Picture Book: "Mozart's The Magic Flute," written by Mi-ok Lee, illustrated by Edmée Cannard

 

Here we find another beautiful, memorable storybook retelling of The Magic Flute. I discovered it in the children's corner of the San Francisco Opera's outstanding gift shop. It was first published in Korea in 2016 and was written by Mi-Ok Lee, with illustrations by the French artist Edmée Cannard. It belongs to the series Music Storybooks, which introduces children to classical music in all its forms. This seres also features adaptations of The Nutcracker, Aida, The Marksman (Der Frieschütz), A Midsummer Night's Dream (meant to introduce Mendelssohn's incidental music), Swan Lake, La Traviata (!), The Carnival of the Animals, Turandot, and Peter and the Wolf.

The Problem of Monostatos's Race

 

What to do about Monostatos in modern productions of The Magic Flute?

As far as the libretto’s problems of ethics are concerned, the misogyny can be worked around. The priests’ anti-woman pronouncements can be played in a way that clearly mocks them. Pamina can be given a dimensional and warmly human characterization that’s far more than a standard fairy-tale damsel. The Queen can be portrayed as a tragic villain driven to extreme actions by sympathetic motives, The ending can be staged  as a celebration of man and woman’s unity, in which Tamino and Pamina become fully equal partners who strengthen each other. But the issue of racism can’t be dealt with quite so easily. Unless the libretto is changed, a black Moorish slave is inescapably portrayed as a lecherous and sadistic yet inept comic villain. He preys on the white Pamina and repeatedly threatens to kill her for her scorn, whom Papageno initially thinks he's the Devil because of his dark skin, and he's portrayed as needing to be restrained and punished by his master Sarastro.

Analyzing "The Magic Flute": Joachim Kaiser, "Who's Who in Mozart's Operas"

Of all the scholarly books on opera that I've found over the years, Joachim Kaiser's 1984 Who's Who In Mozart's Operas: from Alfonso to Zerlina is by far one of the most interesting. It's a mini encyclopedia of every character from all of Mozart's major operas, featuring descriptions and analyses of every single character: small ones for the minor characters, longer and deeper discussions for the major characters. While other books I've read have offered character analysis within their discussions of the operas as a whole, or else have been devoted to a specific subset of characters, no other book has been as exclusively devoted to character analysis, or as willing to examine even the most minor characters.

Picture Book: "The Magic Flute," written and illustrated by Kyra Teis

The Magic Flute is widely regarded as one of the best introductions to the world of opera for children. (Having been a child introduced to opera by The Magic Flute, I wholeheartedly support that belief.) So it's no surprise that an array of picture book adaptations have been published to introduce children to the story. Over time I've collected as many of those picture books as I've been able to find. But the one that seems to be the most widely available nowadays is this 2008 edition, written and illustrated by Kyra Teis. Throughout the last ten years I've repeatedly found it in the children's corners of music venues' gift shops and in bookstores with shelves devoted to introducing children to classical music.

Film Review: "Trollflöjten," ("The Magic Flute"), Sveriges Radio/Janus Films, 1975 (conducted by Eric Ericson)

Trollflöjten (The Magic Flute)

1975, Sveriges Radio/Janus Films

(Josef Köstlinger, Irma Urrila, Håkan Hagegård, Birgit Nordin, Ulrik Cold, Ragnar Ulfung*; Swedish Radio Chorus; Swedish Radio Orchestra, cond. Eric Ericson)

(dir. Ingmar Bergman)

Sound Recording Review: Die Zauberflöte," Deutsche Grammophon, 1964 (conducted by Karl Böhm)

Die Zauberflöte

1964, Deutsche Grammophon

(Fritz Wunderlich, Evelyn Lear, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Roberta Peters, Franz Crass, Friedrich Lenz; RIAS-Kammerchor; Berliner Philharmoniker, cond. Karl Böhm)

"The Magic Flute" and Irreverent Modern Humor

 

I can't help but notice a trend in recent productions of The Magic Flute. Or at least in American productions marketed chiefly for families and newcomers to opera. That trend is to infuse the dialogue with a distinctly irreverent sense of humor. Modern references, pop culture references, cracks in the fourth wall, and generally cheeky jokes that are nowhere to be found in the original libretto. Even in otherwise "traditional" productions, these touches can be found. Usually they involve Papageno, but sometimes other characters too.

Here are some examples from productions I've either seen onstage myself or read about:

Video Recording Review: Die Zauberflöte," Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2003 (conducted by Colin Davis)

 

Die Zauberflöte

2003, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

(Will Hartmann, Dorothea Röschmann, Simon Keenlyside, Diana Damrau, Franz-Joseph Selig, Adrian Thompson**; Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, cond. Colin Davis)

(dir. David McVicar; video dir. Sue Judd)

Sound Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte," Deutsche Grammophon, 1955 (conducted by Ferenc Fricsay)

Die Zauberflöte

1955, Deutsche Grammophon

(Ernst Häfliger, Maria Stader, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Rita Streich, Josef Greindl, Martin Vantin; RIAS Kammerchor; RIAS Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, cond. Ferenc Fricsay)

"The Magic Flute" Personality Types (MBTI)

Ever since I discovered Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, it’s been an invaluable tool for understanding

myself and for understanding others around me. It’s also been a fantastic tool for analyzing fictional

characters. While I understand that no scholarly character analysis would use this personality-typing

system, especially for a work of fiction created centuries earlier, examining a character’s MBTI type 

can provide insights into that character you might never have otherwise considered.

Below are my personal MBTI typings for the six lead characters in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, along with analyses of why I think each character embodies their specific personality type.

Tamino: ENFJ (Extraversion, Intuition, Feeling, Judging)

Video Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte," Salzburg Festival, 1982 (conducted by James Levine)

Die Zauberflöte

1982, Salzburg Festival

(Peter Schreier, Ileana Cotrubas, Christian Boesch, Edita Gruberova, Martti Talvela, Horst Heistermann*; Wiener Staatsopernchor; Wiener Philharmoniker, cond. James Levine)

(dir. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle; video dir. Brian Large)

(Reviewer's note: I in no way support or condone the personal-life actions of James Levine. This is an objective review of an artistic performance.)

Sound Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte," Philips, 1984 (conducted by Colin Davis)

 

Die Zauberflöte

1984, Philips

(Peter Schreier, Margaret Price, Mikael Melbye, Luciana Serra, Kurt Moll, Robert Tear; Rundfunkchor Leipzig; Staatskapelle Dresden, cond. Colin Davis)

Video Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte," Drottningholm Court Theatre, 1989 (conducted by Arnold Östman)

Die Zauberflöte

1989, Drottningholm Court Theatre

(Stefan Dahlberg, Ann Christine Biel, Mikael Samuelson, Birgit Louise Frandsen, László Polgár, Magnus Khyle*; Drottningholm Court Theatre Chorus; Drottningholm Court Theatre Orchestra, cond. Arnold Östman)

(dir. Göran Järvefelt; video dir. Thomas Olofsson)

Analyzing "The Magic Flute": M. Owen Lee, "The Operagoer's Guide"

 

This is the first of what I hope will be many posts discussing the analyses of The Magic Flute found in books about opera. In these posts, I plan to outline each analysis itself, and then share my response to it and whether I like and agree with it or not.

The Operagoer's Guide, by the late Catholic priest and music scholar M. Owen Lee, was one of the first books on opera I ever owned and is an excellent resource for newcomers to the genre. It offers synopses of 100 operas from the standard repertoire, as well as a few paragraphs or pages of commentary on each. The portion on Die Zauberflöte is the last in the book and one of the longest and most deeply intellectual. Right away, Lee dismisses the idea that Flute consists of wonderful music paired with a ridiculous libretto, then gives a brief overview of the Masonic and political allegories the plot can be seen to contain, before plunging into a deeper exploration that goes beyond any specific time, place, religion or politics.

David Hockney's "Magic Flute" costume sketches

 

From upper left to lower left: Tamino, Pamina, Papageno, the Queen of the Night, Sarstro, the Three Boys, Monostatos.

Sound Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte," RCA Victor, 1970 (conducted by Otmar Suitner)

Die Zauberflöte

1970, RCA Victor

(Peter Schreier, Helen Donath, Gunther Leib, Sylvia Geszty, Theo Adam, Harald Neukirch; Rundfunkchor Leipzig; Staatskapelle Dresden, cond. Otmar Suitner)

Sound Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte, Decca, 1991 (conducted by Sir Georg Solti)

 

Die Zauberflöte

1991, Decca

(Uwe Heilmann, Ruth Ziesak, Michael Kraus, Sumi Jo, Kurt Moll, Heinz Zednik; Wiener Staatsopernchor; Wiener Philharmoniker, cond. Georg Solti)

Video Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte," Glyndebourne Festival Opera, 1978 (conducted by Bernard Haitink)

Die Zauberflöte

1978, Glyndebourne Festival Opera

 (Leo Goeke, Felicity Lott, Benjamin Luxon, May Sandoz, Thomas Thomaschke, John Fryatt*; Glyndebourne Festival Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Bernard Haitink)

(dir. John Cox; video dir. Dave Heather)

Sound Recording Review: "Die Zauberflöte," EMI, 1964 (conducted by Otto Klemperer)

Die Zauberflöte

1964, EMI

(Nicolai Gedda, Gundula Janowitz, Walter Berry, Lucia Popp, Gottlob Frick, Gerhard Unger; Philharmonia Chorus; Philharmonia Orchestra, cond. Otto Klemperer)