History Theatre / TheMagicFlute

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Well, wise wizard save us from the Queen (and grant us wisdom).

* [[LukeIAmYourFather Pamina I Am Your Father]]: Sarastro is sometimes played with this angle, [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the director]]. Russell's comic makes it explicit. The thing is, though, the libretto has the Queen telling Pamina: "Ever since your father died, my power has been dwindling." She ''could'' be speaking metaphorically... but so much attention is given to her famous aria (the one everyone and their dog knows), which follows right after. Plus, the scene is usually shortened.[[So?]] [[Franchise/StarWars Luke Skywalker]]'s father died, FromACertainPointOfView.[[/So?]] Sarastro is presumably ''some'' relation to Pamina, though, or he would have no right to take her from her mother. If he isn't her father, he may be her uncle (father's brother) -- or even her ''grandfather''. Also, the libretto states clearly that Pamina's father gifted the Sevenfold Circle of the Sun to the initiates on his deathbed, and that Sarastro wears it around his neck. The Queen of the Night is justifiably angry about it all. It would appear that the King may want to preserve gender-separation of the sun talisman (and maintain the balance of day and night) by donating the artifact to Sarastro..

%% * BetaCouple: Papageno/a.
%% * BreakTheCutie: Poor, poor Pamina.

* ChickMagnet: Tamino - just watch the three ladies squabbling over him.
%% * CowardlySidekick, LovableCoward: Papageno
%% ** Also played with: Papageno and Monostatos flee from each other, believing the other being the devil (Papageno has never seen a black man before, Monostatos because Papageno's appearance is really outlandish). Papageno actually is the first to recover, in the uncut libretto commenting "There are black birds, why shouldn't there be black men?"

%% * DamselInDistress: Subverted with Pamina.

* EvilMatriarch: Guess who? (And in case it got lost in the coloratura display, she's abandoning a blatant opportunity to rescue her daughter, so that she can threaten her with ParentalAbandonment if the princess won't kill Sarastro for her.)
** However, she seems to have been an affectionate mother to Pamina until now -- more a matriarch who happened to be evil than mothering in an evil way. Sarastro took Pamina away more because he didn't want her turning out like her mother than because he thought she was going to be directly harmed.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Subverted, in that the guy with the lowest notes (Sarastro) is the good guy, while the gal with the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2ODfuMMyss highest notes]] (the Queen of the Night) is the BigBad.
** Definitely played with, though: Tamino and Papageno are initially convinced that Sarastro is the BigBad.

%% * GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Obviously.
%% * HappilyEverAfter
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: The Queen made Tamino think Sarastro is an evil tyrant.

* [[LukeIAmYourFather Pamina I Am Your Father]]: Sarastro is sometimes played with this angle, [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the director]]. Russell's comic makes it explicit.
** The thing is, the libretto has the Queen telling Pamina: "Ever since your father died, my power has been dwindling." She ''could'' be speaking metaphorically... but so much attention is given to her famous aria (the one everyone and their dog knows), which follows right after. Plus, the scene is usually shortened.
** So? [[Franchise/StarWars Luke Skywalker]]'s father died, FromACertainPointOfView.
** Sarastro is certainly ''some'' relation to Pamina, or he would have no right to take her from her mother. If he isn't her father, he may be her uncle (father's brother) - or even her ''grandfather''.
** The libretto states clearly that Pamina's father gifted the Sevenfold Circle of the Sun to the initiates on his deathbed, and that Sarastro wears it around his neck. The Queen of the Night is justifiably angry about it all. It would appear that the King may want to preserve gender-separation of the sun talisman (and maintain the balance of day and night) by donating the artifact to Sarastro..

* PlayingGertrude: Many a soprano sang the Queen of the Night first before later taking on the role of Pamina.
** Explanation: Men and women's voices fully mature at different ages (women around 20, men around 35), and different voice types work within different age constraints. Coloratura soprano roles like the Queen require an agile, athletic kind of voice, which is much more common in younger singers. Lyric soprano roles like Pamina, however, are more suitable for an interpretative artist, and that is much easier for someone with years of experience under her belt. However, lighter coloratura voices who take on the Queen of the Night role lack the dramatic fire that a Dramatic or Lyric Coloratura can bring to the part.

* {{Adorkable}}: Papageno, particularly in the Kenneth Branagh film.

* BetaCouple: Papageno/a.
* BreakTheCutie: Poor, poor Pamina.

* CowardlySidekick, LovableCoward: Papageno
** Also played with: Papageno and Monostatos flee from each other, believing the other being the devil (Papageno has never seen a black man before, Monostatos because Papageno's appearance is really outlandish). Papageno actually is the first to recover, in the uncut libretto commenting "There are black birds, why shouldn't there be black men?"
* CreepyChild: Some adaptations make the three boys into this.
* DamselInDistress: Subverted with Pamina.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Obviously.
* HappilyEverAfter

* IAmSong: Papageno, with a large side of SidekickSong.

* TheIngenue: Pamina
* InterruptedSuicide: Twice. First PlayedForDrama with Pamina, then PlayedForLaughs with Papageno.

* MeaningfulName: "Papagei" (related to English "popinjay") is the German word for "parrot."
** For that matter, "Monostatos" translates to "Stands Alone."

* PluckyComicRelief: Papageno/a.

The action starts with a prince from a foreign land, Tamino, chased onstage by a giant serpent. He faints in the face (teeth) of death, and so does not notice when three [[LadyOfWar Ladies Of War]] show up to rescue him; the Three Ladies immediately swoon over his MrFanservice good looks and argue over which of them will return to report to their ruler, the Queen of the Night, and which of them will get to stay and (ahem) revive him. Eventually, they make the sensible decision that all three of them return, leaving Tamino alone again. (...Okay, maybe not so sensible.) Tamino awakes in time to meet Papageno, the Queen of the Night's royal bird-catcher, an eccentric fellow frequently costumed in feather-and-beak motifs. He sings a pleasant SidekickSong about his easy-going philosophy and [[IJustWantToBeLoved lack of love life]]. The Three Ladies now return and show Tamino the portrait of a PrincessClassic, Pamina, resulting in LoveAtFirstSight. Then the Queen of the Night herself appears and promises Tamino her daughter Pamina's hand in marriage... ''IF'' Tamino can SaveThePrincess, who has been captured by a guy with the ominous name of Sarastro. The Queen gives Tamino his [[TitleDrop Magic Flute]], Papageno a set of magic bells (both of which have the power to CharmPerson [[MagicMusic when you play them]]), and tour guides in the form of [[CrossDressingVoices Three Young Boys]], and sends them on their way.

* DistressedDude: Tamino, the designated hero, who enters screaming and swooning (his first song literally translates to "Help! Help!") and has to be rescued by the three ladies. He gets better over the course of the opera.

* DamselInDistress: Subverted with Pamina, and played (oddly) near-straight except for gender with Tamino, the designated hero, who enters screaming and swooning (his first song literally translates to "Help! Help!") and has to be rescued by the three ladies. He gets better.

* DamselInDistress: Subverted with Pamina, and played (oddly) near-straight except for gender with Tamino, the designated hero, who enters screaming and swooning and has to be rescued by the three ladies. He gets better.

* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Tamino and Pamina. Tamino only needs to see Pamina's picture to fall in love.

* InterruptedSuicide: twice.

** Also played with: Papageno and Monostatos flee from each other, believing the other being the devil (Papageno has never seen a black man before, Monostatos because Papageno's appearance is really outlandish). Papageno actually is the first to recover, in one adaptation commenting "There are black birds, why shouldn't there be black men?"

The last opera Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart ever wrote (''La clemenza di Tito'' was composed after the Flute was started, but before its completion), right after he was initiated into the Freemasons; the libretto is thus rife with that organization's symbolism. ''The Magic Flute'' is actually closer to our understanding of a {{Musical}} than {{Opera}}: it is generally as seen as LighterAndSofter than, say, Creator/RichardWagner's ''[[Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen The Ring of the Nibelung]]'', and deals more with the themes of ignorance versus wisdom and the virtues of love and family rather than the fall of the gods and the end of the world. Also, being a "''singspiel''," it has dialogue, not just singing. To make a long story short, this was the Mozartian equivalent of ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'', with which it shares a similar level of popularity within its genre.

The action starts with a prince from a foreign land, Tamino, chased onstage by a giant serpent. He faints in the face (teeth) of death, and so does not notice when three [[LadyOfWar Ladies Of War]] show up; the Three Ladies immediately swoon over his MrFanservice good looks and argue over which of them will return to report to their ruler, the Queen of the Night, and which of them will get to stay and, ahem, revive him. Eventually, they make the sensible decision that all three of them return, leaving Tamino alone again. (...Okay, sensibility rescinded.) Tamino awakes in time to meet Papageno, the Queen of the Night's royal bird-catcher, an eccentric fellow frequently costumed in feather-and-beak motifs. He sings a pleasant SidekickSong about his easy-going philosophy and [[IJustWantToBeLoved lack of love life]]. The Three Ladies now return and show Tamino the portrait of a PrincessClassic, Pamina, resulting in LoveAtFirstSight. Then the Queen of the Night herself appears and promises Tamino her daughter Pamina's hand in marriage... ''IF'' Tamino can SaveThePrincess, who has been captured by a guy with the ominous name of Sarastro. The Queen gives Tamino his [[TitleDrop Magic Flute]], Papageno a set of magic bells (both of which have the power to CharmPerson [[MagicMusic when you play them]]), and tour guides in the form of [[CrossDressingVoices Three Young Boys]], and sends them on their way.

* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: Sarastro and his priests.

The last opera Creator/WolfgangAmadeusMozart ever wrote (''La clemenza di Tito'' was composed after the Flute was started, but before its completion), right after he was initiated into the Freemasons; the libretto is thus rife with that organization's symbolism. ''The Magic Flute'' is actually closer to our understanding of a {{Musical}} than {{Opera}}: it is generally as seen as LighterAndSofter than, say, Creator/RichardWagner's ''[[Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen The Ring of the Nibelung]]'', and deals more with the themes of ignorance versus wisdom and the virtues of love and family rather than the fall of the gods and the end of the world. Also, being a "''singspiel''," it has dialogue, not just singing. To make a long story short, this was the Mozartian equivalent of ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'', with which it shares a similar level of popularity within its genre.

Other adaptations include a ComicBook by P. Craig Russell with an ending that can be best described as trippy, a novelization (''Night's Daughter'') by Creator/MarionZimmerBradley, an Creator/{{ABC}} Weekend Special starring Creator/MarkHamil as Tamino, and ''Magic Flute Diaries'', a film about a performance of ''The Magic Flute''.

Other adaptations include a ComicBook by P. Craig Russell with an ending that can be best described as trippy, a novelization (''Night's Daughter'') by Creator/MarionZimmerBradley, and ''Magic Flute Diaries'', a film about a performance of ''The Magic Flute''.

** So? [[StarWars Luke Skywalker]]'s father died, FromACertainPointOfView.

The last opera Creator/WolfgangAmadeusMozart ever wrote (''La clemenza di Tito'' was composed after the Flute was started, but before its completion), right after he was initiated into the Freemasons; the libretto is thus rife with that organization's symbolism. '''''The Magic Flute''''' is actually closer to our understanding of a {{Musical}} than {{Opera}}: it is generally as seen as LighterAndSofter than, say, Creator/RichardWagner's ''[[Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen The Ring of the Nibelung]]'', and deals more with the themes of ignorance versus wisdom and the virtues of love and family rather than the fall of the gods and the end of the world. Also, being a "''singspiel''," it has dialogue, not just singing. To make a long story short, this was the Mozartian equivalent of ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'', with which it shares a similar level of popularity within its genre.

** Explanation: Men and women's voices fully mature at different ages (women around 20, men around 35), and different voice types work within different age constraints. Coloratura soprano roles like the Queen require an agile, athletic kind of voice, which is much more common in younger singers. Lyric soprano roles like Pamina, however, are more suitable for an interpretative artist, and that is much easier for someone with years of experience under her belt. However, lighter coloratura voices who take on the Queen of the Night role lack the dramatic fire which a Dramatic or Lyric Coloratura can bring to the part.

* ValuesDissonance: The opera could be considered both sexist and racist by modern day standards, though it represented the mainstream moral values of Viennese society at the time.
** Monostatos, one of the main villains is black, while the beautiful Pamina is white, and Monostatos gets punished by Sarastro for lusting over Pamina. In one of his arias, Monostatos laments about why he does not deserve to be loved because of his black skin.
** Sarastro tell Pamina that her mother, the Queen of the Night, being a proud, headstrong woman is bad, and that in order to be a virtuous woman, she needs a man (in her case Tamino) to guide her.

''The Magic Flute'' has been made into two movies (as well as numerous filmed stage performances). ''Trollflöjten'' (1975), a Swedish translation filmed by Creator/IngmarBergman, was a semi-surrealist, NoFourthWall fantasy which shows not only the audience, the stage and the theatre, but how the singers kill time while offstage. It is now part of Creator/TheCriterionCollection. ''The Magic Flute'' (2006), directed by Creator/KennethBranagh with a new English translation by Creator/StephenFry, is more traditional, aside from being [[RecycledInSpace set during]] WorldWarI.

Other adaptations include a ComicBook by P. Craig Russell with an ending that can be best described as trippy, a novelization (''Night's Daughter'') by MarionZimmerBradley, and ''Magic Flute Diaries'', a film about a performance of ''The Magic Flute''.

** Also played with: Papageno and Monastos flee from each other, believing the other being the devil (Papageno has never seen a black man before, Monastos because Papageno's appearance is really outlandish). Papageno actually is the first to recover, in one adaptation commenting "There are black birds, why shouldn't there be black men?"

* MacGuffin: the Magic Flute itself, which is only played a couple of times
** More importantly the Sevenfold Circle of the Sun. To acquire it, The Queen of the Night urges her daughter Pamina to kill Sarastro.

The last opera WolfgangAmadeusMozart ever wrote (''La clemenza di Tito'' was composed after the Flute was started, but before its completion), right after he was initiated into the Freemasons; the libretto is thus rife with that organization's symbolism. '''''The Magic Flute''''' is actually closer to our understanding of a {{Musical}} than {{Opera}}: it is generally as seen as LighterAndSofter than, say, Creator/RichardWagner's ''[[Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen The Ring of the Nibelung]]'', and deals more with the themes of ignorance versus wisdom and the virtues of love and family rather than the fall of the gods and the end of the world. Also, being a "''singspiel''," it has dialogue, not just singing. To make a long story short, this was the Mozartian equivalent of ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'', with which it shares a similar level of popularity within its genre.