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| Mozart 1780 by Johann Nepomuk della Croce Public Domain |
Through
the darkness of ignorance, we struggle against the evil of falsehead.
Only the transforming light, leading to wisdom, will bring us
happiness.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's two-act
opera, The
Magic Flute, composed in the late eighteenth century, was intended as an allegory
related to Austrian Freemasonry, with the Queen of the Night
representing Maria Theresa, who became the first Empress of Austria.
Despite this, there is little doubt that its fairy-tale aspects are
the result of Enlightenment optimism. The word "magic",
which appears in the title, is a word that conjures hope and
happiness, and the flute is a fairy-tale instrument.
How
cunning of Mozart, I feel, to set such a strong piece of irony, using
allegory, against an escapist background. Perhaps Mozart intended
that the message could be delivered, most fittingly, by first
misleading the audience, and by trading on its appetite for a
hopeful, magical escape into light and joy. Maybe, the great composer
simply traded on the mood of the time, in order to achieve
recognition, although I accept this may be a fanciful suggestion.
Mozart
Engages with the Mystical Ideas of the French Philosophes
Mozart
was drawn to the "Illuminati", a radical, masonic group
whose founder, Adam Weishaupt, believed in the writings of the
French philosophes.
Mozart was mainly attracted to its mysticism, and to its emphasis on
tolerance and brotherhood. For example, Tamino speaks of the "Temple
of Wisdom"... "these columns prove that wisdom, industry
and art reside here." Also, the Temple of Wisdom is sub-divided
into Temples of Reason and Nature. Sarastro speaks of Tamino, who...
"wishes to tear from himself the veil of night and look into the
sanctuary of supreme light." He entreats Isis and Osiris to
grant that spirit of wisdom to the pair.
Therefore,
we have a simple tale of two royal lovers who manage to overcome
awful complications and evil, in order to achieve the precious goals
of self-knowledge and true love.
Darkness
is Ignorant and Light is Joy
In
line with other Enlightenment works, the music in The
Magic Flute uses
high pitch and loudness to depict light and joy, but a lower, solemn,
minor pitch to show how darkness equates with ignorance. The
portrayal of darkness and light, and wisdom and ignorance, in The
Magic Flute,
does not, of course, encounter the problems of a symphony, or an
oratorio, such as Haydn's The
Creation. The
visual stage effects which accompany the music and intensify and
enhance the musical description, help the transition from darkness to
light, from ignorance to wisdom, and can show us the intense drama of
the journey.
The
upward leaps in the music in Tamino's aria, which are meant to convey
yearning or searching, are also symbolic of the Enlightenment; The
search for love is an analogy of the Enlightenment search for truth.
The flute itself is another symbol: "Oh, such a flute is worth
more than gold or crowns, for by its power, human joy and contentment
will be increased." This shows a turning away from materialism
and into spiritual matters like love and human, spiritual happiness.
The
essence of the Enlightenment is summed up in Sarastro's lines in the
Finale. "The rays of the sun drive out the night and destroy the
hypocrite's false power." In these powerful words, we have the
concept, yet again, of light over darkness and the destruction of the
power of falsehood, which lies at the centre of evil.
Sources:
-
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, The Magic Flute, First Performed in December, 1791.
-
The Enlightenment - An Anthology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, 1990.
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