DISAPPOINTED and suffering, Mozart returned to Vienna in the middle of September. While his wife again repaired to Baden, he divided his time between the labours involved in the completion and scenic arrangements of the "ZauberflÖte" (620 K.) and the Requiem. The chorus "O Isis und Osiris," Papageno's song, which Schikaneder had stipulated for, and the second finale, must have been written after September 12; 1 on September 28 he completed the overture and the march which formed the introduction to the second act. After many rehearsals under the conductorship of the Kapellmeister Henneberg, then still a very DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. young man, the first performance took place on September 30. Mozart conducted at the piano, and SÜssmayr turned over for him. The playbill ran as follows: 2 —[See Page Image]

This day, Friday, September 30, 1791, the Company of the Imperial Theatre auf der Wieden have the honour of performing for the first time Die ZauberflÖte.

Grand Opera in Two Acts, by Emanuel Schikaneder.

The music is by Herr Wolfgang Amade Mozart, Capellmeister and Imperial Chamber Composer. Esteem for an appreciative public and friendship for the author of the work have induced Herr Mozart to consent on this occasion to conduct the orchestra in person. 3

Books of the opera, with two copper-plate engravings, representing Herr Schikaneder in his actual costume as Papageno, may be had at the box-office, price thirty kreutzers.

The scenery and stage accessories have been intrusted to Herr Gayl and Herr Nessthaler, who flatter themselves that they have performed their task with all due regard to the artistic requirements of the piece. DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. The success was not at first so great as had been expected, and after the first act Mozart rushed, pale and excited, behind the scenes to Schikaneder, who endeavoured to console him. In the course of the second act the audience recovered from the first shock of surprise, and at the close of the opera Mozart was recalled. He had hidden himself, and when he was found could with difficulty be persuaded to appear before the audience, not certainly from bashfulness, for he was used by this time to brilliant successes, but because he was not satisfied with the way in which his music had been received. The story that Haydn consoled Mozart by his approbation is untrue, 4 for he was in London at the time. But Schenck relates in his manuscript autobiography that he had a place in the orchestra at the first performance, and that after the overture, unable to contain his delight, he crept along to the conductor's stool, seized Mozart's hand and kissed it; Mozart, still beating time with his right hand, looked at him with a smile, and stroked his cheek. At the second performance on the following day he again conducted, but afterwards resigned the conductorship to Henneberg. On October 9 notice was sent to Berlin:—

The new spectacular drama, "Die ZauberflÖte," with music by our kapellmeister, Mozart, has been performed at great expense and with much magnificence of scenery, &c.; but it has not attained the success hoped for, owing to the inferiority of the subject and diction of the piece. 5

Schikaneder, however, persevered, and with every repetition the applause increased; Mozart's pleasure thereat, and more especially at the approbation expressed by Salieri and Cavalieri, may be gathered from his letters to his wife. The "ZauberflÖte" soon became the most popular of operas. It was performed twenty-four times in October; on November 23, 1792, Schikaneder announced the hundredth, and on October 22,1795, the two hundredth performance of the opera. 6

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

Schikaneder 7 had long varied his favourite farcical pieces by the production of operas, either adaptations of earlier ones or works expressly composed for him, 8 and in 1791 he had achieved a great success with the romantic-comic opera "Oberon, KÖnig der Elfen," adapted by Gieseke from Wieland, and composed by Wranitzky (1756-1808). 9 The brilliant appointments of scenery, costume, and machinery, and the satisfaction with which the dramatisation of Wie-land's universally popular poem was viewed by the public, heightened the interest in the opera to a degree far beyond the deserts of the light and popular music. It was first performed in Frankfort during the coronation festivities in 1790, and, rapidly spreading over the whole German stage, shared, and for a short time rivalled, the popularity of the "ZauberflÖte." 10 In order to assure himself of a repetition of this success, Schikaneder selected as a subject for his new opera the tale of Lulu, oder die ZauberflÖte, from Wieland's Dschinnistan. 11 The story is briefly as follows:—

In the kingdom of Chorassan there dwelt in an old magician's castle the good fairy Perifirime, called the "radiant fairy." Hunting in the neighbourhood, Prince Lulu, son of the King of Chorassan, enters the usually avoided castle, and the fairy, appearing to him in her full radiance, promises him rich reward if he will obey her behests. She discloses to him that the wicked magician Dilsenghuin, with the help of her faithless DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. attendant Barsine, has deprived her of her precious talisman, a golden fire-steel, which is obeyed by the spirits of the elements and of all earthly regions, every spark struck from it becoming a powerful spirit, subject to the possessor; none but a youth whose heart is as yet untouched by love can regain the talisman for her by stratagem. She designates Lulu as her deliverer, and promises him the best gift that she has if he will undertake the task. This is none other than the beautiful Sidi, daughter of Perifirime and Sabalem, King of Cashmere, whom the magician keeps in his power, making tender advances to her which she is only able to resist owing to her magic power of repelling attacks so long as her heart is untouched by love. The fairy dispatches Lulu with two magic gifts—a flute which has the power of winning all hearts, and of exciting and appeasing every passion at will; and a ring, by turning which the wearer can assume any form, and by throwing it away can summon the fairy herself to his aid.

Thus provided, Lulu approaches the magician's stronghold in the form of an old man, and by his flute-playing entices first the forest beasts, and then the magician, who takes him into the fortress to try his art upon the obdurate beauty. Lulu gains the confidence of the magician and his son, with Barsine and the dwarf Barka; the love of the beautiful Sidi is also soon his. He succeeds in throwing the magician and his companions into a deep sleep during a banquet, and possesses himself of the talisman. By the aid of the genÜ now subject to him, and finally by the appearance of the fairy, he overcomes all the dangers and obstacles prepared for him by the magician, who is finally changed into an owi, and flies away with his son, similarly transformed. The fairy destroys the fortress and carries the lovers to her castle upon her cloud-chariot; there the Kings of Chorassan and Cashmere bless their union. 12

This story was treated as follows in Schikaneder's opera:—

The "Japanese" Prince, Tamino, while hunting, is pursued by a great serpent, and falls in a swoon; three ladies of the Queen of Night slay the monster.. On the awaking of the Prince there enters the bird-catcher Papageno, the comic character of the opera, contrasting in the traditional manner with the grave heroic lover (who does not, however, display any great daring here). Papageno is a good-tempered, pleasure-loving, loquacious poltroon, whose feather costume is a sort of reminiscence of Schikaneder's bird comedies. He gives himself out to Tamino as the slayer of the dragon, but is punished for his boasting by the veiled ladies, who reappear and fasten up his mouth with a padlock, at the same time presenting the Prince with the portrait of a beautiful damsel, of whom he instantly becomes deeply enamoured. Hearing that the original of the portrait is Pamina, daughter of the Queen of THE LIBRETTO-RIVAL THEATRES. Night, and that she has been carried away by a wicked demon, he swears to free her from the power of the enemy, whereupon the Queen herself appears and promises him the hand of her daughter as the reward of his success. The ladies then command Papageno, from whose mouth they remove the padlock, to accompany Tamino to the castle of the magician Sarastro, which he is reluctantly obliged to do. They provide Tamino with a magic flute, Papageno with a chime of bells, and promise that "three boys, young, beautiful, pure, and wise," shall hover round them as guides. 13

In Sarastro's castle Pamina, who has endeavoured by flight to escape the hated advances of her jailer and tormentor, the Moor Monostatos, has been recaptured and is kept in bondage. Papageno makes good his entry; he and the Moor are mutually alarmed at each other's appearance, and run away in opposite directions. Papageno, venturing in again, finds Pamina alone, and acquainting her with Prince Tamino's commission from her mother to liberate her, they hasten to seek for him together.

So far the original story has been followed in its essential parts. The modifications which have been made in the characters and situations to enhance the dramatic interest are such as would occur naturally in the development of the story. But when Schikaneder had proceeded thus far in his adaptation he learnt that an opera founded on the same story was finished and about to be produced at the Leopold-stÀdter Theatre, which often placed itself in competition with his.

It was in 1781 that Marinelli opened his newly erected theatre in the Leopoldstadt. 14 He produced operas, among which the "Sonnenfest der Braminen" had a great run, and after the brief span of popularity which German opera had enjoyed at the National Theatre, the suburban theatre became a formidable and finally a successful rival. But the proper element of this theatre was in popular farces. The comic actor Laroche had created the part of Kasperl, the direct descendant of Hanswurst, and the people were never tired of seeing him play his coarse tricks and antics in the most widely different situations. It had been the custom to bring Hanswurst into contact with witches and magicians, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. and Kasperl was consequently introduced to the same society, with some differences in colouring, due to French taste and to the Eastern fairy tales disseminated mainly by Wieland. Popular songs played their part in these "Kasperliads," and out of modest vaudevilles, such as "Kasperl's Ehrentag," a fairy tale by Hensler (1789), in which the music was confined to some short choruses and an accompaniment to the supernatural apparitions, arose gradually comic magic operas. The LeopoldstÀdter Theatre had possessed since 1786 a fruitful composer in Wenzel MÜller, 15 whose place as a comic popular musician was somewhat similar to that of Laroche as an actor. On May 3, 1791, "Kasper der VogelkrÀmer," by Hensler, was performed with his music, followed on June 8 by "Kasper der Fagottist, oder die Zauberzither," a vaudeville in three acts, the words adapted from "Lulu" by Joach. Permet. 16 The piece follows the plot of the original pretty closely, and the dialogue is as far as possible verbally transcribed; nevertheless the whole effect is that of a travesty, and the text of the "ZauberflÖte" displays a decided superiority in comparison with it:—

Prince Armidoro, attended by Kaspar Bita, loses himself in the chase, and comes upon the fairy Perifirime, who despatches them to the magician Bosphoro, bestowing on the prince a guitar with the same virtues as the magic flute, and on Kaspar (through the little sprite Pizichi, who frequently reappears in time of need) a magic bassoon, which gives occasion to some very questionable pleasantry. The magic power of the ring, which enables the Prince to assume at will the form of an old man or of a youth, is very naively employed, the fancy of the audience being alone called in to represent the metamorphosis. The magician has a swaggering boon companion, Zumio, who guards the damsels and is in love with Palmire, playmate of the beautiful Sidi, afterwards in a similar relation with Kaspar. Having conciliated Bosphoro and Zumio by means of their magic instruments, and gained entrance into the castle, they win the love of the damsels, but not without exciting the mistrust and jealousy of the magician and his companion, who seek to possess themselves of the instruments. They are saved by Perifirime from a storm raised by the spirits subject to Bosphoro; an attempt to poison them fails through Pizichi's warning; finally they are all put to sleep at KASPAR DER FAGOTTIST. supper by the magic instruments, and Armidoro possesses himself of the talisman which makes the spirits subject to him. Perifirime appears, punishes Bosphoro, and carries the lovers back to her palace.

Apart from Kaspar's broad jokes, the opera is not wanting in effective situations, both dramatic and comic, and now and then the music takes a more ambitious flight. Thus, the opera opens with a grand hunting chorus, and the first act closes with the sprites tormenting the followers of the Prince, who are in search of him; the spinning song, the boat scene with the storm, and the sprites playing at ball with Zumio, all form good musical situations. The composer rises above the level of the librettist. In some of the songs and dances he has caught the popular tone very well, but has failed in the fresh humour which he elsewhere displays. In spite of all defects, or rather in great measure because of them, the opera, the music, and the mise en scÈne completely hit the popular taste, and 125 representations took place in the course of a very few years. As a consequence of this success there appeared in 1792 "Pizichi," or the continuation of "Kaspar der Fagottist," by Perinet and Wenzel MÜller, which had an equally brilliant reception, and was dedicated by the author "To the illustrious public, as a token of gratitude." Schikaneder could not hope to rival such a success as this with an opera on the same subject. He resolved therefore to transform the piece as much as possible, while utilising what had already been done on it, and to turn the wicked magician into a noble philosopher who wins Tamino to be his disciple, guides him to higher wisdom and virtue, and rewards him with the hand of Pamina. The idea was capable also of being turned to account in the interests of Freemasonry. The change in the political views of the government under Leopold II. had been unfavourable to Freemasonry, which began to be regarded with much distrust as the organ of political and religious liberalism. A glorification of the order upon the stage, by a performance which would place its symbolical ceremonies in a favourable light and justify its moral tendency, would be sure to be well received as a liberal party demonstration compromising neither the order as a body nor DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. its individual members. The effect was heightened by the consciousness of a secret understanding among the initiated, while the uninitiated could not fail to suspect a deeper meaning behind the brilliant display of spectacular effects. 17 Whether Schikaneder, himself a Freemason, 18 was the author of this idea, or whether it was suggested by the order, we have no means of ascertaining; the execution of it was principally due to Joh. Georg Karl Ludw. Gieseke. He was born in Braunschweig, studied at the university of Halle, and joined Schikaneder's troupe to earn his living as an actor and a chorus-singer. He had tried his hand already as an author, having prepared the text for Wranitzky's "Oberon," and enriched Schikaneder's repertory with a number of pieces in part translated and in part original. Schikaneder, never averse to accepting foreign aid, 19 made use of Gieseke's labours as a groundwork, which he altered to suit his purpose, inserting, for instance, the characters of Papageno and Papagena, and giving himself out as the sole author of the piece. 20 We have no means of ascertaining how far this alteration in the plan of the opera affected the first part; points here and there may have been retouched, but no important corrections were made, or some very striking contradictions would certainly have been removed. With the first finale we find ourselves in an altogether new new world:—

The three boys lead Tamino into a thicket, where stands the temple of wisdom, knowledge, and nature, exhort him to be steadfast, enduring, and silent, and leave him alone. He learns from a priest that Sarastro reigns in the temple of wisdom, and that Pamina has been taken from THE LIBRETTO. her mother for certain good reasons, which must remain concealed from him until all shall be revealed—

After being encouraged by invisible voices, and assured that Pamina still lives, he joyfully seizes his magic flute, whose tones have power to draw all living beings to him. At Papageno's signal he hastens in search of him. Papageno enters with Pamina; they are surprised by Monostatos and his slaves; Papageno has recourse to his bells, which set all who hear them singing and dancing. Scarcely are they free from the intruders when Sarastro is heard returning from the chase in his chariot drawn by six lions, and accompanied by a solemn march and chorus. Pamina, kneeling, informs him that she seeks to escape the love advances of the Moor, and implores him to allow her to return to her mother; this Sarastro refuses, but pardons her with the aphorism:—

In the meantime Monostatos enters, having captured Tamino; as soon as the latter perceives Pamina, he rushes to her, and they embrace tenderly. The Moor, to his consternation, is rewarded by Sarastro with "seventy-seven strokes of the bastinado," and the strangers are conducted into the temple of expiation, that their heads may be covered and they may be purified.

Here we may still trace the original design, for the magic instruments, the wicked Moor, and the chariot drawn by lions, have little affinity with the temple of wisdom; but with the second act we set forth on altogether fresh ground:—

In the assembly of the eighteen (3x6) attendants dedicated to the great gods Isis and Osiris, 21 Sarastro announces that the virtuous Prince Tamino stands at the gate of the temple, seeking permission to gaze on the "great lights" of the sanctuary; questioned by the devotees, he assures them of the Prince's virtue, discretion, and benevolence; and, on the assembly giving their consent with a thrice-repeated blast of trumpets, he thanks them with emotion in the name of humanity. For, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. when Tamino, united with Pamina, shall become one of the devotees of wisdom, he will destroy the empire of the Queen of Night, 22 who by superstition and imposture seeks to undermine their power; and virtue shall triumph at the overthrow of vice. The Orator warns him of the severity of the probation that he must pass through—but he is a prince, "nay more, he is a man"; he is able to endure all, "and once devoted to Osiris and Isis, he will feel the joys of the gods sooner than we." Tamino and Papageno are to be led into the antechamber of the temple, and there the Orator, in virtue of his "holy office" as "dispenser of wisdom," shall acquaint them both with the duty of man and the power of the gods. A solemn appeal to Isis and Osiris to endow the pair with wisdom, and to strengthen and protect them in the hour of trial closes this scene, which bears the impress of Freemasonry throughout.

The tests begin, after Tamino has declared that, impelled by love, he is ready for any trial to acquire wisdom and gain Pamina, and Papageno has agreed to make the attempt to win the love of Papagena, a pretty little woman, just suited to him. The impression here intended to be conveyed is evidently that of the higher nature and strivings of man in Tamino and of the limited and purely sensual side of his nature in Papageno. The first trial is that of silence. They are scarcely left alone in the darkness when the three Jadies of the Queen of Night enter and strive to excite their terrors, which is easily accomplished as far as Papageno is concerned, the steadfast Tamino with difficulty restraining his cries. The ladies disappear upon the summons of the priest; the Orator praises Tamino, and again covers his head that he may continue his "pilgrimage." Monostatos finds Pamina asleep in the garden, and is on the point of kissing her, when the Queen of Night appears, gives Pamina a dagger, and commands her to avenge her wrongs on Sarastro, to whom Pamina's father had bequeathed the omnipotent talisman which she had hoped to possess; by Sarastro's death Pamina will gain her freedom, Tamino's life, and her mother's love. Monostatos, who has overheard, takes the dagger from Pamina, and threatens to betray her unless she will grant him her love; on her refusal, he tries to kill her, when Sarastro enters, liberates Pamina, and promises to wreak a noble vengeance on her mother by securing her daughter's happiness.

Tamino and Papageno are conducted into a hall, to remain there in THE LIBRETTO. silence until they hear a trumpet sound. Papageno cannot refrain from chattering to an old woman who brings him a glass of water and, to his horror, claims him as her lover; a fearful thunder-clap terrifies him, and he only recovers when the three boys bring him a richly furnished table, and, reiterating the warning to silence, restore the magic instruments. While they are eating, Pamina enters, and construes Tamino's silence into a proof of his want of love for her; not even her lamentations, however, can tempt him to speak. After this proof of steadfastness, he is conducted to the assembly, and informed by Sarastro that two paths of danger still remain to be trodden; Pamina is brought in to bid him farewell, and, to her despair, he still refuses to utter a word to her.

Papageno is informed by the Orator that he shall be excused the punishment for his loquacity, but that he is never to feel "the divine joys of the initiated." He declares himself quite content, and only wishes for a cup of wine and "ein MÄdchen oder Weibchen"; the old woman appears, and is changed into the youthful Papagena, but only to vanish again the same instant.

Pamina, plunged in deep melancholy by Tamino's apparent aversion, is on the point of stabbing herself, but is restrained by the three boys, who promise to restore Tamino to her. Tamino is just then conducted to the gates of horror by two men in armour, with the injunction—

and left to tread the path of danger through fire and water, when Pamina rushes in, resolved to endure this trial in company with him. They sustain it happily to the sound of the magic flute, and are received with solemn rejoicings by the assembly in the temple. Papageno, in despair at the loss of his Papagena, whom he calls in vain to return, is about to hang himself, when the three boys appear, and remind him of his bells: at the sound of them Papagena returns, and his happiness is complete. In the meantime the Queen of Night, with her ladies, has gained admittance into the sanctuary by the help of Monostatos, and promises him her daughter's hand, if he aids her to victory; but a fearful storm drives them back, and Tamino and Pamina are united with priestly pomp by Sarastro in the circle of the temple votaries:—

It would be superfluous to criticise this libretto. The small interest of the plot, the contradictions and improbabilities in the characters and in the situations, are clear DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. to all; the dialogue is trivial, and the versified portions wretched doggerel, incapable of improvement by mere alteration. Nevertheless, a certain amount of stage dexterity is not to be denied to it. Schikaneder knew how to excite and sustain the interest of his audience by theatrical effects of combination and alteration. On this point the testimony of Goethe 23 is added to the lasting and wide-spread approval of the public; he declares that the "ZauberflÖte" is "full of improbabilities and of jokes that it is not easy to appreciate or to enjoy; but it must be allowed that the author has thoroughly grasped the idea of contrast and of producing grand theatrical effects"; he undertook a translation of the piece, and was for some time seriously occupied with it. 24 Undeniable as it is that the opera owes to Mozart's music the charm that it exercises over young and old, cultivated and uncultivated, it must be acknowledged that the piece, 25 poor from a dramatic point of view, affords many and good opportunities for the production of musical effects. 26 Whether THE OVERTURE. we think much or little of the Masonic views which are here seen embodied in the mysteries of Isis, 27 Mozart at any rate was inspired by the zeal of a partisan in giving them utterance.

The dignity and grandeur with which the music reveals the symbolism of these mysteries certainly have their root in his intense devotion to the Masonic idea.

A clear indication of this devotion was given to the initiated in the overture, 28 but in a way that showed how well he distinguished Masonic symbolism from artistic impulse. It opens with a short adagio, whose solemn accents raise the expectation of an apparition of grave importance, The trumpets, which are added to the full choir of wind instruments, give a fulness and brilliancy to the chords which had not at that time been heard before. The allegro; begins with a regular fugue on the theme—[See Page Image] the first bars reminding us of dementi's sonata, played before the Emperor Joseph (Vol. II., p. 199):—

The reminiscence may have been conscious or unconscious.

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

But the first glance at the subject of an overture to J. H. Collo's cantata, "Lazarus Auferstehung" (Leipzig, 1779)—[See Page Image] shows a considerable similarity to the motif of the overture before us, 29 with which it cannot have had anything to do, since Mozart in all probability never knew the cantata.

After the regular fourth entry of the whole motif, a free fantasia begins with the separate parts of it and the counter motif, in the most varied shades of expression, with an ease and elegance which lets nothing appear of the technicalities of counterpoint, and displays an animation and liveliness of truly sparkling brilliancy. After the close of the movement on the dominant with a marvellous crescendo, there follow three chords three times repeated, with pauses between, given out by the wind instruments alone, with powerful effect of climax: 30 —[See Page Image]

They are the same that occur in the temple assembly as a sign that Tamino is accepted and appointed to undergo the itests, and were suggested by the knocking or other rhythmical sounds to which members were admitted to be initiated in the mysteries of the Masonic lodge. This does away with the frequent suggestion that the second and third chords are THE OVERTURE. intended to baboimd, 31 indeed AndrÉ declares in the preface! to his edition that this solemn introduction, "uncomprehended of a profane public," to the mystic work which follows would be quite spoilt by the binding of these chords! Winter has accentuated the rhythm still more sharply in the "Labyrinth," the second part of the "ZauberflÖte," the overture of which begins with the chords—[See Page Image] which are repeated several times. The chords suggest to the musical mind only the solemn warning sound calling attention to what is to follow, but to the initiated they recall the probation which must be undergone by those who engage in the search for a higher light. In the allegro which follows the first theme is taken up again, not in regular fugal form, but working out the different motifs with unusually elaborate contrapuntal treatment, for the most part in the stretto. The very form of thematic treatment gives an impression of force, but of force opposed by many obstacles and hard to overcome; this is strengthened by the use of the minor key and by the startling harmonic progressions which intensify the character of gloom, until it amounts to horror. Serenity returns only with the recurrence of the principal key, and gradually rises to a glorious radiance, troubled only towards the close by a few startling chords, and shining out again with all the purer beauty, till one seems to float in a very sea of light. 32 Let the contrapuntist admire in this inimitable masterpiece of German instrumental music the science and intellectual mastery which it displays; let the Freemason delight in the refinement with which his mystical ideas are clothed in a musical dress; the true triumph of genius consists in having created a work which, quite apart from DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. scholarship or hidden meaning, produces by its perfection an effect on the musical mind which is quite irresistible, animating it to more active endeavour, and lifting it to an atmosphere of purest serenity. 33

The belief that Mozart selected the severer musical forms for his overture in order to prefigure the serious mood in which he approached the opera, obtains confirmation from his employment of them again at the solemn moment of trial. The entrance of the men in armour, who fortify Tamino with the words quoted above, before he proceeds on his dangerous voyage through the elements, is announced by an imitative passage for the strings—[See Page Imge] following a few solemn introductory bars, and retained in the subsequent working-out as a figured accompaniment to the song of the two men. The Cantus firmus, however, which they sing in unison, in octave, supported by flutes, oboes, bassoons, and trombones, is the old chorale "Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein," 34 unaltered except in the division of the crotchets into quavers, where the words ACH GOTT VOM HIMMEL. require it, and in the closing line added by Mozart. 35 He learnt the melody no doubt from Kirnberger, who often made use of it as an example, and twice worked it into a Cantus firmus. 36 This may be gathered from the fact that Kirnberger as well as Mozart raised the second line by a third, and that a motif interwoven with it by Mozart is an evident reminiscence 37 of one employed by Kirnberger in the working out of the chorale "Es woll uns Gott genÀdig sein":—[See Page Image]

The attraction which the melody had for him as a Cantus firmus for contrapuntal elaboration is proved by a sketch preserved in the Imperial Library at Vienna, which contains the beginning of another four-part elaboration of the theme, adhering still more closely to Kirnberger. According to Al. Fuchs, 38 this was the first of Mozart's drafts for the opera, to which it can only be said that in that case he made use of an earlier contrapuntal study. In the autograph score the movement is written continuously in connection with the whole finale, but the handwriting, at first neat, afterwards more and more hasty, shows clearly that it was copied from an earlier sketch. 39 Even those who are incapable of appreciating the contrapuntal art with which this movement is worked DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. out, 40 and who have no suspicion that they are listening to an old church melody, 41 will receive an impression of mystery and solemnity admirably expressive of the dramatic situation to which Mozart strove to give effect.

Mozart has throughout the opera given to the music which touched on the mysteries and the initiation into them a peculiarly solemn character, and this is consistently maintained through every shade of feeling, from mild gravity to inspired ecstasy. To this sphere belong the three boys, who, although emissaries of the Queen of Night, are represented in the course of the plot as the visible genÜ of the secret bond. In the quintet (6) the announcement of the guidance they offer to Tamino and Papageno is accompanied by a peculiar fexpression in the music, produced by a change in the harmonic and rhythmic construction 42 and in the instrumentation. The marchlike movement to which they lead Tamino to the gates of the sanctuary fulfils to admiration the expectation which has been raised. The sound-effects also are very uncommon. The clear boys' voices, supported by the stringed instruments without the double-bass, are sustained by the full, lightly touched chords of the trombones and muted trumpets and drums; and a long-sustained G for the flutes and clarinets sheds a mild radiance like a nimbus over the whole. The thrice-repeated warning "Sei standhaft, duldsam und verschwiegen," taken up by the firm tones of the wind instruments, raises the march whose solemn course it interrupts to a higher dignity and force; the few bars sung by Tamino throw into greater prominence the unusual character of the apparition, and the repetition of the boys' song strengthens the impression which has been given of the higher world to which we now have access. Such an introduction as this was essential to give the right tone and TAMINO. groundwork for the long recitative which follows, in which Tamino, prejudiced against Sarastro's wisdom and virtue, is gradually confounded and half-convinced by one of the priests of the temple. In liveliness of dramatic expression and successful rendering of the contrasts of animated conversation, combined with the seriousness proper to the surroundings and to the dignity of the priest, this recitative stands alone. The climax of the scene is reached in the consolatory assurance of the priest that all shall be made plain—[See Page Image] which is twice repeated by invisible male voices, accompanied by trumpet chords. A solemn expression, in which emotion and exaltation are united, betokens the announcement of an oracle. The requirements of musical climax, of dramatic effect, and of mystic symbolism are here again at one.

Meanwhile we are conducted to the temple portals; Tamino is consoled and reanimated by the intelligence that Pamina still lives, and, still far from having attained the philosophic calm of the votaries, he has no thought but for his love. As soon as he begins to express this purely personal and human emotion, the music becomes freer and lighter, and solemn seriousness gives place to cheerful geniality. The part taken at this juncture by the magic flute in assembling the listening animals round Tamino has no connection with the situation nor with the symbolism of the piece; it is a relic of the old fable. It was probably owing to Mozart's aversion to the flute (Vol. I., p. 385), as well as to the moderate proficiency of the tenor Schack, who played it himself, that the flute is brought so little forward as a solo instrument; another reason being that, as Tamino played it himself, it could only be inserted in the pauses of his songs. In this place it is a ballad-like cantilene to which the flute supplies the prelude and interlude; afterwards, during the visit to the dark cave, Mozart has left the flute part to the fancy of the flautist. During the fire and water ordeal, the flute has the melody of a slow march, and the peculiar accompaniment of low chords for the trombones, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. horns, trumpets and drums give it a curious, weirdlike character. 43

The three boys, or genÜ, in accordance with the numerical symbolism pervading the whole, appear three times. After acting as guides to Tamino, they appear to him and Papageno as they wait in silence within the gloomy cavern, and bring them for their consolation meat and drink, as well as the magic flute and bells. The musical characterisation is therefore lighter and more cheerful. Mozart, hopeless of making anything out of the nonsensical words, has kept to the delineation of an attractive ethereal apparition, and has created a short movement of marvellous grace and charm (17) endowed, as it were, with wings by the lovely violin passage which accompanies it.

The third appearance is again of a solemn character. The boys announce that soon "superstition shall disappear and wisdom shall triumph." The character of the melody and rhythm approaches that of the first movement, the instrumentation, as befits the situation, being less brilliant, although the tone-colouring of the combined clarinets, horns, and bassoons has a significance all its own. 44 The object here is to restrain Pamina from suicide and to offer her consolation; thus, while the boys are interwoven in the plot, they stand necessarily outside of the narrow circle of allegorical personages, and become, as it were, human; besides this, the exigences of the music require that they should be subordinate to Pamina. In the course of this scene, therefore, they lay aside their proper character to some extent, and become more pliant and less reserved. Mozart has rightly avoided too close an adherence to any external characterisation of the boys, and has adopted such means of expression as were best suited to each situation, not forgetting, however, to assert their individualities at every appropriate point. Pamina, on her side, is brought CHORUSES. into closer contact with the boys from the moment when she yields to their persuasions, and thus the ensemble with which the scene closes is endowed with a nobler, more exalted expression than that of the purely subjective emotion of Pamina's longing for her lost lover. A solemnity of a more exalted order belongs to those scenes in which Sarastro and the temple priests take part. This is at once manifest in the first finale, which has an altogether exoteric character. The march and chorus with which Sarastro is received, the closing chorus which celebrates his virtue and justice, combine force and dignity with a perfect radiance of beauty; they correspond to the choruses at the end of the opera when Tamino and Pamina, having withstood every ordeal, are welcomed within the temple and crowned with glory and wisdom. They are distinguished above the ordinary operatic choruses of the day as much by their dignity of expression as by their construction and mode of treatment; and the wealth of the instrumentation, more especially the introduction of the trumpets, gives a character of solemnity and magnificence then unknown in operatic music. Nevertheless they do not obtrude beyond the natural framework of the opera, and the limits of a work of art are never exceeded in the effort to express a higher meaning in the music. The analogy of the choruses with those in "KÖnig Thamos" has already been pointed out (Vol. II., p. 111). There they are treated very elaborately as independent pieces of music, while here the greater concentration of musical forces and the maturer, more elevated forms of beauty, display the mastery of a finished artist.

The esoteric character of the mysteries is brought to view in the second act. A solemn, slow march (10) introduces. the assembly of the priests in the most appropriate manner. It is said that in answer to the accusation of a friend that he had stolen this march from Gluck's "Alceste" (Act I., sc. 3), Mozart laughingly replied that that was impossible, as it still stood there. It was perhaps the best answer to such an impertinence. The similarity to Gluck's march, as well as to the last march in "Idomeneo" (25), consists entirely in the fitting expression of closely related moods.

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

But the special points in the conception are altogether new and original. A presageful mood, tinged with a gentle melancholy, rising to greater energy towards the close, transfuses this wonderful movement, the very tone-colouring of which is affecting. The soft muted tones of the basset-horn and bassoons are made clearer and purer by the addition of a flute, while the full chords of horns and trombones and the stringed instruments bind these elements into unity. The same tone-colouring, only several shades deeper (the flute being omitted, and of the strings only violas and violoncelli retained), is continued in the prayer (11) which follows, addressed to Isis and Osiris in a mysterious twilight, from which the simple impressive melody for the bass voice sounds forth with majestic and soothing effect. The repetition of the closing passage by the male chorus is of quite indescribable effect, when Sarastro's characteristic passage—[See Page Image] is given an octave higher. The earnest religious conception which underlies this prayer shows the spirit in which the symbols and rites of Freemasonry were approached by Mozart, who once thanked God that through Freemasonry he had learnt to look upon death as the gate of true happiness (Vol. II., p. 323).

The duet for the two priests (12)—a warning against feminine malice—does not come up to the same high standard, and only becomes at all imposing at the closing bars, "Tod und Verzweiflung war sein Lohn." The words could not be delivered with gravity without producing too comic an effect; Mozart has therefore treated them as a piece of friendly counsel, not as a priestly admonition, The second chorus of priests (19), which greets Tamino at the successful issue of his first trial, has, on the other hand, quite the dignity and solemnity of the first; although doubt and anxiety are for the present at an end, there is as yet none of the jubilant delight with which the victor is hailed at the final victory. A character of purity and elevation is expressed with a manly confidence differing from the SARASTRO—AIR—TERZET. intense sympathy of the first chorus, and the instrumentation is modified accordingly. Trombones and horns give an imposing tone, lightened by trumpets, flutes and oboes, instead of basset-horns, while the prevailing low position of the stringed instruments supplies force and gravity to the movement. The moderate length of this chorus, as of all the movements which have the same solemn and mystic tone, is a fresh proof of Mozart's sure insight. The powerful impression is made, the excited mood is appeased, without fatiguing the mind or dulling the charm of the unusual characterisation.

Sarastro never descends altogether from his high priestly eminence, but he shows a genial side to his character, and sometimes, as on his first appearance in the finale, a fatherly one. This more genial nature is expressed in the air (16),

"In diesen heiligen Hallen," which, as with so many other pieces from the "ZauberflÖte," we have first to forget having so often heard maltreated before we can realise the original impression made by it. The simple instrumentation and the easy treatment of the cavatina shows at once that the priestly character is not meant to be maintained here: it is the paternal friend speaking words of comfort to the maiden who confides in him. 45 Mozart, convinced that Freemasonry is the key to true philanthropy and friendship, has not contented himself with merely setting the trivial words before him to music, but has given expression with all the warmth and intensity of his nature to the highest and noblest feelings of the human heart. The beautiful terzet (20) gives a peculiarly elevated calm to Sarastro's sympathy in a situation which is more dramatic and musical than almost any other in the opera. Pamina is led in to bid farewell to Tamino before he sets forth for his final ordeal. This in itself is a test of his fortitude, for he is constrained to oppose reserve to her excitement, and to endure her reproaches for his apparent want of tenderness in silence. Between them stands Sarastro, consoling and DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. exhorting them, like a higher power holding the fate of them both in his hand. 46

It was Mozart's task to blend into one these conflicting elements of passionate grief, of deep emotion restrained by an inflexible will, and of unyielding earnest exhortation. It was comparatively easy to accentuate the contrasts. Pamina and Sarastro are in absolute opposition, and Tamino, joining issue now with one, now with the other, forms a natural middle point. It is fortunate, from a musical point of view, that the arrangement of the parts falls in with these conditions, land that the natural course of the emotions depicted lends itself to a musical climax. The simplicity of the orchestral means here made use of by Mozart shows how much he was able to accomplish with very little, especially in the accompaniment passage, which renders so marvellously the agitation of the situation. 47 It may at first sight appear fcommonplace; but the unusually low position of the violas, violoncelli, and bassoons gives it a striking expression of power and of breathless urgency. 48

The part of Sarastro taxed all the resources of a deep bass voice, such as that for which Franz Gerl, the original supporter of the part, was celebrated. 49 It was in another way as original a conception as that of Osmin. The latter may be said to have had a predecessor in the buffo of the Italian opera, but Sarastro is the first of his kind, and can as little be compared to the regulation bass parts of Italian opera as Almaviva and Don Giovanni to the baritones. The dignity and calm of the philosopher to whom passion is unknown would have afforded little opportunity for musical characterisation had not Mozart's genuinely German nature gone down to the intellectual depths of the character. For TAMINO. Sarastro's good temper and amiability, which might so easily do violence to the idealism of the conception, show their German origin unaffected by the symbolism around them. Mozart sought and found in the powerful sonorous tones of the bass voice the musical organ for the expression of a nature passionless indeed, but open to all that is good and noble, and possessing the benevolence and truthfulness of a mind matured in the graver experiences of humanity.

The intrusion of Masonic mysteries into the plot has had a bad effect upon the treatment of the characters, Tamino especially being injured by it. At first he scarcely presents an heroic appearance—rather that of a susceptible and generous youth longing to meet danger and strife that the right and his love may prevail. The original course of the plot leads him into dangers which he has to overcome by strength and courage; here, for some incomprehensible reason, he is to be converted to a belief in Sarastro. The fact of his probation taking place for the most part in silence is of disadvantage to him, both as a tenor and a lover; the dark cave and the wandering through fire and water are not particularly terrifying to the spectators, and his praiseworthy endeavours after virtue are too abstract to be interesting. And yet Mozart has filled in this colourless outline with the warm tints of youthful enthusiasm for all that is noble in life and in love. The first air (4) strikes the tone which is to prevail throughout. We may trust the word of the poet, that the sight of a lovely woman is sufficient to inspire the heart with a love that is irresistible, and to rouse it to a new and blissful life; but the musician alone has the power of so realising the miracle to the mind of the hearer that he feels it working in himself; and such a musician is Mozart. After a twice-repeated sort of sigh from the orchestra, there streams forth from an overflowing heart:—[See Page Image]

More agitated feelings follow this first glad expression of love, and the development of strong emotion is expressed by the form of the musical representation which follows every DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. turn of thought, breaking off the threads and joining them again without any connected flow of melody. The whole piece is a well-constructed cantilene, formed from separate symmetrical phrases, and recurring at the close with the words, "und ewig ware sie dann mein," to the same melody which followed the first exclamation with "mein Herz mit neuer Regung fÜllt."

Stormy passion and fierce longing are the proper accompaniments to all youthful love, and the moderation with which Tamino keeps them in check gives at once the keynote to his character. His enthusiasm for an ideal, and his noble and intelligent mind, are opened to us in the fine recitative, and the calmer expression of love which follows completes the picture of character.

Benedict Schack, the original Tamino (b. 1758) was both musically and intellectually a cultivated man. He was a good flautist, and composed several operas for Schikaneder's company, which he joined as a vocalist in 1784. He had become very intimate with Mozart in Vienna. When the latter called for him, as he often did, to take a walk, he used, while Schack was dressing, to seat himself at his writing-table and compose little bits of the opera which lay there. Schack was equally famed for his flexible and metallically pure tenor voice and his artistic and refined execution, but he.was a very inferior actor. 50

As the piece proceeds the love intrigue takes a peculiar tone from its association with the mysteries and with the ordeals belonging to them. Many allusions are made to the dignity of marriage as the consummation of righteous love, and this is apparently the sense intended to be conveyed by the oft-quoted ludicrous doggerel:—

The main points, how Tamino is to win Pamina by his PAMINA. initiation into the mysteries, and how Pamina comes to share his ordeals with him, are not made clear, since the love intrigue has originally nothing to do with them. Pamina, 51 at first contrasting with Papagena only as a gay, lively young girl whose higher nature has had no opportunity for development, shows herself in her true proportions when she approaches Sarastro with the pride and self-possession which denote her as his equal in dignity and sentiment. It is but for one short moment that the lovers first see each other, and by an irresistible impulse rush into each other's arms. This outbreak of passion falls so naturally into the rest of the movement, essentially different as it is in tone, that one is amazed that such simple notes can give so powerful an impression of jubilant emotion. Tamino and Pamina are separated at once, and are not reunited until near the end of the opera.

If Tamino may be said to be the expression of the enthusiasm of love as it awakes in the bosom of youth, Pamina may, on the other hand, be considered as the embodiment of the torment excited in a loving heart by doubt of the loved one's constancy. The spark which is kindled in her bosom by the sight of Tamino rises into an inextinguishable flame, and when his obstinate silence causes her to doubt his love, every hope of joy vanishes from her breast. It is not a difficult task for music to render the anguish of a broken heart, and the keener the pangs to be conveyed the easier it becomes. But to express with the utmost truth and intensity the deep grief of a maiden who has learnt to know her own heart by the first mighty pulsation of love, at the very moment when her hope is to be rudely dashed to the ground—this is the work of such a master only as the composer of the air (18) "Ach ich fÜhls." 52 Bitter pain DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. speaks here—pain without hope of solace; the memory of a vanished happiness has not yet softened into regretful melancholy, nor is it sharpened by the lingering pangs of conflict and torment overcome; it is a pain as yet unconscious of its own force and intensity. All feelings are swallowed up in the one: "He loves me not, and happiness is flown!" When to this open and truthful expression of the anguish endured by an innocent heart is united the charm of budding maidenhood, we feel ourselves in the presence of a beauty which moves our inmost being, and which Mozart alone of all musicians is capable of rendering in song. The form and means of effect employed are of the simplest kind. The music follows the course of the emotions in a continuous flow, without allowing any definite motif to predominate. It is a very delicate touch which makes the same expressive phrase occurring in the major to the words, "nimmer kehrt ihr Wonnestunden meinem Herzen mehr zurÜck," recur in the minor at the close to the words, "so wird Ruh im Tode sein." The voice part is put very prominently forward, the stringed instruments maintaining the harmonies and the rhythm in the simplest manner, while different wind instruments (flutes, oboes, bassoons) give a sharper accent here and there. The orchestra becomes independent only in the closing symphony, expressing deep sorrow very effectively by means of its syncopated rhythm and chromatic passages. This air forms a decided contrast to the garden air in "Figaro" (Vol. III., p. 91), and yet there is a deep-seated relationship apparent in them. In "Figaro" we have the purest expression of happy love, flowing from a human heart without a disturbing thought. Here it is the unmingled expression of sorrow for departed love. The one has the soft warm glow of a fragrant summer night; the other is like moonlight shining on rippling waters; but in truth, purity, and beauty of musical rendering, the two songs unmistakably betray the mind and hand of one and the same musician.

Before the painful impression has had time to die away there follows the brief interview of the lovers in presence of Sarastro and the Initiated, as represented in the terzet (20).

PAMINA—TERZET.

Pamina, in her anxiety and doubt as to whether Tamino's love will stand the test imposed upon it, gives the tone to the whole piece. Her concern is not appeased by Sarastro and Tamino's consoling assurances, and not until the time for farewell has really arrived do the two lovers' parts unite and contrast with that of Sarastro. Then the expression of emotion is raised and purified, and indicated by touches of extraordinary delicacy and depth, as when Pamina's passionate outbreak—[See Page Image]

deprives Tamino of self-control, and he too gives vent to the anguish of parting, while she appeals to him in mingled joy and sorrow, and Sarastro remains inexorable; or when at the inimitably beautiful passage at the close the hearts as well as the voices of the lovers seem to mingle and flow into one. Here again we may admire the skill with which the ordinary resources of musical representation are employed to produce extraordinary effects. 53 Instead of feeling her anxiety set at rest by this interview, Pamina is more violently agitated than before. She now no longer doubts that Tamino has ceased to love her, and, deprived of all hope, she seizes the dagger which her mother has given to her to murder Sarastro, and prepares to plunge it in her own bosom. Thus, at the beginning of the second finale, we find her "half-frantic" under the protection of the three boys. Their presence has a moderating effect on her passion of despair, and Mozart has carefully refrained from giving to the thoughts of suicide excited in a maiden's breast by her first disappointment in love the same kind of expression as would belong to one who, exhausted by long strife with the world, had resolved to rid himself of life and his sorrows DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. together. Thus, bold and energetic as the musical expression is, it never causes any distortion in the picture of a charming innocent girl, and this has a more tranquillising effect on the minds of the audience than the support of the three boys. In accordance with the situation the movement of the voices is quite free, generally declamatory, the interjections of the three boys holding the whole movement firmly in its groove. Pamina gives ready ear to the reassurance of the three boys, but, instead of breaking into loud exultation, her mind recurs lovingly to Tamino, and the music gains that soft pathetic tone which belongs to modern music. The supernatural element of the scene idealises it, and prepares the way for the solemn ordeal which is immediately to follow. Tamino, who has determined to tread the path of danger, but has believed he was to tread it alone, is agreeably surprised to find Pamina at his side. The reunion of the lovers is deprived, in face of the dangers which they are to overcome together, of every trace of sensual passion. Not until they are initiated into the mysteries for which they are undergoing probation can their love be justified or its enjoyment assured. The tone of the scene therefore is a serious one, rendered even solemn by the participation of the grave guardians of the sanctuary, who have just enunciated its ordinances. But the human emotion which irresistibly breaks forth adds a pathos to the solemnity and a charm to the youthful pair, filling us with renewed admiration for the genius which blends all these diverse elements into a living and harmonious whole.

Such a pair of lovers as this, so ideal, so sentimental (schwarmerisch) in their feelings and mode of expression, betray at once their German origin and character; there is nothing analogous in Mozart's Italian operas; even Belmont and Constanze, though of the same type, display more human passion. To the representatives of noble humanity, Sarastro, Tamino, and Pamina, stands opposed the antagonistic and vindictive principle, in the person of the Queen of Night. The manner of her representation leaves distinct traces visible of the different part she was originally intended to fill. At the beginning, when she appears as the THE QUEEN OF NIGHT. deeply injured mother, with all the magnificence of her regal state, there is nothing in the musical characterisation to indicate her gloomy and vindictive nature, which is thus proved to have been an afterthought. A solemn introduction, rising into a powerful crescendo, announces the coming of the Queen, while "the mountains are cleft asunder." It has been pointed out 54 that this ritornello has considerable resemblance to the passage in Benda's "Ariadne," which accompanies the setting of the sun:—[See Page Image]

Mozart knew and admired Benda's "Ariadne," and this passage may have been in his mind; but it is scarcely to be imagined that he consciously imitated it, and in any case he has rendered it far more effectively. A short recitative is followed by an air in two movements (5), the only one so DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. elaborate in form of the whole opera, the result doubtless of the traditional conception of the character of the Queen. The first movement expresses a mother's grief simply and pathetically, but without any tinge of the supernatural to characterise her either as the good fairy or as the Queen of Night. The allegro is far weaker, going off after a few energetic bars into long runs and passages quite instrumental in character, with nothing striking in them but the presupposition of an extraordinary soprano voice in the high—[See Page Image] to which they rise. This is apparently another concession made by Mozart to the "voluble throat" of his eldest sister-in-law, Madame Hofer (Vol. II., p. 330). There can be no difficulty in accrediting a sister of Aloysia Weber with the possession of a fabulously high voice; but it is remarkable that Schroder, who saw her in the same year (1791) as Oberon, should have said of her (Meyer, L. Schroder, II., 1, p. 85): "A very unpleasing singer; her voice is not high enough for the part, and she squeaks it, besides which she opens her mouth with a gape like the elder Stephanie." Nevertheless, she set no small store on herself, and must have been admired by a portion of the public; Mozart has made a still greater sacrifice to her in the second air, in which the Queen of Night commands her daughter to wreak vengeance on Sarastro. In design it is free and bold, in passionate expression of resentment very powerful; the two chief parts are both musically and dramatically striking, the close is genuinely pathetic, and the uniformly high position of the voice in conjunction with the forcible and somewhat shrilly toned instrumentation, is of very singular effect. All this notwithstanding, Mozart has allowed himself to be persuaded to ruin an aria which might have been a model of pathetic declamation by two long ornamental passages inserted between the parts of the air, which are not only destructive of proper effect, but also unnatural, and wanting in taste themselves. The Queen is attended by three ladies, who, however, have none of the vindictive qualities which distinguish her. Not THE THREE LADIES. only do we find unmistakable proofs of their original conception as good fairies, but the way in which they are treated in the opera has a spice of the drollery of MusÄus or Wieland, although without their grace and refinement; the merit which they possess is entirely due to Mozart. They show themselves in their true colours from the first introduction. Tamino enters in terrified flight from a serpent, 55 which is well-expressed by the orchestra; at the moment when he is falling into a swoon, the three ladies appear and slay the monster. As they gaze on the beautiful youth, tender promptings fill their breasts; each wishes to remain with him and to send her companions with tidings to the Queen; a dispute arises which ends by their all three going, after a tender farewell to the insensible Tamino. The situation is represented with vivacity and humour in three well worked-out and varying movements, and although the ladies never display any lofty emotions, they move with so much natural grace that the not very refined situation makes an impression of unclouded cheerfulness. A long cadenza for the three voices, with which the movement originally closed, was judiciously struck out by Mozart himself. 56

The ladies express themselves in similar fashion, though not quite so openly, seeing that they are not alone, in the quintet (6) when they deliver Papageno from his padlock, present him and Tamino with the flute and bells, and promise the companionship of the three boys. Here too, they are benevolent beings, bringing miraculous gifts, but not displaying any higher nature except when they mention the three boys, and even then the mysterious tone adopted belongs rather to the latter and the mysteries connected with them. Indeed, the teasing familiarity of the ladies to Papageno, and their coquettish politeness to Tamino, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. give them quite a bourgeois character, supported by the genial, jovial tone of the music, which is fresh, natural, and full of euphonious charm.

In the second quintet (13) the same ladies appear as opponents of the initiated, but their character has been already so clearly indicated that they cannot consistently turn into vindictive furies. They have the appropriate feminine task of inveigling Tamino and Papageno into breaking the silence which has been imposed on them, and, while easily accomplishing this, as far as Papageno is concerned, they find that Tamino is inflexible himself, and recalls Papageno to his duty. The object of the music, therefore, is not to bring a dismal or gloomy image before the mind, but to emphasise, without exaggerating, the comic element of the situation. The central point of interest is of course Papageno, who displays all the cowardice and loquacity of his nature to the ladies, and is only kept within bounds by his respect for Tamino; the ladies treat the interview almost as a joke, and even Tamino's steadfast determination acquires from its surroundings an involuntarily comic tone. The whole quintet is light and pleasing, destitute of any higher feeling, such as that of the first quartet; all the more striking is the effect of the powerful closing chords, to which the ladies, pursued by the initiated, depart with a cry of terror, while Papageno falls to the ground. The peculiar musical effect of this piece depends mainly upon the skill with which the female voices are employed; 57 where the male voices come in they are made to add to the combinations partly in contrast and partly in union with the female voices. The instrumentation is for the most part easy; in order to afford a firm foundation the two violins frequently go with the third voice instead of the bass, while wind instruments support the upper voices, which produces a clear, light, and yet powerful tone-colouring. The allegretto (6-8) in the introduction, in comparison with the two other movements of the THE MOOR—PAPAGENO. same, or the passages in the first quintet, "bekamen doch die LÜgner allÉ," "O so eine FlÖte," "SilberglÖckchen," and finally the announcement of the three boys may serve as examples of the union of orchestra and voices to produce a climax of novel and melodious effect.

The Moor Monostatos may also be considered as a follower of the Queen of Night, only left in attendance on Sarastro through the inconsistency of the adaptation, and made a renegade in order that the figure of a traitor to the order might not be omitted. He is never brought to the front, neither in the terzet, where he threatens Pamina and then runs away from Papageno, nor in the first finale, where he is made to dance by Papageno, and then bastinadoed by order of Sarastro. But in the second act, when he surprises Pamina asleep, he has a little song to sing (14) which is a miniature masterpiece of psychological dramatic characterisation. 58

The kingdom of Night is most strikingly characterised when the Queen and her ladies are introduced into the sanctuary by Monostatos to plot their revenge. The motif on which the movement rests—[See Page Image]

is graphically descriptive of the stealthy entry; the summons to the Queen of Night takes an expression of gloomy solemnity which stands in characteristic contrast to the dignified gravity of the priests.

Papageno adds a third element to the temple priests and the kingdom of Night. Even the inevitable character of the comic servant received a novel colouring from the introduction of Masonic relations. The qualities of sensuality, cowardice, and loquacity, on which the comic effect depends, are here made typical of the natural man, who, destitute of the nobler and more refined impulses of the initiated, aspires to nothing beyond mere sensual gratification. This it maybe which causes Papageno to appear far less vulgar and offensive DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE than most of his fellows. It is true that his wit is destitute of refinement or humour, but his jokes, though silly, are healthy and natural to one side of the German character, which explains the fact of Papageno having become the favourite of a large part of the public. Although Schikaneder had doubtless a share in this popularity (he made the part to his own liking, and when he built his new theatre with the proceeds of the "ZauberflÖte," he had himself painted on the drop-scene as Papageno), all the essential merit of it is Mozart's own. To whatever extent Schikaneder may have helped him to the melodies, that he came to the aid of Mozart's inventive powers will be imagined by none, least of all by those who know that the simplest song requires science for its perfection, and that truth and beauty are made popular, not by debasing, but by simplifying them.

Papageno's songs are genuine specimens of German national music—gay and good-humoured, full of enjoyment of life and its pleasures. The first song (3), "Der Vogel-fÄnger bin ich ja," is unusually simple, with an extremely happy, sympathetic melody; the addition of horns, with the tones and passages natural to them, gives a freshness to the accompaniment; and the by-play on the reed-pipe (ever since called Papageno's flute)—[See Page Image]

with the answer of the orchestra, has a really funny effect. The second song (21) is in two parts, differing in time and measure, but resembles the first in the tone of merry content which lies at the root of its popularity. Schikaneder may have given just the suggestion to the musical conception (Vol. III., p. 284), but the precise and well-rounded working-out is due to Mozart alone. Papageno's bells give a peculiar tone to the accompaniment, "eine Maschine wie ein holzemes GelÀchter," they are called in the libretto, and "istromento d' acciajo" by Mozart in the score; they were brought in for the ritornellos and interludes with easy variations in the different verses. The celebrated double-bass player Pischl-berger or, according to Treitschke, Kapellmeister PAPAGENO. Henneberg "hammered" the instrument behind the scenes. Mozart wrote to his wife at Baden how he had once played the bells himself behind the scenes:—

I amused myself by playing an arpeggio when Schikaneder came to a pause. He was startled, looked round, and saw me. The second time the pause occurred I did the same; then he stopped and would not go on; I guessed what he was after, and made another chord, upon which he tapped the bells and said: "Hold your tongue!" ("Halts Maul!"), whereupon everybody laughed. I fancy this was the first intimation to many people that he did not play the instrument himself.

The instrument occurs first in the first finale, when Papageno makes the slaves of Monostatos dance and sing to it.

Here it is brought prominently forward, supporting the melody alone, accompanied only pizzicato by the stringed instruments, and in a measure by the chorus; the whole is most innocently simple, and of charming effect. 59 The bells exercise their power a third time (the magic flute is also; played three times) in the last finale, where the magic instrument aids the despairing Papageno to recall his Papagena, and is treated simply as befits its nature. 60

Papageno's chief scene is in the last finale, when he resolves to die for the love of his lost Papagena, and it forms a counterpart to the pathetic scene of Pamina's despair. An expression of good-humour and of true, if not very elevated, feeling prevents the comic situation from becoming farcical.

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

Papageno's grief is like that of a child, expressed in genuine earnest, yet of a nature to raise a smile on the lips of grownup people. This double nature is well expressed, for example, in the violin passage—[See Page Image]nwhich has something comic in its very accents of grief. The form of this lengthy scene is altogether free. Without alteration of time or measure the music follows the various points of the scene, declamatory passages interrupting the long-drawn threads of melody sometimes with great effect, and descriptive phrases repeated at suitable places to keep the whole together. Thus the characteristic passage—occurs three times to the words: "Drum geschieht es mir schon recht!" "Sterben macht der Lieb' ein End," and "Papageno frisch hinauf, en.de deinen Lebenslauf!" At the close, when he seems really on the point of hanging himself, the time becomes slower, and a minor key serves to express the gloom of despair. But the three boys appear and remind him of his bells; at once his courage rises, and as he tinkles the bells he calls upon his sweetheart to appear with all the confidence and joy of a child. At the command of the boys he looks round, sees her, and the two feather-clothed beings contemplate each other with amazement and delight, approaching nearer and nearer, until at last they fall into each other's arms. The comic point of the stammering "Pa-pa-pa-," uttered by them both, slowly at first, then with increasing rapidity until they embrace with the exclamation, Papageno!" and "Papagena!" was due to Schickaneder's LOVE OF MAN AND WIFE. suggestion. 61 That the happiness they feel at their reunion should find expression in anticipating the advent of numerous little Papagenos and Papagenas is not only intended as a trait of human nature unrestrained and unrefined in thought and word, but serves to point to the parental joys springing from wedlock as "the highest of all emotions." The duet originally ended with the words (which Mozart did not set to music):—

The words with which the boys lead Papagena to Papageno—

were also omitted by Mozart, because serious exhortations and moral reflections would have been out of place here. He has instead succeeded in producing so lively and natural an expression of childlike delight, untouched by any taint of sensual desire, that the hearer feels his own heart full of happiness for very sympathy. The companion piece to this duet is that which Papageno sings with Pamina, after informing her that Tamino, fired with love, is hastening to her release (8). There can be no doubt that Mozart's wish has been to express the loftiest conception of the love of man and wife as an image, however faint and imperfect, of heavenly love; but here again Schikaneder has interposed, and insisted on something popular. We cannot blame him, for Papageno's sphere is that of natural, simple sentiment, not of enlightened morality, and Pamina is an inexperienced girl, who follows her own feelings, and is ready enough to fall into Papageno's vein.

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

Mozart did not find it easy to satisfy Schikaneder, who called each fresh attempt fine, but too learned; not until the third, or as some say, the fifth version, 62 did Mozart hit on the simple tone of warm feeling which Schikaneder believed would win every ear and every heart. His judgment proved correct; at the first performance this was the first piece applauded, and an angry critic complained in 1793 that the "Mozartites" were passing all bounds, and that "at every concert the ladies' heads went nodding like poppies in the field when the senseless stuff was sung: 'Mann und Weib, und Weib und Mann (which makes four, by the way), reichen an die Gottheit an.'" 63 According to Kapellmeister TrÜben-see, of Prague, who was engaged as oboist in Schikaneder's opera, a rejected composition of this duet in the grand style was afterwards made use of alternately with that now known, and indicated on the playbill, "with the old duet" or "with the new duet." 64 At the first performance of the "ZauberflÖte" in the new Theater an der Wien in 1802, Schikaneder' made the following announcement on the bill:—

Having been so fortunate as myself to possess the friendship of Mozart, whose affection for me led him to set my work to music, I am in a position to offer the audience on this occasion a gratifying surprise in the form of two pieces of Mozart's composition, of which I am sole possessor. 65

One of them may have been the duet in question; what the other was we cannot even conjecture. 66 An individuality such as Papageno's is sure to impart some of its naÏve good humour and joviality to the other characters with whom he comes in contact, and the impression thus made cannot ENSEMBLES. fail to appear in the music; whenever Papageno enters, whether he is merry or whether he is sad, an irresistible tone of good humour takes possession of the stage. Next to him in want of reserve and self-control stands Pamina, who only gradually attains a consciousness of her higher and nobler nature. Neither in the duet nor in the flight does her expression of the feelings they are both experiencing differ in tone from Papageno's; any marked distinction here would have marred the total impression without assisting psychological truth. But on the approach of Sarastro they draw apart; Pamina entrenches herself in proud reserve, while Papageno gives vent to his terror with the same energy as in the first quintet (6) when he is ordered to accompany Tamino to the castle. In the second quintet (13) his fright is kept in check by Tamino's presence, and his disgust at not daring to speak, and not being able to keep silence, gains the upper hand and gives the tone to the whole piece.

Such a consideration as we have given to the principal characters of the "ZauberflÖte," to its intellectual and musical conception, and to the prevailing freedom of its form, serves to stamp its character as a genuinely German opera. What was begun in the "EntfÜhrung," which undertook to raise German vaudeville to the level of opera proper, is carried further in the "ZauberflÖte," which succeeds in gaining recognition for the simplest expression of feeling, and for full freedom of form of dramatic characterisation. The opera contains no airs of the traditional stamp, except the two airs of the Queen of Night; and a comparison of the way in which the aria form is treated in "Cosi fan Tutte" and "Titus" will show an organic change in the airs, now that they are developed from the simple Lied. This freedom of construction is still more apparent in the ensembles, in the beautiful terzet (20), and more especially in the first quintet (6). The second quintet (13) is more precise in form, the ladies tempting Tamino and Papageno to break silence forming the natural middle point of the musical construction. But the freedom of movement strikes us most of all in the finales, which are admirable examples of DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. the art, so praised by Goethe, of producing effect by means of contrast. In dramatic design they are inferior to the finales of "Figaro," "Don Giovanni," or "Cosi fan Tutte." Instead of a plot proceeding from one point, and developing as it proceeds, we have a succession of varied scenes, lightly held together by the thread of events, and interesting us more from their variety than their consistent development. In order to follow this rapid movement great freedom of musical construction was necessary; opportunities of carrying out a definite motif till it forms a self-contained movement, which are so frequent in Italian finales, occur here but seldom, one instance being the allegro of the first finale, when Monostatos brings in Tamino, and the movement of the second finale to which the Queen of Night enters. This essential difference of treatment fills us with renewed admiration of Mozart's fertility in the production of new suggestive and characteristic melodies, which seem ready at command for every possible situation. Those who descend to details will be amazed to find how seldom Mozart is satisfied with a mere turn of expression, how lavish he is of original fully formed musical subjects, and how all the details of his work are cemented into a whole by his marvellous union of artistic qualities.

This leads us to the consideration of a second point in which the "ZauberflÖte" surpasses the "EntfÜhrung." The latter is confined to a narrow circle of characters, situations, and moods, while the former has a large and varied series of phenomena. The story from which the plot is derived opens the realm of fairies and genÜ, personified in the Queen of the Night and her ladies, and, as regards his outward appearance, in Papageno. In addition to this there is the mystical element which takes the first place both in the dramatic conception and the musical characterisation of the opera. Mozart had no intention of representing a fantastic fairy land, such as was called into existence by Weber and Mendelssohn. The fabulous was not then identified with the fantastic, but was often consciously made a mirror for the reflection of real life, with its actual sentiments and views. Therefore the Queen of Night is depicted as a queen, FANTASTIC AND MYSTIC ELEMENTS. as a sorrowing mother, as a revengeful woman; her ladies have their share of coquetry and gossip, and these feminine qualities predominate over the supernatural. The musical task of combining three soprano voices into a connected whole, while preserving their individuality, calls for great peculiarity of treatment, entailing further a special turning to account of the orchestral forces at command, at the same time that no special forms of expression are made to serve as typical of the fairy element of the piece.

On the other hand the apparition of the three boys is accompanied by every means of musical characterisation. They form the link with the region of mysticism indicated awkwardly enough in the libretto. We recognise something more than individual taste and inclination in Mozart's efforts to invest them with a character of grave solemnity. A universal and deep-rooted sympathy with Freemasonry was a characteristic sign of the times, and the German mind and disposition are well expressed in the efforts that were made to find in Freemasonry that unity which intellectual cultivation and moral enlightenment alone could bestow. Mozart was therefore at one in intention and aim with all that was highest and noblest in the nation, and the more deeply his own feelings were stirred the more sure he was to stamp his music with all that was truly German in character. It was not without design that he selected an old choral melody to mark a point of most solemn gravity, or that he treated it in the way with which his fellow-countrymen were most familiar. This passage is also significant as showing the marvellous element in a symbolic light, and bringing the supernatural within the domain of the human sphere. In this respect the representation of the marvellous in the "ZauberflÖte" differs widely from that in "Don Giovanni." There the appearance of the ghost is a veritable miracle, a fact which must be believed to be such, and rendered to the minds of the spectators by means of the musical representation of terror in the actors. In the "ZauberflÖte," on the contrary, the marvellous element is suggested only by the mystery hidden beneath it, and the mind is attuned to a mood of awe-struck wonder.

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

It cannot be denied that the deeply rooted symbolism of the opera has dulled the edge of individual characterisation. Actions lose their reality and become mere tests of virtue; the choruses of the priests express generalities; neither the three ladies nor the three boys are independent characters, but each group forms an individual, which again represents an idea; even the principal characters, owing to the concentration of all upon one idea, have more of a typical character than is desirable in the interests of dramatic characterisation. 67 In spite of these drawbacks Mozart has depicted both his situations and characters naturally and vividly. No one will attempt to deny that both the subjects and treatment of "Figaro" and "Don Giovanni," and in some degree also of "Cosi fan Tutte," present far more occasions for the expression of passion, for delicate detail, and for the emphasising of special features, than is the case with the "ZauberflÖte," where the effect depends mainly on the general impression left by the whole work; but that this is the case affords only another proof of Mozart's power of grasping the strong points of every problem that was set before him. "In Lessing's 'Nathan,'" says Strauss, 68 "we are as little disposed to complain of the want of that powerful impression produced by his more pungent pieces, as we are to wish the peaceful echoes of Mozart's 'ZauberflÖte' exchanged for the varied characterisation and foaming passion of the music of 'Don Juan.' In the last work of the musician, as in that of the poet, wide apart as they stand in other respects, there is revealed a perfected spirit at peace with itself, which having fought and overcome all opposition from within, has no longer to dread that which comes from without."

The fact that the words of the opera were in German had doubtless an important influence on the musical expression. Wretched as the verses are, so much so that it is difficult sometimes to find the sense necessary for the proper understanding of Mozart's rendering of them, they nevertheless THE ORCHESTRA. form the basis of the musical construction. Italian operatic poetry, long since stereotyped in form, fettered the composer's fancy, while the German verses, from their very want of finish, left him freer scope for independent action. It is worthy of note that instrumental tone-painting, so frequently employed in Italian opera as a means of giving musical expression to the poetry, is but little resorted to in the "ZauberflÖte." Apart from the difference of poetical expression in Italian and German, the sensuous sound of the Italian language was far more provocative of musical expression; and the declamatory element of correct accentuation and phrasing was at the root of the correct musical expression of German words. In this respect also the "ZauberflÖte" is far superior to the "EntfÜhrung." A comparison of the text with the music will show what pains Mozart has taken to declaim expressively and forcibly. Sometimes the effort is too apparent, as in Sarastro's well-known "Doch"; but as a rule Mozart's musical instinct prevents the declamatory element from intruding itself to the detriment of the melodious.

In the treatment of the orchestra also the "ZauberflÖte" stands alone among Mozart's operas. It is not, as in "Figaro" and "Don Giovanni," employed for delicate details of characterisation, nor is it, as in "Cosi fan Tutte" replete with euphonious charm. It has here a double part: in that portion of the opera which represents purely human emotion the orchestra is free and independent in movement, but easy and simple in construction; while for the mystic element of the story it has quite another character: Unusual means, such as trombones and basset-horns, are employed for the production of unusual and weird effects, while through all the delicate gradations of light and shade, from melancholy gravity to brilliant pomp, the impression of dignity and solemnity is. maintained, and the hearer is transported to a sphere beyond all earthly passion. Not only are the hitherto unsuspected forces of the orchestra here brought into play, but its power of characterisation is for the first time made fully manifest, and the "ZauberflÖte" is the point of departure for all that modern music has achieved in this DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE. direction. It must not, however, be forgotten that instrumental colouring is always to Mozart one means among many of interpreting his artistic idea, and never aspires to be its sole exponent, or to overshadow it altogether.

That which gives the "ZauberflÖte" its peculiar position and importance among Mozart's operas is the fact that in it for the first time all the resources of cultivated art were brought to bear with the freedom of genius upon a genuinely German opera. 69 In his Italian operas he had adopted the traditions of a long period of development, and by virtue of his original genius had, as it were, brought them to a climax and a conclusion; in the "ZauberflÖte" he stepped across the threshold of the future, and unlocked the sanctuary of national art for his countrymen. And they understood him; the "ZauberflÖte" sank directly and deeply into the hearts of the German people, and to this day it holds its place there. The influence which it has exerted in the formation of German music can be disregarded by no one who has an eye for the development of art.

Evidence of the rapid popularity of the "ZauberflÖte" is afforded by the imitations of it which were produced at the theatres Auf der Wieden and Leopoldstadt:—

Everything is turned to magic at these theatres; we have the magic flute, the magic ring, the magic arrow, the magic mirror, the magic crown, and many other wretched magic affairs. Words and music are equally contemptible (except the "ZauberflÖte"), so that one knows not whether to award the palm of silliness to the poet or the composer. Added to this, these miserable productions are still more miserably performed. 70

Schikaneder's opera, "Babylons Pyramiden," the first act composed by Gallus, the second by Winter, first produced October 23, 1797, bore a striking resemblance to the PERFORMANCES AND IMITATIONS. "ZauberflÖte." 71 In the following year appeared "Das Labyrinth, oder der Kampf der Elemente," announced as a continuation of the "ZauberflÖte," by Schikaneder and Winter; 72 it was performed in Berlin with great magnificence in 1806. 73 Goethe's design of continuing the "ZauberflÖte" has been already mentioned (Vol. III., p. 314, note). It would be superfluous to enumerate the performances of the "ZauberflÖte" in Germany. It soon took possession of every stage in Vienna. In 1801 it was given at the Karnthnerthortheater with new scenery by Sacchetti. 74 Schikaneder was not mentioned, which gave rise to some coarse pamphlets in doggerel verse. 75 Schikaneder's answer was a brilliantly appointed performance of the "ZauberflÖte" in his new theatre An der Wien, which he recommended to the public in some doggerel lines as Papageno, not failing also to parody the defective machinery of the other theatre. 76 The run was extraordinary, 77 but he had taken so many liberties with the work—omitting the quintet, for instance, and inserting an air for Mdlle. Wittmann—that he did not escape criticism in more doggerel verses. 78

From Vienna the opera spread rapidly to every theatre in Germany, great and small. 79 In Berlin it was first given on May 12,1794, with a success 80 that testified to the preference for German rather than Italian opera there; 81 the jubilee of this performance was celebrated on May 12, 1844. 82

DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE.

At Hamburg "the long-expected 'ZauberflÖte'" was first put on the stage on November 12,1794, and soon usurped the popularity of "Oberon" and "Sonnenfest der Braminen." 83 It may be mentioned as a curiosity that the "ZauberflÖte" was played in a French translation 84 at Braunschweig* and in Italian at Dresden, 85 until the year 1818, 86 when C. M. von Weber first produced it in German with great care, and quite to his own satisfaction. 87

The "ZauberflÖte" rapidly gained popularity for Mozart's name, especially in North Germany. How universal was the favour with which it soon came to be regarded may be testified by Goethe, who makes his Hermann, describing a visit to his neighbour in their little country town, say:—

Even to this day Sarastro and Tamino are regular starring and trial parts; unhappily, so is the Queen of Night for singers who possess the high F; and though the novelty and splendour of the scenery and stage accessories have been long since surpassed, and the interest in Freemasonry has died away, yet the "ZauberflÖte" is still popular in the best sense of the word. It has been successfully performed in Dutch, 88 Swedish, 89 Danish, 90 and Polish; 91 but, as might have been expected, the "musica scelerata without any melody" was even less to the taste of the Italians than Mozart's PERFORMANCES AND IMITATIONS. other operas. 92 It is not surprising either that it was only moderately successful in London, where it was first performed in Italian 93 in 1811, then in English in 1837, 94 and in German by a German company in 1840; 95 but the songs and other pieces of the opera have always been well known and popular. 96

The "ZauberflÖte" was given in Paris in 1791 curiously transformed by Lachnith under the title of "Jes MystÈres d'Isis." 97 The piece was irrecognisable; everything miraculous, including the magic flute itself, and everything comic was omitted, Papageno being turned into the wise shepherd Bochoris; this, of course, involved the parodying of a great part of the music, and much was omitted even without this excuse. The omissions were made good by the insertion of pieces out of other operas by Mozart, e.g., the drinking-song from "Don Giovanni" arranged as a duet, an air from "Titus," also as a duet, and more of the same kind. Great liberties were taken with the music itself. The closing chorus, with Sarastro's recitative, formed the beginning of the opera; then followed the terzet "Seid uns zum zweiten-mal willkommen," sung by six priestesses; then a chorus from "Titus" (15); and then the original introduction. Monostatos' song was given to Papagena (Mona), the first air of the Queen of Night to Pamina, and the duet "Bei Mannern" was turned into a terzet. It can easily be imagined how distorted Mozart's music was by all these additions, erasures, and alterations. The performance called forth lively protests from the critics and connoisseurs, 98 French as well as German; 99 its defence was undertaken, curiously enough, by Cramer. 100 The opera was nicknamed "Les MisÈres d'Ici," and "l'opÉration" of the "dÉrangeur" Lachnith was discussed. 101 But all were agreed as to the excellence of the scenery and ballet, of the arrangement of particular scenes, and of the admirable performance of the orchestra and chorus, which may account for the fact that this deformity was one hundred and thirty times performed in Paris up to 1827. 102 On February 23, 1865, the unmutilated "ZauberflÖte" was, for the first time, placed on the stage of the ThÉÄtre-Lyrique, translated by Nuitter and Beaumont, and had a brilliant success. 103