The
Magic Flute
Mozart
ACT 1
An imaginary Egypt. Three Ladies attendant on the Queen of the Night save
the fainting Prince Tamino from a serpent. When they leave to tell the Queen,
the birdcatcher Papageno bounces in and boasts to Tamino that it was he who slew
the serpent. The Ladies return to give Tamino a portrait of the Queen's
daughter, Pamina, who they say is enslaved by the evil Sarastro, and they
padlock Papageno's mouth for lying. The Queen, appearing in a burst of thunder,
laments the loss of her daughter; she charges Tamino with Pamina's rescue. The
Ladies hand a magic flute to Tamino and magic silver bells to Papageno to ensure
their safety, appointing Three Genii to guide them.
Sarastro's Moorish slave Monostatos pursues Pamina but is frightened away by the
feather-covered Papageno, who tells Pamina that Tamino loves her and intends to
save her.
Led to the Temple of Sarastro, Tamino is advised by a High Priest that it is the
Queen, not Sarastro, who is evil. Hearing that Pamina is safe, Tamino charms the
animals with his flute, then rushes to follow the sound of Papageno's pipes.
Monostatos and his retainers chase Papageno and Pamina but are rendered helpless
by Papageno's magic bells. Sarastro, entering in ceremony, promises Pamina
eventual freedom and punishes Monostatos. Pamina is enchanted by a glimpse of
Tamino, who is led into the temple with Papageno.
ACT 2
Sarastro tells his priests that Tamino will undergo initiation rites. Sworn
to silence, Tamino is impervious to the temptations of the Queen's Ladies, who
have no trouble derailing the cheerful Papageno from his course of virtue.
The Queen of the Night dismisses Monostatos, whom she finds kissing the sleeping
Pamina, and gives her daughter a dagger with which to murder Sarastro. The
weeping Pamina is confronted and consoled by Sarastro.
The gourmand Papageno is just as quick to break a new oath of fasting, and he
jokes with a flirtatious old lady, who vanishes when asked her name. Tamino
remains steadfast, breaking Pamina's heart: she cannot understand his silence.
The priests inform Tamino that he has only two more trials to complete his
initiation. Papageno is eliminated but settles for the old lady, who turns into
a young Papagena when the resigned Papageno promises to be faithful. She
disappears, however.
After the Genii save the despairing Pamina from suicide, she finds Tamino and
walks with him through the ordeals by water and fire, protected by the magic
flute.
Papageno also is saved from attempted suicide by the Genii, who remind him to
use his magic bells, which summon Papagena. The two plan for the future and move
into a bird's nest.
The Queen of the Night, her Three Ladies and Monostatos attack the temple but
are defeated and banished. Sarastro joins Pamina and Tamino as the throng hails
Isis and Osiris, the triumph of courage, virtue and wisdom.
by John W. Freeman
-- courtesy of Opera News