sarastro lebe! Long live Sarastro! Sarastro lives! Was soll das bedeuten? Ich zittre, ich bebe! What's all this about? I'm trembling andshuddering! O Freund, nun ist's um uns getan, dies Oh my friend, we're finished! kündigt den Sarastro an! It announces that Sarastro is coming! O wär ich eine Maus, wie wollt' ich mich Oh, if only I were a mouse, then I could Wär ich so klein wie Schnecken, so kröch' If I were as small as a snail, I'd crawl in my ich in mein Haus! Mein Kind, was werden wir nun sprechen? My dear child, what are we going to say? Die Wahrheit! Die Wahrheit, sei sie auch The truth! The truth, no matter what! (Sarastro enters with his retinue) Es lebe Sarastro! Sarastro soll leben! Long live Sarastro! Sarastro shall live! Er ist es, dem wir uns mit Freuden ergeben! We are all devoted to him! Stets mög' er des Lebens als Weiser sich freun, As a wise man, may he enjoy life forever.
er ist unser Abgott, dem alle sich weihn.
He is our idol whom we worship and love! Herr, ich bin zwar Verbrecherin, Oh Lord, it's true that I am guilty, because I ich wollte deiner Macht entfliehn, wished to flee from your power.
Allein die Schuld ist nicht an mir, But it's not my fault.
der böse Mohr verlangte Liebe; I escaped because the wicked Moor desired darum, o Herr, entfloh ich dir.
He is the guilty one! Steh auf, erheitre dich, o Liebe! Get up, my love, and be happy! Denn ohne erst in dich zu dringen, I need not question you further, for I know weiß ich von deinem Herzen mehr: what is in your heart: du liebest einen andern sehr.
you already love another very much.
Zur Liebe will ich dich nicht zwingen, Although I will never compel you to love, doch geb' ich dir die Freiheit nicht.
I cannot give you your freedom.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 70
Mich rufet ja die Kindespflicht, A child's duty calls me, because my denn meine Mutter.
.steht in meiner Macht. Du würdest um .is in my power. Your happiness would be dein Glück gebracht, wenn ich dich ihren ended if I would return you to her.
Händen ließe.
Mir klingt der Muttername süße; sie ist es.
The mention of the word mother sounds sosweet to me. It is she who is . .
.und ein stolzes Weib! .a haughty woman! Ein Mann muß eure Herzen leiten, Only a man should guide women's hearts, denn ohne ihn pflegt jedes Weib because without man, every woman would aus ihrem Wirkungskreis zu schreiten.
MONOSTATOS: (to Tamino)
Nun stolzer Jüngling, nur hierher! Proud young man, come here! Hier ist Sarastro, unser Herr.
This is Sarastro, our dear lord.
PAMINA: (seeing Tamino for the first time)
TAMINO: (seeing Pamina)
Ich glaub' es kaum! I can hardly believe it! Es ist kein Traum! It's not a dream! (They approach each other) Es schling' mein Arm sich um ihn her! I would embrace him! The Magic Flute Libretto Act I Page 71
Es schling' mein Arm sich um sie her! I would embrace her! Und wenn es auch mein Ende wär! Even if it would kill me! (Pamina and Tamino) Was soll das heißen? What does that mean? Welch eine Dreistigkeit! He steps between Pamina and Tamino, and separates them. Gleich auseinander! Das geht zu weit! That's enough! This is going too far! (Monostatos kneels before Sarastro.) Dein Sklave liegt zu deinen Füßen, Your slave kneels before you.
laß den verwegnen Frevler büßen! Penalize this presumptuous youth! Bedenk, wie frech der Knabe ist: Think how impudent this boy is.
(Pointing at Papageno.) durch dieses seltnen Vogels List Using the tricks of this rare bird, he wanted wollt er Pamina dir entführen, to rob you of Pamina.
allein ich wußt' ihn auszuspüren.
But I could track him down. You know me Du kennst mich! Meine Wachsamkeit.
and my vigilance.
Verdient, daß man ihr Lorbeer streut! He deserves the laurel wreath! He, gebt dem Ehrenmann sogleich.- Here, give him his reward.
Schon deine Gnade macht mich reich.
Your favor alone enriches me.
Nur siebenundsiebenzig Sohlenstreich! You're to get a whipping of seventy-seven lashes! Ach Herr, den Lohn verhofft' ich nicht! Ah, sir, I don't merit such a reward! Nicht Dank, es ist ja meine Pfticht! Save your thanks, it's only my duty.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 72
Es lebe Sarastro, der göttliche Weise! Long live Sarastro, the divine sage! Er lohnet und strafet in ähnlichem Kreise.
He justly punishes and rewards Führt diese beiden Fremdlinge in unsern Lead these two strangers to our temple of Prüfungstempel ein; Bedecket ihre Häupter probation, and cover their heads for they dann, sie müssen erst gereinigt sein.
must first be purified.
Monostatos is led away by slaves. Wenn Tugend und Gerechtigkeit When virtue and justice are humanity's den großen Pfad mit Ruhm bestreut, ultimate ideals, then earth is indeed heaven, dann ist die Erd' ein Himmelreich, and mortal men are like gods! und Sterbliche den Göttern gleich.
Veils are placed over the heads of Tamino and Papageno. Sarastro takes Pamina's hand and goes with her through the middle door. Tamino and Papageno exit with two Priests. End of ACT I
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 73
Act II – Scene 1
A palm grove in which all of the trees are silver with leaves of gold. Sarastro and Priests enter. Ihr, in dem Weisheitstempel eingeweihten You, who are ordained in the Temple of Diener der großen Götter Osiris und Isis! Wisdom, are servants of the great gods: Mit reiner Seele erklär' ich euch, daß unsre Osiris and Isis! With a pure heart I advise heutige Versammlung eine der wichtigsten you, that our meeting today is the most unsrer Zeit ist.
important in our history.
Tamino, ein Königssohn, will ins Tamino, a king's son, will gaze into the Heiligtum des größten Lichtes blicken.
sublime light of the sanctuary. Our most Diesen Tugendhaften zu bewachten, ihm important duty today is to protect this freundschaftlich die Hand zu bieten, sei virtuous youth, and to welcome him heute eine unsrer wichtigsten Pflichten.
Er besitzt Tugend? Auch Verschwiegenheit? Can he maintain his silence? Is he benevolent? Wohltätig! Haltet ihr ihn für würdig, so He is! If you believe he is worthy, then folgt meinem Beispiele.
follow my example.
They blow three times on their horns. Gerührt über die Einigkeit eurer Herzen, dankt Sarastro is moved by the unanimity in your Sarastro euch im Namen der Menschheit. Mag hearts, and thanks you in the name of all immer das Vorurteil seinen Tadel über uns mankind. May Tamino never judge the Eingeweihte auslassen! Jedoch, das böse deeds of the ordained! Any of his prejudices Vorurteil soll schwinden; und es wird will disappear as soon as he becomes part schwinden, sobald Tamino selbst die Größe of our brotherhood.
unserer schweren Kunst besitzen wird.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 74
Pamina haben die Götter dem holden Pamina has been designated by the gods Jüngling bestimmt; dies ist der Grund, for this noble young man. That is why I warum ich sie der stolzen Mutter entriß.
kidnapped her from her haughty mother.
Das Weib dünkt sich groß zu sein; hofft That woman considers herself great, and durch Blendwerk und Aberglauben das hopes to beguile the populace through Volk zu berücken und unsern festen delusion and superstition, and to destroy Tempelblau zu zerstören.
the firm foundations of our temples.
Allein, das soll sie nicht. Tamino, der holde However, she shall not succeed. Tamino Jüngling, soll ihn mit uns befestigen und himself shall become one of us, and aid us als Eingeweihter der Tugend Lohn, dem to strengthen the power of virtue and Laster aber Strafe sein.
Three blasts on the horns are repeated. Großer Sarastro, wird Tamino auch die Great Sarastro, will Tamino be able to harten Prüfungen, die seiner warten, overcome the difficult ordeals that await bekämpfen? Verzeih, daß ich so frei him? I apologize for being so forthright by bin, dir meinen Zweifel zu eröffnen! Mich expressing my doubts to you! I am worried bangt es um den Jüngling. Er ist Prinz! for this young man. He is a prince! Noch mehr! Er ist Mensch! But more important than that, he is a man! Wenn es nur aber in seiner frühen Jugend But what if he would die so young? leblos erblaßte? Dann ist er Osiris und Isis gegeben und Then he will be given to Osiris and Isis and wird der Götter Freuden früher fühlen als will experience their celestial joys sooner Three blasts on the horns are repeated. Man führe Tamino mit seinem eisegefährten Let Tamino and his companion be led into in den Vorhof des Tempels ein.
the court of the temple.
(to the Priest) Und du, Freund, vollziehe dein heiliges And you my friend, fulfill your holy duty Amt und lehre sie die Macht der Götter and teach them to recognize the might of The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 75
O Isis und Osiris, schenket der Weisheit O Isis and Osiris, lead this faithful pair to the Geist dem neuen Paar, die ihr der Wand'rer path of wisdom! Concede your blessed Schritte lenket.
protection, strengthen their hearts and fortify Stärkt mit Geduld sie in Gefahr.
them with patience when they are in danger.
Stärkt mit Geduld sie in Gefahr! Fortify them with patience when they are indanger.
Laßt sie der Prüfung Früchte sehen; Grant that they bear the trial bravely, and Doch sollten sie zu Grabe gehen, that their prayers are not denied. But if you So lohnt der Tugend kühnen Lauf, have fated them to fail, please take them, Nehmt sie in euren Wohnsitz auf.
and grant them life beyond the tomb.
Nehmt sie in euren Wohnsitz auf.
Grant them life beyond the tomb.
Act II - Scene 2
The courtyard of the temple. It is night. Tamino and Papageno are led in by the Speaker and the Second Priests. Before departing, they remove the veils from Tamino and Papageno. Eine schreckliche Nacht! - Papageno, bist What a horrible night! Papageno are you I most certainly am! Wo denkst du, dass wir uns nun befinden? Where do you think we are now? Opera Classics Library Series Page 76
Wo? Ja, wenn's nicht so finster wär, wollt' Where we are? Well if it were not so dark, I ich dir das schon sagen, aber so.
might be able to tell you, but this way ….
Oh!(Thunder is heard) Mir wird nicht wohl bei der Sache! Ich I don't feel comfortable in this situation! I glaube, ich bekomme ein kleines Fieber.
have a feeling that ice-cold shivers arerunning up and down my spine.
Pfui, Papageno! Sei ein Mann! Shame on you Papageno, be a man! Aber ich wollt', ich wär ein Mädchen! I wish I were a girl!(Very loud thunder) O! o! o! Das ist mein letzter Augenblick! Oh! Oh! Oh! My last hour has come! The Speaker, Priest, and the Second Priest return. All carry torches. Ihr Fremdlinge, was sucht oder fordert ihr What are you seeking, or asking from us? von uns? Was treibt euch an, in unsere What is your reason for invading our Mauern zu dringen? Freundschaft und Liebe.
Friendship and love.
Bist du bereit, sie mit deinem Leben zu And are you prepared to sacrifice your life for friendship and love? Prinz, noch ist's Zeit zu weichen, einen Prince, there is still time to turn back. One Schritt weiter, und es ist zu spät.
step further and it's too late.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 77
Weisheitslehre sei mein Sieg; Pamina, das Wisdom will be my victory, and the lovely holde Mädchen, mein Lohn! Pamina my reward! Du unterziehst dich jeder Prüfung dich? Are you willing to undergo each trial? Reiche deine Hand mir! Give me your hand!(They clasp hands) SECOND PRIEST: (to Papageno).
Willst auch du dir Weisheitsliebe Will you also fight for the love of Kämpfen ist meine Sache nicht. Ich verlang Fighting is not my business, and in ja im Grunde auch gar keine Weisheit. Ich principal, I really don't desire wisdom bin so ein Naturmensch, der sich mit Schlaf, either. I am a son of nature, who is content Speise und Trank zufriedengibt. Und wenn es with sleep, food, and drink. And if possible, einmal sein könnte, daß ich mir ein hübsches I would like to find a pretty little wife.
Weibchen fange.
Die wirst du nie erhalten, wenn du dich But you will never obtain one, if you do not nicht unseren Prüfungen unterziehst.
submit to our trial.
Und worin bestehen diese Prüfungen? And what does this trial consist of? Dich allen unseren Gesetzen zu unterwerfen, To surrender to all our laws, and not shrink selbst den Tod nicht zu scheuen.
Ich bleibe ledig! I'll remain single! Aber wenn du dir ein tugenhaftes, schönes But what if you could get a virtuous and Mädchen erwerben könntest? beautiful young girl? Ich bleibe ledig! I'll remain single! Opera Classics Library Series Page 78
Wenn nun aber Sarastro dir ein Mädchen But what if Sarastro already has reserved a aufbewahrt hätte, das an Farbe und virtuous and pretty girl for you, one who is Kleidung dir ganz gleich wäre? Mir ganz gleich? Ist sie jung? Just like me? Is she young? Young and beautiful! And what's her name? Papagena? Haha, die möcht ich aus bloßer Papagena? Ha ha, and just out of curiosity, Neugierde schon sehen.
I'd like to see her.
Sehen kannst du sie! Aber wenn.Ich bleibe ledig!ich sie But after. I remain single! But after I've gesehen habe, hernach muß ich sterben? seen her, must I die?(Second Priest makes a sign of doubt.) Sehen kannst du sie, aber bis zur verlaufenen You can see her, but in the meantime, you Zeit kein Wort mit ihr sprechen; wird dein cannot speak to her. Will your mind be Geist so viel Standhaftigkeit besitzen, deine strong enough to control your tongue? Zunge in Schranken zu halten? Deine Hand! Du sollst sie sehen.
Your hand! You shall see her!(They clasp hands) The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 79
ELDERLY PRIEST: (to Tamino)
Auch dir, Prinz, legen die Götter ein The gods impose a holy silence on you heilsames Stillschweigen auf; ohne dieses too, my Prince. If you speak, both of you seid ihr beide verloren. Du wirst Pamina will be lost. You will see Pamina, but do sehen, aber nie sie sprechen dürfen; dies not speak to her until the appointed hour.
ist der Anfang eurer Prüfungszeit.
This the beginning of your trial.
Bewahret euch vor Weibertücken: dies ist Your first duty is to be aware of woman's des Bundes erste Pflicht. Manch weiser treachery, because many men found Mann ließ sich berücken, er fehlte und themselves forsaken, led astray and versah sich's nicht. Verlassen sah er sich ensnared by them. In the end man was all am Ende, vergolten seine Treu' mit Hohn.
alone and his faithfulness was met with Vergebens rang er seine Hände, Tod und scorn. He wrung his hands in vain, for Verzweiflung war sein Lohn.
pain and death were his rewards.
(As it grows dark, both Priests leave) He, Lichter her! Lichter her! Das ist doch Hey! Lights please! It is really amazing. As wunderlich, so oft einen die Herrn soon as these gentlemen leave us, you can't verlassen, sieht man mit offenen Augen see anything with your eyes open.
Ertrag es mit Geduld, und denke, es ist der Bear it patiently and remember that it is the Götter Wille.
The Three Ladies rush in with torches. DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Wie, wie, wie? Ihr an diesem Schreckensort? What, what, what? You in this place of Nie, nie, nie! Kommt ihr wieder glücklich terror? Never, never, never! Get safely out fort! Tamino, dir ist Tod geschworen! Du, of here! Tamino, you are destined to die! Papageno, bist verloren! Papageno, you are lost! Nein, nein, das wär' zu viel.
No, no, no, that would be too much! Papageno, schweige still! Willst du dein Papageno, please be quiet! Gelübde brechen, nicht mit Weibern hier zu Do you want to break your oath never to Opera Classics Library Series Page 80
Du hörst ja, wir sind beide hin.
You heard it, we're both lost! Stille, sag ich, schweige still! Quiet, I tell you! Please don't talk! Immer still, und immer still! All you say is quiet and don't talk! DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Ganz nah' ist euch die Königin! The Queen is very close by, since she has Sie drang im Tempel heimlich ein.
secretly entered the temple.
Wie? Was? Sie soll im Tempel sein? How? What? She's in the temple? Stille, sag' ich, schweige still! Wirst du Quiet, I tell you, don't talk! Will you ever immer so vermessen deiner Eidespflicht be so bold to forget the oath you have DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Tamino, hör'! Du bist verloren! Tamino, listen! You are lost! Gedenke an die Königin! Think of the Queen.
Man zischelt viel sich in die Ohren von Around here, the Priests are whispering dieser Priester falschem Sinn.
many falsehoods about her.
TAMINO: (to himself)
Ein Weiser prüft und achtet nicht, A wise man pays no attention to the talk of Was der gemeine Pöbel spricht.
evil people.
DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES:
Man zischelt viel sich in die Ohren It's been said that these Priests have Von dieser Priester falschem Sinn.
nothing good in mind.
Man sagt, wer ihrem Bunde schwört, They say that those who join the order are Der fährt zur Höll' mit Haut und Haar.
condemned to hell! Das wär', beim Teufel, unerhört! That's outrageous! Sag' an, Tamino, ist das wahr? Tell me, Tamino, is it true? Geschwätz, von Weibern nachgesagt, That's nonsense invented by bigots and Von Heuchlern aber ausgedacht.
repeated by women! Doch sagt es auch die Königin.
Yet the Queen has said it too.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 81
Sie ist ein Weib, hat Weibersinn.
She's just like all women.
Sei still, mein Wort sei dir genug: Take my word for it and hold your tongue.
Denk' deiner Pflicht und handle klug.
Think of your duty and be smart! DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES: (to Tamino)
Warum bist du mit uns so spröde? Why are you so cold and callous? Tamino intimates to them that he is not permitted to speak. Auch Papageno schweigt.so rede! And Papageno also doesn't talk! Speak! PAPAGENO: (aside to the Ladies).
Ich möchte gerne, woll.
PAPAGENO: (aside to the Ladies)
Ihr seht, daß ich nicht kann das Plaudern You see that the fact I can't stop talking is lassen, ist wahrlich eine Schand' für mich! really a disgrace! Daß du nicht kannst das Plaudern lassen, The fact that you can't stop talking is really ist wahrlich eine Schand' für dich! DREI DAMEN:
Wir/Sie müßen sie/uns mit Scham We're humiliated and better leave them verlassen, es plaudert keiner sicherlich.
now because no one is talking to us.
Von festem Geiste ist ein Mann, The man who thinks before he speaks er denket, was er sprechen kann.
certainly has sound judgment.
As the Three Ladies are about to go, the Priests are heard from inside the Temple. CHORUS OF PRIESTS:
Entweiht ist die heilige Schwelle! The sacred threshold is defiled! Hinab mit den Weibern zur Hölle! Condemn the women to death and damnation! (Thunder and lightning) DREI DAMEN:
THE THREE LADIES: (rushing away)
O weh! O weh! O weh! Oh what misery and grief! Opera Classics Library Series Page 82
PAPAGENO: (falls down in fright)
O weh, o weh, o weh! Oh what misery and grief! The Priests enter carrying torches. Heil dir, Jüngling! Dein standhaft Hail young man! Your steadfast, manly männliches Betragen hat gesiegt. Wir behavior has won a victory! Therefore, wollen also mit reinem Herzen unsere because of your virtue, we wish to continue Wanderschaft weiter fortsetzen.
our travels.
(The Priest veils Tamino) The Priest and Tamino leave. Was seh ich, Freund! Stehe auf! Wie ist dir? What do I see my friend? Get up! What hashappened to you? Ich lieg' in einer Ohnmacht! I'm lying here helpless! Auf! Sammle dich, und sei ein Mann! Get up! Get yourself together and be a man! Aber sagt mir nur, meine lieben Herren, But tell me, my dear gentlemen, why do I warum muß ich denn alle diese Qualen und have to be subjected to all these torments Schrecken empfinden? Wenn mir ja die and horrors? If the gods really have Götter eine Papagena bestimmten, warum destined a Papagena for me, why do I have denn mit so viel Gefahren sie erringen? to endanger myself to win her? Diese neugierige Frage mag deine vernunft Let your own reason answer your own dir beantworten. Komm! Meine Pflicht ist inquisitive question. Come, my only duty is allein, dich weiterzuführen.
to lead you forward.
The Priest covers Papageno's head with a veil. Bei so einer ewigen Wanderschaft, da If I have to wander like this, I'd prefer to möcht' einem wohl die Liebe auf immer give up love forever.
Papageno leaves with the Second Priest. The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 83
Act II – Scene 3
A Garden. Pamina sleeps, the moon shining on her face. Monostatos arrives. Ha, da find' ich ja die spröde Schöne! Ah, here is the delicate beauty. What Welcher Mensch würde bei so einem human being could remain cold and Anblick kalt und unempfindlich bleiben? insensitive to such a vision? Das Feuer, das in mir glimmt, wird mich The fire that burns within me will consume noch verzehren! Wenn ich wüßte - daß ich me yet! If I only knew that I was alone and so ganz allein und unbelauscht wäre - ich that no one was looking, I'd dare one more wagte es noch einmal.
Das Mädchen wird noch um meinen This girl will make me lose my mind yet.
Verstand mich bringen.Es ist doch eine Love is such a crazy thing. I would think a verdammte närrische Sache um die Liebe! little kiss would be excusable.
Ein Küßchen, dächte ich, ließe sichentschuldigen.
Alles fühlt der Liebe Freuden, schnäbelt, Everybody enjoys love with its caresses and tändelt, herzt und küßt; Und ich sollt' die Liebe embraces, and I'm supposed to meiden, Weil ein Schwarzer häßlich ist! relinquish love because my skin is dark.
Ist mir denn kein Herz gegeben? Bin ich Don't I have a heart within me? Am I not nicht von Fleisch und Blut? Immer ohne made of flesh and blood? It is pure hell to Weibchen leben, Wäre wahrlich Höllenglut! have to live without a woman.
Drum so will ich, weil ich lebe, That's why, while I'm still alive, I want Schnäbeln, küssen, zärtlich sein! kisses and tenderness.
Lieber guter Mond, vergebe, Dear good moon, please forgive me, Eine Weiße nahm mich ein.
because a white maiden has enticed me.
Weiß ist schön! Ich muß sie küssen; Her white skin is beautiful, and I must kiss Mond, verstecke dich dazu! her. Moon, hide yourself for a moment, and Sollt' es dich zu sehr verdrießen, if it disturbs your bliss, then close your O so mach' die Augen zu! Opera Classics Library Series Page 84
As Monostatos creeps toward Pamina, the Queen suddenly appears amid thunder and lightning. QUEEN: (to Monostatos)
PAMINA: (Pamina awakens)
MONOSTATOS: (backing away)
O weh! Das ist.die Göttin der Nacht! What's this.the Queen of the Night! Mutter! Mutter! Meine Mutter! Mother, mother, my mother!(She falls into her mother's arms.) Mutter? Hm, das muß man von weitem Mother? Hm, I ought to spy on them from a distance.
(Monostatos leaves) Wo ist der Jüngling, den ich an dich sandte? Where is the young man I had sent to you? Er hat sich den Eingeweihten gewidmet.
He has devoted himself to the order.
Unglückliche Tochter, nun bist du auf ewig Oh my unfortunate daughter. Now you will mir entrissen.
be forever stolen from me.
Entrissen? O fliehen wir, liebe Mutter! Stolen? Oh let's escape, dear mother! Unter deinem Schutz trotz' ich jeder With your protection, I'll venture every Schutz? Liebes Kind, deine Mutter kann Protection? My dear child, your mother can dich nicht mehr schützen. Mit deines Vaters no longer protect you. With your father's Tod ging meine Macht zu Grabe. Übergab death, my power disappeared because I freiwillig den siebenfachen Sonnenkreis den willfully surrendered the seven-sided sun Eingeweihten; diesen mächtigen shield, the powerful zodiax which Sonnenkreis trägt Sarastro auf seiner Brust.
Sarastro know wears on his chest.
The Queen draws out a dagger. The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 85
Siehst du hier diesen Stahl? Er ist für Do you see this dagger? It has been Sarastro geschliffen. Du wirst ihn töten und sharpened for Sarastro. You will kill him, den mächtigen Sonnenkreis mir überliefern.
seize the powerful zodiac, and bring it backto me.
(She forces Pamina to take the dagger) Aber, liebste Mutter!.
But, dearest mother!.
Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen, Hell's revenge is raging in my heart.
Tod und Verzweiflung, flammet um mich her! Death and despair wildly flame around! Fühlt nicht durch dich Sarastro Go forth, and bear my vengeance to Todesschmerzen, so bist du meine Tochter Sarastro, or as my daughter, you shall be nimmermehr.Verstoßen sei auf ewig, disowned, and be forever rejected and verlassen sei auf ewig.
Zertrümmert sei'n auf ewig alle Bande der Our natural bond will be destroyed forever Natur, Wenn nicht durch dich Sarastro wird if you do not kill Sarastro! Hear, gods of vengeance, hear a mother's Hört, Rachegötter, hört der Mutter Schwur! (The Queen disappears amidst thunder) PAMINA: (with dagger in hand).
Morden soll ich? Götter, das kann ich I must kill someone? Gods, I can't do that! nicht! Götter, was soll ich tun? Gods, what shall I do? MONOSTATOS: (taking her dagger).
Dich mir anvertrauen.
Warum zitterst du? Vor meiner schwarzen Why do you tremble? Is it because of my black Farbe, oder vor dem ausgedachten Mord? skin or because you have murderous intensions? Opera Classics Library Series Page 86
Alles. Du hast also nur einen Weg, dich I know everything. There is only one way und deine Mutter zu retten.
to save yourself and your mother.
Mich zu lieben! Ja oder nein? To love me! Yes or no? Nein? Liebe oder Tod! No? Love or death! Sarastro comes between them, raises a threatening arm, and hurls Monostatos back. MONOSTATOS:
(raises the dagger, and then falls before
Sarastro)
So fahre denn hin! Herr, man hat deinen Tod I am not guilty! Sir, since they swore to kill geschworen, darum wollt' ich dich rächen.
you, I sought revenge for you.
Ich weiß nur allzuviel. Ich weiß, daß deine Seele I know enough. I know that your soul is as ebenso schwarz als dein Gesicht ist. Geh! dark as your face. Go! MONOSTATOS: (as he leaves)
Jetzt such' ich die Mutter auf, weil mir die Since the daughter is not meant for me, Tochter nicht beschieden ist.
I'll conspire with the mother.
(Monostatos leaves) Herr, strafe meine Mutter nicht! Der Sir, do not punish my mother! Her sorrow Schmerz über meine Abwesenheit.
due to my absence.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 87
Ich weiß alles. Weiß, daß sie in I know everything. I know that she is unterirdischen Gemächern des Tempels roaming between the walls of the temple, herumirrt und Rache über mich und die seeking revenge on me and mankind. But, I Menschheit kocht; allein, du sollst sehen, will show you how I take vengeance upon wie ich mich an deiner Mutter räche.
your mother.
In diesen heilgen Hallen Kennt man die Within these sacred walls, revenge and Rache nicht, und ist ein Mensch gefallen, sorrow do not exist. When a man has Führt Liebe ihn zur Pflicht. Dann wandelt failed, only love will guide him to do his er an Freundes Hand vergnügt und froh duty. Then he'll walk happily to a better in's bess're Land.
life, guided by the hand of friendship.
In diesen heil'gen Mauern, wo Mensch den Within these sacred walls, where man loves Menschen liebt, kann kein Verräter lauern, his fellow man, there is no treachery, weil man dem Feind vergibt.
because enemies are forgiven. Whoever Wen solche Lehren nicht erfreun, verdienet does not appreciate this knowledge, does not nicht ein Mensch zu sein.
deserve to walk this earth.
Pamina and Sarastro exit. Opera Classics Library Series Page 88
Act II - Scene 4
A hall in the Temple of Probation. Tamino and Papageno, unveiled, are led in by the two Priests. Hier seid ihr euch beide allein überlassen.
You are on your own but dependent upon Sobald die Posaune tönt, dann nehmt ihr each other. As soon as you hear the sound euren Weg dahin. Prinz, lebt wohl! Noch of the trumpet, start on your way.
einmal, vergeßt das Wort nicht: Schweigen.
Farewell, Prince. Once more, don't forget,you are committed to silence.
(The Priest exits) Papageno, wer an diesem Ort sein Papageno, anyone who breaks his silence Stillschweigen bricht, den strafen die in this palace is punished by the gods with Götter durch Donner und Blitz. Leb wohl! thunder and lightning. Farewell.
(The Second Priest exits) Das ist ein lustiges Leben! Wär' ich lieber in What a jolly life this is! I'd rather be in my meiner Strohhütte, oder im Wald, da hör ich straw hut or in the woods; at least there I'd doch noch manchmal einen Vogel pfeifen.
hear a bird singing once in a while.
Also, mit mir selber werd ich ja vielleicht Well, at least I'm allowed to talk to myself! noch reden dürfen; und auch wir zwei, wir And of course, the two of us can talk to können miteinander sprechen, wir sind ja each other, because we are men! Männer. La la la-la la la! La la la-la la la! TAMINO: (reprimanding him)
Nicht einmal einen Tropfen Wasser One doesn't even get a single drop of water bekommt man bei diesen Leuten; viel from these people, let alone anything else.
weniger sonst was.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 89
An old, ugly woman appears, bearing a large cup of water. Papageno stares at her for a long time. Ist das für mich? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
PAPAGENO: (he drinks)
Wasser! Nicht mehr und nicht weniger als Water! Nothing more or less than water.
Wasser. Sag du mir, du unbekannte Tell me, unknown beauty, are all foreign Schöne, werden alle fremden Gäste auf guests treated this way? diese Art bewirtet? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Freilich, mein Engel! So, so! Auf diese Art werden die Fremden Is that so? In that case, I guess the auch nicht gar zu häufig kommen.
foreigners don't come too frequently.
ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Very seldom.
Das kann ich mir denken. Geh, komm, That's what I thought. Come, old woman, Alte, setze dich ein bisser! Her zu mir, mir sit down next to me for a while. I feel ist die Zeit verdammt lang.
terribly bored here. (She sits down by his side) Sag du mir, wie alt bist denn du? Tell me how old you are? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Achtzehn Jahr und zwei Minuten.
Eighteen years and two minutes.
ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Achtzehn Jahr und zwei Minuten.
Eighteen years and two minutes.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 90
Achtzehn Jahr und zwei Minuten? Eighteen years and two minutes? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Ha ha ha! Ei, du junger Engel! Sag mal, Ha ha ha! You're really a very young angel! hast du auch einen Geliebten? Tell me, do you have a sweetheart? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Ei, freilich, mein Engel! Of course, my angel! Ist er auch so jung wie du? Is he as young as you are? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Nicht gar, er ist um zehn Jahre älter.
Not quite. He's ten years older.
Was, um zehn Jahre ist der noch älter als Ten year older than you are? That must be du? Das muß ja eine feurige Liebe sein! quite a passionate love! Und wie nennt sich denn dein Liebhaber? What's your sweetheart's name? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
(Papageno falls from his seat) Papageno? Wo ist er denn, dieser Papageno? Where is he then, this ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Da sitzt er, mein Engel! Her is sitting right there! Was, ich wär dein Geliebter? What! I'm your sweetheart? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Sag du mir, wie heißt du denn? Tell me. What is your name? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
My name is….
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 91
At the sound of loud thunder, the woman hobbles away. Tamino shakes a warning finger at Papageno. Nun sprech' ich aber kein Wort mehr! From now on I won't speak another word! The Three Youths bring a flute and bells. DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Seid uns zum zweitenmal willkommen, For the second time we welcome you to ihr Männer, in Sarastros Reich, Sarastro's kingdom. Sarastro is returning er schickt, was man euch abgenommen, what was taken from you: your flute and die Flöte und die Glöckchen euch.
the little bells.
A golden table covered with food and drink is unveiled. Wollt ihr die Speisen nicht verschmähen, If you like the food on the table, so esset, trinket froh davon.
then drink and eat as much as you want.
Wenn wir zum drittenmal uns sehen, When we will see each other for a third ist Freude eures Mutes Lohn.
time, it will be to celebrate your courage.
Tamino, Mut! Nah ist das Ziel.
Tamino, courage, your goal is near.
Du, Papageno, schweige still! And you Papageno, don't talk! They present the flute to Tamino, the bells to Papageno, and then leave. Tamino, wollen wir nicht speisen? Tamino, shall we eat?(Tamino plays his flute) Blase du nur fort auf deiner Flöte, ich will You just play your flute and I'll play my meine Brocken blasen.
own game and eat.
Herr Sarastro führt eine gute Küche. Auf (Papageno goes to the table and eats.) die Art, ja, da will ich schon schweigen, That Mister Sarastro has a good cook! wenn ich immer solche gute Bissen With such delicious food, I don't mind bekomme. Nun, ich will sehen, ob auch der being silent. Now I'll see if his wine cellar Keller so gut bestellt ist.
is as good as his kitchen.
(He fills his glass and drinks.) Ha! Das ist Götterwein! Ha, this is wine fit for the gods! As Pamina rushes in, Tamino stops playing his flute. Opera Classics Library Series Page 92
Du hier? Gütige Götter! Dank euch! Ich You're here? Good gods, I thank you! I hörte deine Flöte und so lief ich pfeilschnell heard the tones of your flute and rushed dem Tone nach.
toward the sounds.
Aber du bist traurig? Sprichst nicht eine But you are sad? Don't you even say a Silbe mit deiner Pamina? word to your Pamina? Ah! (indicating that she should leave) Ich soll dich meiden? Ich soll dich fliehen, You want me to ignore you? I should leave ohne zu wissen, warum? Tamino, liebst du you without knowing why? Tamino, don't you love me anymore? Papageno, sage du mir, sag, was ist Papageno, tell me what's the matter with PAPAGENO: (motions her to leave)
Wie? Auch du schweigst? O, das ist mehr What? You don't talk either? Oh this is als Tod! Liebster, einziger Tamino! worse than death!. My dearest Tamino! Ach, ich fühl's es ist verschwunden, Oh, I feel that the happiness of love is ewig hin der Liebe Glück! Nimmer kommt ihr Wonnestunden I will never feel joy and happiness again in Meinem Herzen mehr zurück! Sieh', Tamino, diese Tränen, Look, Tamino, these tears flow just for you! Fließen, Trauter, dir allein! If you no longer love me, I'd rather die! Fühlst du nicht der Liebe Sehnen,So wird Ruh' im Tode sein! (Pamina leaves sadly) PAPAGENO: (eats hastily)
Nicht wahr, Tamino, ich kann auch You see, Tamino, I too can keep quiet schweigen, wenn's sein muß. Ja; bei so when it is necessary.
einem Unternehmen, da bin ich ein Mann.
If I have to, I am a man.
(Papageno drinks) Der Koch und der Kellermeister sollen leben! Long live the cook and the winemaster! The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 93
Three trumpet calls are heard, and Tamino indicates that Papageno should leave. Geh du nur voraus, ich komm dann schon You go first, and then I'll follow.
(Tamino pushes Papageno to leave) Nein! Der Stärkere bleibt da! No! The stronger one stays here! (The three trumpet calls sound) Aha, das geht uns an.
Aha, that concerns us.
Wir kommen schon. Aber hör mal, Tamino, We're coming. But tell me Tamino, what's was wird denn noch alles mit uns werden? going to happen to us? (Tamino points upwards) Ach, du meinst, die Götter soll ich fragen? Do you mean that I should ask the gods? (Tamino indicates yes) Ja, die könnten uns freilich mehr sagen, als Yes, they surely can tell us more than we (The three calls are heard again) Wile nur nicht so, wir kommen noch immer Don't hurry so much. We'll be in time to be zeitlich genug, um uns braten zu lassen.
Tamino drags Papageno away forcefully. Opera Classics Library Series Page 94
Act II - Scene 5
Interior vaults of the pyramid. CHOR DER PRIESTER:
CHORUS OF THE PRIESTS:
O Isis und Osiris, welche Wonne! Oh Isis and Osiris, what joy! Die düst're Nacht verscheucht der Glanz The dark night is chased away by the power of our sun.
Bald fühlt der edle Jüngling neues Leben: Soon the noble youth will feel new life.
Bald ist er unserm Dienste ganz ergeben.
Soon he will be in our service and enlightened.
Sein Geist ist kühn, sein Herz ist rein, His spirit is brave; his heart is pure.
Bald wird er unser würdig sein.
Soon he will be worthy of us.
(Tamino is brought in) Prinz, dein Betragen war bis hierher männlich Prince, until now your behavior has been und gelassen; nun hast du noch zwei gefährliche manly and composed. But you still have Wege zu wandern. Schlägt dein Herz noch two obstacles to overcome.
ebenso warm für Pamina, und wünschest du If you heart still beats warmly for Pamina, einst als ein weiser Fürst zu regieren, so mögen and you wish to reign with wisdom in the die Götter dich ferner begleiten.
future, may the gods guide you.
Deine Hand! Man bringe Pamina! Give me your hand! Bring Pamina here! Two Priests go out and return with Pamina, who is veiled. Wo bin ich? Welch eine fürchterliche Where am I? How terribly quiet it is here? Stille! Wo ist Tamino? Er wartet deiner, um dir das letzte He awaits you, to bid you a last farewell.
Lebewohl zu sagen.
Das letzte Lebewohl? O wo ist er? A last farewell? Where is he? The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 95
Soll ich dich, Teurer, nicht mehr seh'n? My dear one, will I never see you again? Ihr werdet froh euch wiedersehn! You surely will happily see each other again! Dein warten tödliche Gefahren! Deadly dangers await you! Die Götter mögen mich bewahren! May the gods protect me! Dein warten tödliche Gefahren! Deadly dangers await you! Die Götter mögen mich/ihn bewahren! May the gods protect me/him! Du wirst dem Tode nicht entgehen, I have the feeling that you will not escape Mir flüstert dieses Ahnung ein.
Der Götter Wille mag geschehen, May the will of the gods be done, ihr Wink soll mir/ihm Gesetze sein! and their desire be law for me/him.
O liebtest du, wie ich dich liebe, Oh if you loved me as I loved you, then you Du würdest nicht so ruhig sein.
surely would not be so calm.
Glaub mir, ich/er fühle/fühlet gleiche Triebe, Trust me, I/ he loves you with equal Werd'/Wird ewig dein Getreuer sein.
passion, and I/he will love you forever.
Die Stunde schlägt, nun müßt ihr scheiden! The hour has come for you to separate! Wie bitter sind der Trennung Leiden! How bitter are the pains of separating! Tamino muß nun wieder fort.
Tamino must leave now.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 96
Pamina, ich muß wirklich fort! Pamina, I really must leave! Tamino muß nun wirklich fort? Must Tamino really leave now? Nun muß er fort! Yes, he must leave now! Nun muß ich fort.
Yes, I must leave now! So mußt du fort! Then you must leave! Pamina, lebe wohl! Pamina, farewell! Tamino, lebe wohl! Tamino, farewell! Nun eile fort. Dich ruft dein Wort.
Now hurry. Your duty calls you. At the Die Stunde schlägt, wir sehn uns wieder! right time, we'll meet again! Ach, gold'ne Ruhe, kehre wieder! Oh, may peace return again! Lebe wohl! Lebe wohl! Farewell! Farewell! Pamina is led away by two Priests. Sarastro leaves with Tamino. The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 97
Act II – Scene 6
A small garden. PAPAGENO: (from outside)
Tamino! Tamino! Willst du mich denn Tamino! Tamino! Are you leaving me all gänzlich verlassen? (looking around) Wenn ich nur wenigstens wüßte, wo ich wäre.
If I only knew where I was! Tamino! Tamino, solang ich lebe, geh' ich Tamino! Tamino, as long as I live I'll never nicht mehr von dir! Aber dies einmal leave you! Just this once don't desert your verlaß mich armen Reisegefährten nicht! poor fellow traveller! He reaches the door through which Tamino was led away. EINE STIMME:
Barmherzige Götter! Wo wend' ich mich hin! Merciful Gods! Where shall I turn? If I only Wenn ich nur wüßte, wo ich hereinkam.
knew where I came in.
DIE STIMME:
THE VOICE:
(Thunder and flames burst from the door) Nun kann ich weder vorwärts noch zurück! Now I can't go either forwards or backwards!(he cries) Und muß am Ende gar verhungern.
And I'll have to starve here.
Geschieht mir schon recht! Warum bin ich Serves me right! Why did I go along with denn auch mitgereist? The Speaker, bearing a torch, approaches Papageno. Mensch! Du hättest verdient, auf immer in Man, you deserve to wander forever in the finsteren Klüften der Erde zu wandern; die dark recesses of the earth, but the merciful gütigen Götter aber entlassen dich der gods exempt you from this punishment.
Strafe dich. Dafür aber wirst du das However, you shall never experience the himmlische Vergnügen der Eingeweihten heavenly pleasures of the ordained.
nie fühlen.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 98
Je nun, es gibt ja noch andere Leute So what, there are many people like me in meinesgleichen! Mir wäre jetzt ein gutes the world. At the moment, I'd like nothing Glas Wein das größte Vergnügen.
better than a good glass of wine.
Sonst hast du keinen Wunsch in dieser Welt? Otherwise, you have no other wish in this world? Bis jetzt nicht.
So far, no other wish.
Man wird dich damit bedienen! It will be coming to you! After the Priest exits, a large jug filled with wine emerges. Ach! Da ist er ja schon! Hurray! There it is already!(He drinks) Herrlich! Himmlisch! Göttlich! Ha! Ich bin Delicious! Heavenly! Divine! Ha! I'm so jetzt so vergnügt, daß ich bis zur Sonne delighted now that if I had wings, I could fly fliegen könnte, wenn ich Flügel hätte! Ha! to the sun. Ha! I'm starting to feel so Mir wird so wunderlich ums Herz! Ich wonderful! I'd love.I'd wish. but möchte. ich wünschte. ja, was denn? Papageno plays the Glockenspiel. Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen A girl or a little wife is what Papageno wünscht Papageno sich! would love to have! O so ein sanftes Täubchen Oh such a gentle turtledove would be pure wär' Seligkeit für mich! Dann schmeckte mir Trinken und Essen, Then I'd love to drink and eat, dann könnt' ich mit Fürsten mich messen, and measure up to royalty.
Des Lebens als Weiser mich freun, I'd enjoy life like a wise man, and feel I had und wie im Elysium sein! arrived in Elysium! The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 99
Ach, kann ich denn keiner von allen Oh, doesn't any fair maiden want me? den reizenden Mädchen gefallen? Someone please liberate me from my Helf' eine mir nur aus der Not, misery, or else I'll cry myself to death! sonst gräm' ich mich wahrlich zu Tod! If no young girl gives her love to me, Wird keine mir Liebe gewähren, I'll be consumed by flames! So muß mich die Flamme verzehren! However, if I should receive a woman's Doch küßt mich ein weiblicher Mund, So bin ich schon wieder gesund! I'd be in heavenly bliss! The old woman, leaning on her cane, happily arrives. ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Da bin ich schon, mein Engel! Here I am, my angel! Was, du hast dich meiner erbarmt? What, you feel sorry for me? ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Na, das ist ein Glück! ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Und wenn du mir versprichst, mir ewig And if you promise to be true to me treu zu bleiben, dann sollst du sehen, wie forever, then you'll see how tenderly your zärtlich dein Weibchen dich lieben wird.
little wife will love you.
Ei, du zärtliches Närrchen! Oh you tender little fool! ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
O. wie will ich dich umarmen, dich Oh, how I'll embrace you, caress you, and liebkosen, dich an mein Herz drücken! press you to my heart! Auch ans Herz drücken? Even press me to your heart? ALTES WEIB::
OLD WOMAN:
Komm, reich mir zum Pfand unsers Come, give me your hand as a pledge of Bundes deine Hand! Nur nicht so hastig, mein lieber Engel! So ein Not so fast, my dear angel! After all, such a Bündnis braucht doch auch seine Überlegung.
union needs some consideration.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 100
ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Papageno, ich rate dir, zaudre nicht! - Papageno, I advise you not to hesitate. Give Deine Hand, oder du bist auf immer hier me your hand or you will be imprisoned here forever.
ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Wasser und Brot wird deine tägliche Kost Bread and water will be your daily diet. You sein. Ohne Freund, ohne Freundin mußt du must live without friends or sweetheart, and leben, und der Welt auf immer entsagen.
renounce the world forever.
Wasser trinken? Der Welt entsagen? Nein, I have to drink water and renounce the da will ich doch lieber eine Alte nehmen, world? No, then I prefer to have an old als gar keine. Also gut, da hast du meine woman than none at all. All right. Here is Hand mit der Versicherung, daß ich dir my hand with my promise to be true to you immer getreu bleibe.
.olang ich keine Schönere sehe.
.as long as I don't see a prettier one.
ALTES WEIB:
OLD WOMAN:
Das schwörst du? Do you swear to that? Ja, das schwör' ich! Yes, I swear to it! The Old Woman transforms into a young woman, dressed like Papageno. As he attempts to embrace her, the Priest comes and takes her by the hand. Fort mit dir, junges Weib! Er ist deiner noch Away with you, young woman! He is not yet worthy of you! (to Papageno) Zurück sage ich.
I'm telling you to go back! Soll ich zurückziehe, soll die Erde mich Before I go back, the earth will swallow me verschlingen. O ihr Götter! As the Speaker takes Papagena away, Papageno sinks into the earth. The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 101
The Three Youths arrive. DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Bald prangt, den Morgen zu verkünden, Soon the sun will rise to banish the night, die Sonn auf goldner Bahn.
and beam its brilliance on the earth.
Bald soll der Aberglaube schwinden.
Soon all superstition will vanish.
Bald siegt der weise Mann.
Soon the wise man will be victorious.
O holde Ruhe, steig' hernieder, Oh heavenly quiet, now descend, kehr' in der Menschen Herzen wieder; and return to the heart of man.
dann ist die Erd' ein Himmelreich, Then the earth will be as heaven, ind Sterbliche den Göttern gleich.
and mortals divine.
FIRST YOUTH:
Doch seht, Verzweiflung quält Paminen! But look, Pamina is suffering from doubt! ZWEITER, DRITTER KNABE:
SECOND AND THIRD YOUTH:
FIRST YOUTH:
Sie ist von Sinnen! She is out of her mind! DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Sie quält verschmähter Liebe Leiden.Laßt She suffers pangs of scorned love. Let our uns der Armen Trost bereiten! embrace console her! Her fate has greatly Fürwahr, ihr Schicksal geht uns nah! moved us! Oh if only her young man O wäre nur ihr Jüngling da! would be here! Oh here she comes.
Sie kommt, laßt uns beiseite gehn, Let's move aside so we can observe her Damit wir, was sie mache, sehn.
better and prevent a fatal mistake.
The Three Youths step aside. Pamina rushes in half insane, holding the dagger given her by the Queen. PAMINA: (addressing her dagger)
Du also bist mein Bräutigam? So you are my bridegroom? Durch dich vollend' ich meinen Gram.
Through you my grief will be ended! Opera Classics Library Series Page 102
DREI KNABEN:
THE YOUTHS: (aside)
Welch dunkle Worte sprach sie da? Oh, what sinister words did she say? Die Arme ist dem Wahnsinn nah.
The poor soul is near madness! Geduld, mein Trauter, ich bin dein; Patience, my beloved, I am yours. Soon we bald werden wir vermählet sein.
will be united.
DREI KNABEN:
THE YOUTHS: (draw nearer)
Wahnsinn tobt ihr im Gehirne; Madness lurks in her mind.
selbstmord steht auf ihrer Stirne.
She's contemplating suicide.
(To Pamina) Holdes Mädchen, sieh uns an! Lovely maiden, listen to us! Sterben will ich, weil der Mann, Since I cannot hate the man I love, Den ich nimmermehr kann hassen, and he has forsaken me, Sein Traute kann verlassen.
I want to die.
(pointing to the dagger) Dies gab meine Mutter mir.
This, my mother gave to me.
DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Selbstmord strafet Gott an dir! God will punish you if you commit suicide! Lieber durch dies Eisen sterben, I prefer to die by this dagger than to perish als durch Liebesgram verderben! as a grieving lover! Mutter, durch dich leide ich, Mother, I suffer because of you, and your und dein Fluch verfolget mich! curse that pursues me! DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Mädchen, willst du mit uns gehn? Girl, do you want to come with us? Ha, des Jammers Maß ist voll! Ah, my suffering is too much! Falscher Jüngling, lebe wohl! Faithless lover, farewell! Sieh, Pamina, ach! Stirbt durch dich, Look, Pamina dies because of you.
dieses Eisen töte mich! May this dagger kill me! (She tries to stab herself ) DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
(snatching the dagger from her)
Ha, Unglückliche, halt ein! Sollte dies dein Stop, unhappy one! If your lover would see Jüngling sehen, Würde er vor Gram this, he would die from sorrow, for you are vergehen; Denn er liebet dich allein.
his only love.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 103
PAMINA: (recovering herself)
Was? Er fühlte Gegenliebe, und verbarg What? He loves me, and concealed his mir seine Triebe, Wandte sein Gesicht vor feelings for me and turned his face away? mir? Warum sprach er nicht mit mir? Why didn't he speak to me? THE THREE YOUTHS:
Dieses müßen wir verschweigen, doch wir This, we're not allowed to tell you, but we wollen dir ihn zeigen! Und du wirst mit will show him to you! You will be amazed Staunen sehn, daß er dir sein Herz geweiht, at how much he loves you, and that he und den Tod für dich nicht scheut. Komm, would sacrifice his life for you. Come, let's wir wollen zu ihm gehen.
Führt mich hin, ich möcht' ihn seh'n! Take me to him, I'd love to see him! Zwei Herzen, die von Liebe brennen, Two hearts that are burning with such true Kann Menschenohnmacht niemals trennen.
love, humans can never separate.
Verloren ist der Feinde Müh', The efforts of the enemy are in vain, for the Die Götter selbst schützen sie.
gods are protecting them from harm.
(All leave) Act II - Scene 7
Rugged cliffs in the mountains at twilight. There is a roaring stream, and a brightly glowing fire. DIE ZWEI GEHARNISCHTEN::
TWO MEN IN ARMOR:
Der, welcher wandert diese Straße voll He who pursues this path full of dangers, Beschwerden, wird rein durch Feuer, becomes purified by fire, water, air and Wasser, Luft und Erden; wenn er des Todes Schrecken überwinden kann, schwingt If he can overcome the fear of death, he er sich aus der Erde himmelan.Erleuchtet will rise to heaven. Thus purified, he then wird er dann im Stande sein, sich den will be able to devote himself completely to Mysterien der Isis ganz zu weih'n.
Isis's mysteries.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 104
Mich schreckt kein Tod, als Mann zu I'm not afraid of death. Even death will not handeln, den Weg der Tugend prevent me from acting as a man, and fortzuwandeln. Schließt mir die from walking the path of virtue. Open up Schreckenspforten auf, ich wage froh den the dreadful gates, and I'll gladly risk the kühnen Lauf.
PAMINA: (from within)
Tamino, halt! Ich muß dich sehn.
Tamino, stop! I must see you! Was hör ich? Paminens Stimme? What do I hear? Pamina's voice? Ja, ja, das ist Paminens Stimme.
Yes, yes, that is Pamina's voice.
Wohl mir/dir, nun kann sie mit mir/dir Fortunate me/you, now she can come with geh'n, nun trennet uns/euch kein Schicksal me/you. Destiny will no longer separate us/ mehr, wenn auch der Tod beschieden wär! you, even in death! Ist mir erlaubt, mit ihr zu sprechen? Am I allowed to speak to her? Dir ist erlaubt, mit ihr zu sprechen.
You are allowed to speak to her.
Welch Glück, wenn wir uns/euch What joy when we will see you/each other wiederseh'n. Froh Hand in Hand in Tempel again. Enter the temple joyfully, hand in geh'n! Ein Weib, das Nacht und Tod nicht hand. A wife unafraid of night and death, scheut, ist würdig und wird eingeweiht.
deserves to be ordained.
Priests bring in Pamina, and Pamina and Tamino embrace. Tamino mein! O welch ein Glück! My dear Tamino! What happiness this is! Pamina mein! O welch ein Glück! My dear Pamina! What happiness this is!(He points to both mountain caverns) Hier sind die Schreckenspforten, Here are the gates of horror that threaten Die Not und Tod mir dräu'n.
me with danger and death.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 105
Ich werde aller Orten an deiner Seite sein; I will always be by your side. I myself will Ich selbsten führe dich, die Liebe leitet mich! lead you, for I am guided by love.
(Pamina takes Tamino by the hand) Sie mag den Weg mit Rosen streun, weil Although our path will be strewn with Rosen stets bei Dornen sein. Spiel du die thorny roses, our love will prevail. Now Zauberflöte an; Sie schütze uns auf uns'rer you'll play your magic flute. It will protect us on our way.
Es schnitt in einer Zauberstunde. Mein Vater My father used his magical powers to sie aus tiefstem Grunde Der tausendjähr'gen fashion it himself from a thousand-year old Eiche aus, Bei Blitz und Donner, Sturm und oak tree during thunder, lightning, storm Braus. Nun komm und spiel' die Flöte an, Sie and gale. Now play your magic flute, for it leite uns auf grauser Bahn.
will protect us on our way.
Wir wandeln (Ihr wandelt) durch des Tones With the flute's power, we wander (you Macht Froh durch des Todes düstre Nacht.
wander) happily through death's darkness.
Tamino and Pamina pass through the fiery cave while he plays the flute. As soon as they emerge from the ordeal of fire, they embrace. Wir wandelten durch Feuersgluten, We wandered through the flames, and Bekämpften mutig die Gefahr.
bravely overcame the dangers.
(to the flute) Dein Ton sei Schutz in Wasserfluten, May your tones protect us in the flood of So wie er es im Feuer war.
waters, as they did in the fires.
Tamino and Pamina proceed into the cave of water, and emerge shortly thereafter. Ihr Götter, welch ein Augenblick! Oh gods, what a glorious sight! Gewähret ist uns Isis' Glück! The joy of Isis is upon us! CHORUS OF PRIESTS:
Triumph! Triumph! Du edles Paar! Triumph! Triumph! You noble pair! Besieget hast du die Gefahr! You have overcome the danger! Der Isis Weihe ist nun dein! You are now consecrated to Isis! Kommt, tretet in den Tempel ein! Come, enter the temple! Tamino and Pamina enter the temple. Opera Classics Library Series Page 106
Act II - Scene 8
Daylight. A small garden. Papageno appears with a rope wrapped around his waist. Papagena! Papagena! Papagena! Papagena! Papagena! Papagena! Weibchen! Täubchen! Meine Schöne! Little woman! Little dove! My beauty! Vergebens! Ach, sie ist verloren! It's hopeless! Ah, I've lost her! Ich bin zum Unglück schon geboren! I was born to be miserable! Ich plauderte, und das war schlecht, I talked, and that was wrong, und drum geschieht es mir schon recht! so it serves me right!.
Seit ich gekostet diesen Wein, Since I tasted that wine and saw that seit ich das schöne Weibchen sah, beautiful little woman, there has been a so brennt's im Herzenskämmerlein, constant fire burning in my heart so zwickt's hier, so zwickt's da.
that's torturing me day and night! Papagena! Light of my life! Papagena, liebes Täubchen! Papagena, darling little dove! Es ist umsonst, es ist vergebens! It's no use, it's all hopeless! Müde bin ich meines Lebens! I'm tired of life! Sterben macht der Lieb' ein End', Nothing is left for me but to die, wenn's im Herzen noch so brennt.
even though my heart is burning.
(He takes the rope) Diesen Baum da will ich zieren, I've chosen this tree to hang from, mir an ihm den Hals zuschnüren, since life is no longer worth living.
weil das Leben mir mißfällt; Farewell deceitful world since you treated gute Nacht, du falsche Welt.
me so badly, and refused to grant me a Weil du böse an mir handelst, beautiful mate, all is over and I shall die.
mir kein schönes Kind zubandelst, Lovely girl, remember me.
so ist's aus, so sterbe ich;schöne Mädchen, denkt an mich.
Will sich eine um mich Armen, In case someone wants to love or pity me Eh' ich hänge, noch erbarmen, before I hang myself, Nun, so laß ich's diesmal sein! just call out to me, yes or no.
Rufet nur, ja oder nein.
(Papageno looks around) Keine hört mich; alles stille! No one hears me, all is quiet! Also ist es euer Wille? Tell me then, is it your will? Papageno, frisch hinauf! Papageno, swing up high! Ende deinen Lebenslauf! End your life!(He looks around) Nun, ich warte noch, es sei, Well, I'll wait a while.
Bis man zählet: eins, zwei, drei.
I'll count from one, two, three.
The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 107
(He whistles) (He looks around and whistles) (He looks around and whistles) (He looks around) Nun, wohlan, es bleibt dabei, weil mich Well then, let it be! While nothing is nichts zurücke hält, Gute Nacht, du falsche stopping me, goodnight then you deceitful As Papageno tries to hang himself, the Three Youths hurry in. DREI KNABEN:
THE THREE YOUTHS:
Halt ein, o Papageno! und sei klug, Stop Papageno, be smart! You only live man lebt nur einmal, dies sei dir genug! once, and let that be enough for you! Ihr habt gut reden, habt gut scherzen; It's easy for you to talk and joke. If your doch brennt' es euch, wie mich im Herzen, hearts would burn like mine, you would ihr würdet auch nach Mädchen gehn.
also chase young girls.
THE THREE YOUTHS:
So lasse deine Glöckchen klingen, Then let your magic bells ring. They will dies wird dein Weibchen zu dir bringen.
bring your little woman to you.
Ich Narr vergaß der Zauberdinge! I'm such a fool, I forgot the magic thing! Erklinge, Glockenspiel, erklinge! Ring, bells, ring! Ich muß mein liebes Mädchen seh'n.
I must see my dear little girl.
Klinget, Glöckchen, klinget, Ring little bells, ring! Schafft mein Mädchen her! Bring my little girl! Klinget, Glöckchen, klinget! Ring, bells, ring! Bringt mein Weibchen her.
Bring my little girl to me! He plays the glockenspiel, and then the Three Youths return with Papagena. DREI KNABEN:
Nun, Papageno, sieh dich um! Now, Papageno, turn around! Opera Classics Library Series Page 108
The Three Youths leave. Papageno turns around, sees Papagena, and becomes dumbfounded. PAPAGENO: (dancing around her)
PAPAGENA: (dancing around him)
Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa-Pa Papageno! Papagena! Bist du mir nun ganz gegeben? Are you really all mine now? Nun, bin ich dir ganz gegeben! Yes, I'm really all yours now! Nun, so sei mein liebes Weibchen! So then be my little wife! Nun, so sei mein Herzenstäubchen! Now then be my little sweetheart! Welche Freude wird das sein, wenn die What a joy it would be if the gods would Götter uns bedenken, unsrer liebe Kinder bless us with children, very darling little schenken, so liebe, kleine Kinderlein! Erst einen kleinen Papageno.
First a little Papageno.
Dann eine kleine Papagena.
Then a little Papagena.
Dann wieder einen Papageno.
Then another Papageno.
Dann wieder eine Papagena- Then another Papagena.
Papageno! Papagena! Papagena! Papagena! Es ist das höchste der Gefühle, It would be the greatest feeling wenn viele, viele Papageno/a, if we would be blessed with many der Eltern Segen werden sein.
Papagenos and Papagenas.
Both leave arm in arm. The Magic Flute Libretto Act II Page 109
Act II - Scene 9
Rugged cliffs. It is dark. Monostatos, the Queen, and the Three Ladies appear with lighted torches. MONOSTATOS: (near the Queen)
Nur stille, stille, stille, All is quiet, quiet, quiet! bald dringen wir im Tempel ein.
Soon we will enter the temple.
ALL THE LADIES:
Nur stille, stille, stille, All is quiet, quiet, quiet! bald dringen wir im Tempel ein.
Soon we will enter the temple.
Doch, Fürstin, halte Wort! You, Queen, will keep your word, Erfülle dein Kind muß meine Gattin sein.
your child must become my wife! Ich halte Wort; es ist mein Wille, mein Kind I keep my word, I want my child to be your soll deine Gattin sein.
DREI DAMEN:
ALL THE LADIES:
Ihr Kind soll deine Gattin sein.
Her child will be his wife.
The sounds of thunder and rushing water are heard. Doch still, ich höre schrecklich Rauschen, Quiet! I hear a frightful roaring, like wie Donnerton und Wasserfall.
thunder and a waterfall.
KÖNIGIN, DIE DAMEN:
QUEEN AND LADIES:
Ja, fürchterlich ist dieses Rauschen, Yes, this roaring is horrible, like the echo of Wie fernen Donners Widerhall! Nun sind sie in des Tempels Hallen.
Now they're assembling in the temple hall.
Dort wollen wir sie überfallen. Die We will overtake them there. We will Frömmler tilgen von der Erd' mit destroy them with sword and fire, and Feuersglut und mächt'gem Schwert.
remove those hypocrites from the earth.
DREI DAMEN, MONOSTATOS:
LADIES AND MONOSTATOS:
Dir, große Königin der Nacht, To satisfy your vengeance, we will bring the sei uns'rer Rache Opfer gebracht.
victims to you, great Queen of the Night.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 110
Thunder, lightning, and storm. Zerschmettert, zernichtet ist unsere Macht, Our power is destroyed and demolished, Wir alle gestürzt in ewige Nacht! and we'll be hurled into eternal darkness! They all sink into the earth. Act II - Scene 10
Temple of the Sun. Sarastro, Priests and Priestesses. Tamino and Pamina stand before Sarastro. Die Strahlen der Sonne vertreiben die The sun's radiant glory has vanquished the Nacht, Zernichten der Heuchler night, and has destroyed the deceiving erschlichene Macht.
powers of the hypocrites.
CHORUS OF PRIESTS:
Heil sei euch Geweihten! Glory to the consecrated! Ihr dränget durch Nacht.
You have been guided through darkness, Dank sei dir, Osiris, thanks to Osiris, Dank dir, Isis, gebracht! and thanks to Isis.
Es siegte die Stärke The strong have conquered, Und krönet zum Lohn and as their reward, Die Schönheit und Weisheit Mit ewiger Kron'.
with eternal beauty and wisdom.
END of OPERA
The Magic Flute Discography Page 111
Opera Classics Library Series Page 112
The Magic Flute Discography Page 113
(Live performance from the Salzburg Festival)Novotna (Pamina); Roswaenge (Tamino);Domgraf-Fassbaender (Papageno); Komarek (Papagena);Osvath (Queen); Kipnis (Saarastro); Jerger (Elderly Priest);Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Toscanini (Conductor) Lemnitz (Pamina); Roswaenge (Tamino); Hüsch (Papageno);Beilke (Papagena); Berger (Queen); Strienz (Sarastro);Grossmann (Elderly Priest); Tessmer (Monostatos);Berlin Philharmonic/Berlin Favres Chorus; Beecham (Conductor) Seefried (Pamina); Dermota (Tamino); Kunz (Papageno);Loose Papagena); Lipp (Queen); Weber (Sarastro);London (Elderly Priest); Klein (Monostatos);Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Karajan (Conductor) (Live performance from Salzburg Festival)Seefried (Pamina); Dermota (Tamino); Kunz (Papageno);Oravez (Papagena); Lipp (Queen); Greindl (Sarastro);Schöffler (Elderly Priest); Klein (Monostatos);Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Furtwängler (Conductor) Stader (Pamina); Haefliger (Tamino); Fischer-Dieskay (Papageno);Otto (Papagena); Streich (Queen); Greindl (Sarastro);Borg (Elderly Priest); Vantin (Monostatos);Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/Berlin RIAS Chorus; Fricasy (Conductor) Gueden (Pamina); Simoneau (Tamino); Berry (Papageno);Loos (Papagena); Böhme (Sarastro); Schöffler (Elderly Priest);Jaresch (Monostatos);Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Böhn (Conductor) Bijster (Pamina); Garen (Tamino); Gschwend (Papageno);Duval (Papagena); Tyler (Queen) Hoekman (Sarastro);Goren (Elderly Priest); Taverne (Monostatos);Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; Krannhals (Conductor) Janowitz (Pamina); Gedda (Tamino); Berry (Papageno);Pütz (Papagena); Popp (Queen); Frick (Sarastro);Crass (Elderly Priest); Unger (Monostatos);Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra; Klemperer (Conductor) Opera Classics Library Series Page 114
Lear (Pamina); Wunderlich (Tamino); Fischer-Dieskau (Papageno);Otto (Papagena); Peters (Queen); Crass (Sarastro);Hotter (Elderly Priest); Lenz (Monostatos);Berlin Philharmonic/Berlin RIAS Chorus; Böhn (Conductor) Donath (Pamina); Schreier (Tamino); Leib (Papageno);Geszty (Papagena); Adam (Sarastro); Vogel (Elderly Priest);Neukirch (Monostatos);Dresden State Orchestra/Leipzig Radio Chorus; Suitner (Conductor) Lorengar (Pamina); Burrows (Tamino); Prey (Papageno);Holm (Papagena); Deutekom (Queen); Talvela (Sarastro);Fischer-Dieskau (Elderly Priest); Stolze (Monostatos);Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Solti (Conductor) Rothenberger (Pamina); Schreier (Tamino); Berry (Papageno);Miljakovic (Papagena); Moser (Queen); Moll (Sarastro);Adam (Elderly Priest); Brokmeier (Monostatos);Bavarian State Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Sawallisch (Conductor) (Sound track in Swedish)Urrila (Pamina); Köstlinger (Tamino); Hagegärd (Papageno);Eriksson (Papagena); Nordin (Queen); Cold (Sarastro);Saedén (Elderly Priest); Ulfung (Monostatos);Swedish Radio Orchestra and Chorus; Ericson (Conductor) Te Kanawa (Pamina); Hofmann (Tamino); Huttenlocher (Papageno);Battle (Papagena); Gruberova (Queen); Moll (Sarastro);Van Dam (Elderly Priest); Orth (Monostatos);Rhine Opera Chorus/Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra;Lombard (Conductor) Mathis (Pamina); Araiza (Tamino); Hornik (Papageno);Perry (Papagena); Van Dam (Sarastro); Kruse (Monostatos);Berlin Philharmonic/Deutsche Oper Chorus; Karajan (Conductor) Cortrubas (Pamina); Tappy (Tamino); Boesch (Papageno);Kales (Papagena); Talvela (Sarastro); Hiestermann (Monostatos);Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Levine (Conductor) The Magic Flute Discography Page 115
Popp (Pamina); Jerusalem (Tamino); Brendel (Papageno);Lindner (Papagena); Gruberova (Queen); Bracht (Sarastro);Zednik (Monosstatos);Bavarian Radio Chorus and Sympony Orchestra; Haitink (Conductor) Kwebsilber (Pamina); de Mey (Tamino); Verschaeve (Papageno);Putten (Papagena); Poulenard (Queen); der Kamp (Sarastro);Vels (Monostatos);Viva la Musica Chamber Choir/Utrech/Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra;Koopman (Conductor) M. Price (Pamina) Schreier (Tamino); Melbye (Papageno);Venuti (Papagena); Serra (Queen); Moll (Sarastro);Tear (Monostatos);Leipzig Radio Chorus/Dresden State Orchestra; Davis (Conductor) Bonney (Pamina); Blochwitz (Tamino); Scharinger (Papageno);Schmid (Papagena); Gruberova (Queen); Salminen (Saarastro);Keller (Monostatos);Zurich Opera Hourse Chorus and Orchestra; Harnoncourt (Conductor) Orgonasova (Pamina); Winbergh (Tamino); Hagegärd (Papageno);Bovet (Papagena); Sumi Jo (Queen); Selig (Sarastro);Vogel (Monostatos);Paris Orchestra Ensemble/ROmand Chamber Choir; Jordan (Conductor) Te Kanawa (Pamina(; Araiza (Tamino); Bär (Papageno);Lind (Papagena); Studer (Queen); Ramey (Sarastro);Baldin (Monostatos);Abrosian Opera Chorus/Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra;Mariner (Conductor) Ziesak (Pamina); Heilmann (Tamino); Krauss (Papageno);Leitner (Papagena); Sumi Jo (Queen); Moll (Sarastro);Zednik (Monostatos);Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Solti (Conductor) Upshaw (Pamina); Johnson (Tamino); Schmidt (Papageno);Pierard (Papagena); Hoch (Queen); Hauptmann (Sarastro);de Mey (Monostatos);London Classical Players/Schütz Choir of London;Norrington (Conductor) Opera Classics Library Series Page 116
Hendricks (Pamina); Hadley (Tamino); Allen (Papageno);Steinsky (Papagena); Anderson (Queen); Lloyd (Sarastro);Wildhaber (Monostatos);Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus; Mackerras (Conductor) Battle (Pamina); Araiza (Tamino); Hemm (Papageno);Kilduff (Papagena); Serra (Queen); Moll (Sarastro);Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Levine (Conductor) Oelze (Pamina); Schade (Tamino); Finley (Papageno);Backes (Papagena);Sieden (Queen); Peeters (Sarastro);English Baroque Soloists; Gardiner (Conductor) Mannion (Pamina); Blochwitz (Tamino); Scharinger (Papageno);Kitchen (Papagena); Dessay (Queen); Hagen (Sarastro);Les Arts Florissants; Christie (Conductor) Röschmann (Pamina); Hartmann (Tamino); Keenlyside (Papageno);Damrau (Queen);Covent Garden; Davis (Conductor) The Magic Flute Videography Page 117
Opera Classics Library Series Page 118
The Magic Flute Videography Page 119
Arthaus Musik DVD (1978)
Lott (Pamina); Goeke (Tamino); Luxon (Papageno);Conquet (Queen); Thomaschke (Sarastro);London Philharmonic; Haitink (Conductor) Virgin VHS (1989)
Biel (Pamina); Dahlberg (Tamino); Samuelsson (Papageno);Frandsen (Queen); Polgár (Sarastro); Salomaa (Elderly Priest);Chorus and Orchestra of the Drottninghom Court Theatre;Ostman (Conductor);Järvefelt (Director); Oloffson (Video Director) DG DVD (1991)
Battle (Pamina); Araiza (Tamino); Hemm (Papageno); Serra (Queen);Moll (Sarastro); Schmidt (Elderly Priest);Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra; Levine (Conductor);Cox and Mostart (Directors); Large (Video Director) Phillips VHS (1994)
Popp (Pamina); Araiza (Tamino); Brendel (Papageno);Gruberova (Queen); Moll (Sarastro); Rootering (Elderly Priest); Orth(Monostatos);Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Sawallisch (Conductor);Everding (Director); Windgassen (Video Director) Phillips VHS (1994)
M. Price (Pamina); Scheier (Tamino); Melbye (Papageno);Serra (Queen); Moll (Sarastro); Adam (Elderly Priest);Tear (Monostatos);Leipzig Radio Chorus/Dresden Staatskapelle; Davis (Conductor);Groot (Animator) House of Opera DVD (1995)
Rost (Pamina); Groves (Tamino); Keenlyside (Papageno); Larson(Papagena); Loukianetz (Queen); Hoelle (Sarastro);Teatro alla Scala; Muti (Conductor) BBC (2003)
Röschmann (Pamina); Hartmann (Tamino);Keenlyside (Papageno); Damrau (Queen); Covent Garden;Davis (Conductor) Opera Classics Library Series Page 120
Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms Page 121
DICTIONARY OF OPERA AND MUSICAL TERMS
Accelerando - Play the music faster, but gradually.
Adagio - At a slow or gliding tempo, not as slow as largo, but not as fast as andante.
Agitato - Restless or agitated.
Allegro - At a brisk or lively tempo, faster than andante but not as fast as presto.
Andante - A moderately slow, easy-going tempo.
Appoggiatura - An extra or embellishing note preceding a main melodic note. Usually
written as a note of smaller size, it shares the time value of the main note.
Arabesque - Flourishes or fancy patterns usually applying to vocal virtuosity.
Aria - A solo song usually structured in a formal pattern. Arias generally convey reflective
and introspective thoughts rather than descriptive action.
Arietta - A shortened form of aria.
Arioso - A musical passage or composition having a mixture of free recitative and
metrical song.
Arpeggio - Producing the tones of a chord in succession rather than simultaneously.
Atonal - Music that is not anchored in traditional musical tonality; it does not use the
diatonic scale and has no keynote or tonal center.
Ballad opera - Eighteenth-century English opera consisting of spoken dialogue and
music derived from popular ballad and folksong sources. The most famous is The
Beggar's Opera, which is a satire of the Italian opera seria.
Bar - A vertical line across the stave that divides the music into measures.
Baritone - A male singing voice ranging between bass and tenor.
Baroque - A style of artistic expression prevalent in the 17th century that is marked by
the use of complex forms, bold ornamentation, and florid decoration. The Baroque period
extends from approximately 1600 to 1750 and includes the works of the original creators
of modern opera, the Camerata, as well as the later works by Bach and Handel.
Opera Classics Library Series Page 122
Bass - The lowest male voice, usually divided into categories such as:
Basso buffo - A bass voice that specializes in comic roles: Dr. Bartolo in
Rossini's The Barber of Seville.
Basso cantante - A bass voice that demonstrates melodic singing quality:
King Philip in Verdi's Don Carlos.
Basso profundo - the deepest, most profound, or most dramatic of bass voices:
Sarastro in Mozart's The Magic Flute.
Bel canto - Literally, "beautiful singing." It originated in Italian opera of the 17th and
18th centuries and stressed beautiful tones produced with ease, clarity, purity, and
evenness, together with an agile vocal technique and virtuosity. Bel canto flourished in
the first half of the 19th century in the works of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti.
Cabaletta - A lively, concluding portion of an aria or duet. The term is derived from the
Italian word "cavallo," or horse: it metaphorically describes a horse galloping to the
finish line.
Cadenza - A flourish or brilliant part of an aria (or concerto) commonly inserted just
before a finale. It is usually performed without accompaniment.
Camerata - A gathering of Florentine writers and musicians between 1590 and 1600
who attempted to recreate what they believed was the ancient Greek theatrical synthesis
of drama, music, and stage spectacle; their experimentation led to the creation of the
early structural forms of modern opera.
Cantabile - An indication that the singer should sing sweetly.
Cantata - A choral piece generally containing Scriptural narrative texts: the St. Matthew
Passion of Bach.
Cantilena - Literally, "little song." A lyrical melody meant to be played or sung
"cantabile," or with sweetness and expression.
Canzone - A short, lyrical operatic song usually containing no narrative association
with the drama but rather simply reflecting the character's state of mind: Cherubino's
"Voi che sapete" in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.
Castrato - A young male singer who was surgically castrated to retain his treble voice.
Cavatina - A short aria popular in 18th and 19th century opera that usually heralded the
entrance of a principal singer.
Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms Page 123
Classical Period - A period roughly between the Baroque and Romantic periods, the
late 18th through the early 19th centuries. Stylistically, the music of the period stresses
clarity, precision, and rigid structural forms.
Coda - A trailer added on by the composer after the music's natural conclusion. The
coda serves as a formal closing to the piece.
Coloratura - Literally, "colored": it refers to a soprano singing in the bel canto tradition.
It is a singing technique that requires great agility, virtuosity, embellishments and
ornamentation: The Queen of the Night's aria, "Zum Leiden bin ich auserkoren," from
Mozart's The Magic Flute.
Commedia dell'arte - A popular form of dramatic presentation originating in
Renaissance Italy in which highly stylized characters were involved in comic plots
involving mistaken identities and misunderstandings. Two of the standard characters
were Harlequin and Colombine: The "play within a play" in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci.
Comprimario - A singer who performs secondary character roles such as confidantes,
servants, and messengers.
Continuo, Basso continuo - A bass part (as for a keyboard or stringed instrument) that
was used especially in baroque ensemble music; it consists of an independent succession
of bass notes that indicate the required chords and their appropriate harmonies. Also
called figured bass, thoroughbass.
Contralto - The lowest female voice, derived from "contra" against, and "alto" voice; a
voice between the tenor and mezzo-soprano.
Countertenor - A high male voice generally singing within the female high soprano
ranges.
Counterpoint - The combination of two or more independent melodies into a single
harmonic texture in which each retains its linear character. The most sophisticated form
of counterpoint is the fugue form, in which from two to six melodies can be used; the
voices are combined, each providing a variation on the basic theme but each retaining
its relation to the whole.
Crescendo - A gradual increase in the volume of a musical passage.
Da capo - Literally, "from the top"; repeat. Early 17th-century da capo arias were in the
form of A B A, with the second A section repeating the first, but with ornamentation.
Deus ex machina - Literally "god out of a machine." A dramatic technique in which a
person or thing appears or is introduced suddenly and unexpectedly; it provides a
contrived solution to an apparently insoluble dramatic difficulty.
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Diatonic - A major or minor musical scale that comprises intervals of five whole steps
and two half steps.
Diminuendo - Gradually becoming softer; the opposite of crescendo.
Dissonance - A mingling of discordant sounds that do not harmonize within the diatonic
scale.
Diva - Literally, "goddess"; generally the term refers to a leading female opera star who
either possesses, or pretends to possess, great rank.
Dominant - The fifth tone of the diatonic scale; in the key of C, the dominant is G.
Dramatic soprano or tenor - A voice that is powerful, possesses endurance, and is
generally projected in a declamatory style.
Dramma giocoso - Literally, "amusing (or humorous) drama." An opera whose story
combines both serious and comic elements: Mozart's Don Giovanni.
Falsetto - A lighter or "false" voice; an artificially-produced high singing voice that
extends above the range of the full voice.
Fioritura - It., "flowering"; a flowering ornamentation or embellishment of the vocal
line within an aria.
Forte, fortissimo - Forte (f) means loud; mezzo forte (mf) is fairly loud; fortissimo (ff)
is even louder; additional fff's indicate greater degrees of loudness.
Glissando - Literally, "gliding." A rapid sliding up or down the scale.
Grand opera - An opera in which there is no spoken dialogue and the entire text is set
to music, frequently treating serious and tragic subjects. Grand opera flourished in France
in the 19th century (Meyerbeer); the genre is epic in scale and combines spectacle, large
choruses, scenery, and huge orchestras.
Heldentenor - A tenor with a powerful dramatic voice who possesses brilliant top notes
and vocal stamina. Heldentenors are well suited to heroic (Wagnerian) roles: Lauritz
Melchior in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.
Imbroglio - Literally, "intrigue"; an operatic scene portraying chaos and confusion,
with appropriate diverse melodies and rhythms.
Largo or larghetto - Largo indicates a very slow tempo, broad and with dignity. Larghetto
is at a slightly faster tempo than largo.
Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms Page 125
Legato - Literally, "tied" or "bound"; successive tones that are connected smoothly.
The opposite of legato is staccato (short and plucked tones.)
Leitmotif - Literally, "leading motive." A musical fragment characterizing a person,
thing, feeling, or idea that provides associations when it recurs.
Libretto - Literally, "little book"; the text of an opera.
Lied - A German song; the plural is "lieder." Originally, a German art song of the late
18th century.
Lyric - A voice that is light and delicate.
Maestro - From the Italian "master"; a term of respect to conductors, composers,
directors, and great musicians.
Melodrama - Words spoken over music. Melodrama appears in Beethoven's Fidelio
and flourished during the late 19th century in the operas of Massenet (Manon and
Werther).
Mezza voce - Literally, "medium voice"; singing with medium or half volume. It is
sometimes intended as a vocal means to intensify emotion.
Mezzo-soprano - A woman's voice with a range between soprano and contralto.
Obbligato - An accompaniment to a solo or principal melody that is usually played by
an important, single instrument.
Octave - A musical interval embracing eight diatonic degrees; from C to C is an octave.
Opera - Literally, "work"; a dramatic or comic play in which music is the primary
vehicle that conveys its story.
Opera buffa - Italian comic opera that flourished during the bel canto era. Highlighting
the opera buffa genre were buffo characters who were usually basses singing patter
songs: Dr. Bartolo in Rossini's The Barber of Seville; Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti's
The Elixir of Love.
Opéra comique - A French opera characterized by spoken dialogue interspersed between
the musical numbers, as opposed to grand opera in which there is no spoken dialogue.
Opéra comique subjects can be either comic or tragic.
Operetta, or light opera - Operas that contain comic elements and generally a light
romantic plot: Strauss's Die Fledermaus, Offenbach's La Périchole, and Lehar's The
Merry Widow. In operettas, there is usually much spoken dialogue, dancing, practical
jokes, and mistaken identities.
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Oratorio - A lengthy choral work, usually of a religious nature and consisting chiefly of
recitatives, arias, and choruses, but performed without action or scenery: Handel's
Messiah.
Ornamentation - Extra embellishing notes—appoggiaturas, trills, roulades, or
cadenzas—that enhance a melodic line.
Overture - The orchestral introduction to a musical dramatic work that sometimes
incorporates musical themes within the work. Overtures are instrumental pieces that
are generally performed independently of their respective operas in concert.
Parlando - Literally, "speaking"; the imitation of speech while singing, or singing that
is almost speaking over the music. Parlando sections are usually short and have minimal
orchestral accompaniment.
Patter song - A song with words that are rapidly and quickly delivered. Figaro's "Largo
al factotum" in Rossini's The Barber of Seville is a patter song.
Pentatonic - A five-note scale. Pentatonic music is most prevalent in Far Eastern
countries.
Piano - A performance indication for soft volume.
Pitch - The property of a musical tone that is determined by the frequency of the waves
producing it.
Pizzicato - An indication that notes are to be played by plucking the strings instead of
stroking the string with the bow.
Polyphony - Literally, "many voices." A style of musical composition in which two or
more independent melodies are juxtaposed; counterpoint.
Polytonal - Several tonal schemes used simultaneously.
Portamento - A continuous gliding movement from one tone to another through all the
intervening pitches.
Prelude - An orchestral introduction to an act or a whole opera that precedes the opening
scene.
Presto, prestissimo - Vigorous, and with the utmost speed.
Prima donna - Literally, "first lady." The female star or principal singer in an opera
cast or opera company.
Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms Page 127
Prologue - A piece sung before the curtain goes up on the opera proper: Tonio's Prologue
in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci.
Quaver - An eighth note.
Range - The span of tonal pitch of a particular voice: soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto,
tenor, baritone, and bass.
Recitative - A formal device used to advance the plot. It is usually sung in a rhythmically
free vocal style that imitates the natural inflections of speech; it conveys the dialogue
and narrative in operas and oratorios. Secco, or dry, recitative is accompanied by
harpsichord and sometimes with other continuo instruments; accompagnato indicates
that the recitative is accompanied by the orchestra.
Ritornello - A refrain, or short recurrent instrumental passage between elements of a
vocal composition.
Romanza - A solo song that is usually sentimental; it is shorter and less complex than
an aria and rarely deals with terror, rage, or anger.
Romantic Period - The Romantic period is usually considered to be between the early
19th and early 20th centuries. Romanticists found inspiration in nature and man. Von
Weber's Der Freischütz and Beethoven's Fidelio (1805) are considered the first German
Romantic operas; many of Verdi's operas as well as the early operas of Wagner are also
considered Romantic operas.
Roulade - A florid, embellished melody sung to one syllable.
Rubato - An expressive technique, literally meaning "robbed"; it is a fluctuation of
tempo within a musical phrase, often against a rhythmically steady accompaniment.
Secco - "Dry"; the type of accompaniment for recitative played by the harpsichord and
sometimes continuo instruments.
Semitone - A half step, the smallest distance between two notes. In the key of C, the
half steps are from E to F and from B to C.
Serial music - Music based on a series of tones in a chosen pattern without regard for
traditional tonality.
Sforzando - Sudden loudness and force; it must stand out from the texture and be
emphasized by an accent.
Singspiel - Literally, "song drama." Early German style of opera employing spoken
dialogue between songs: Mozart's The Magic Flute.
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Soprano - The highest range of the female voice ranging from lyric (light and graceful
quality) to dramatic (fuller and heavier in tone).
Sotto voce - Literally, "below the voice"; sung softly between a whisper and a quiet
conversational tone.
Soubrette - A soprano who sings supporting roles in comic opera: Adele in Strauss's
Die Fledermaus; Despina in Mozart's Così fan tutte.
Spinto - From the Italian "spingere" (to push); a singer with lyric vocal qualities who
"pushes" the voice to achieve heavier dramatic qualities.
Sprechstimme - Literally, "speaking voice." The singer half sings a note and half speaks;
the declamation sounds like speaking but the duration of pitch makes it seem almost
like singing.
Staccato - Short, clipped, detached, rapid articulation; the opposite of legato.
Stretto - Literally, "narrow." A concluding passage performed in a quick tempo to create
a musical climax.
Strophe - Strophe is a rhythmic system of repeating lines. A musical setting of a strophic
text is characterized by the repetition of the same music for all strophes.
Syncopation - A shifting of the beat forward or back from its usual place in the bar; a
temporary displacement of the regular metrical accent in music caused typically by
stressing the weak beat.
Supernumerary - A "super"; a performer with a non-singing and non-speaking role:
"Spear-carrier."
Symphonic poem - A large orchestral work in one continuous movement, usually
narrative or descriptive in character: Franz Liszt's Les Preludes; Richard Strauss's Don
Juan, Till Eulenspiegel, and Ein Heldenleben.
Tempo - The speed at which music is performed.
Tenor - The highest natural male voice.
Tessitura - The usual range of a voice part.
Tonality - The organization of all the tones and harmonies of a piece of music in relation
to a tonic (the first tone of its scale).
Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms Page 129
Tone poem - An orchestral piece with a program.
Tonic - The principal tone of the key in which a piece is written. C is the tonic of C
major.
Trill - Two adjacent notes rapidly and repeatedly alternated.
Tutti - All together.
Twelve-tone - The twelve chromatic tones of the octave placed in a chosen fixed order
and constituting, with some permitted permutations and derivations, the melodic and
harmonic material of a serial musical piece. Each note of the chromatic scale is used as
part of the melody before any other note is repeated.
Verismo - Literally "truth"; the artistic use of contemporary everyday material in
preference to the heroic or legendary in opera. A movement particularly in Italian opera
during the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana.
Vibrato - A "vibration"; a slightly tremulous effect imparted to vocal or instrumental
tone to enrich and intensify sound, and add warmth and expressiveness through slight
and rapid variations in pitch.
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Dictionary of Opera and Musical Terms Page 131
Opera Classics Library Series Page 132

Source: http://www.statmonkey.us/my/Burton%20D.%20Fisher/Mozart's%20the%20Magic%20Flute_%20Die%20Zauberflote%20(3600)/Mozart's%20the%20Magic%20Flute_%20Die%20Zauberflote%20-%20Burton%20D.%20Fisher.pdf