Email Signup. Find The Metropolitan Opera on Facebook (opens new window) Find The Metropolitan Opera on Twitter (opens new window) Find The Metropolitan Opera on Instagram (opens new window). Back to The Magic Flute. Synopsis Act One. Pursued by a serpent, Prince Tamino falls faint from exhaustion. Three Ladies, in the service of the Queen of the Night, slay the monster, and then admire Tamino’s beauty.

The Magic Flute (German: Die Zauberflöte, K. 620) is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.

It premiered in Vienna on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theater, the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden. The story has traditional fairy tale themes and Masonic elements.

Roles[changechange source]

The story of the opera[changechange source]

Act One[changechange source]

Prince Tamino has got lost in the forest and now finds himself in a country which is ruled by the Queen of the Night. A huge monster chases him and he is very frightened. He falls down in a faint. Three ladies who work for the Queen of the Night come and kill the monster. Then they see the handsome prince and they argue about which one of them will stay to look after him.

The three ladies go off and Papageno enters. Papageno is a birdcatcher whose job is to catch birds for the Queen of the Night. He is a happy, simple young man. Tamino wakes up, sees him and asks him who he is. Papageno introduces himself. He has not noticed the dead monster. Tamino sees that the monster is dead and asks him who killed it. Papageno suddenly notices it and then decides to pretend that he killed it himself. The three ladies hear what he says and they come and punish him by giving him a stone instead of bread and wine, and by padlocking his mouth so that he cannot speak. Then they give Tamino a portrait of Princess Pamina. She is the daughter of the Queen of the Night. They tell him that Pamina has been captured by an evil man called Sarastro. In fact, Sarastro is a good man, and he is looking after Pamina because her mother, the Queen of the Night, is evil. The prince does not know this. He is already in love with the princess just from looking at her picture, and decides to go and rescue her.

The three ladies give the Prince a magic flute which will protect him if he finds himself in danger. They promise Papageno that he, too, will find a lovely wife for himself if he goes with Tamino. They take off his padlock and give him a set of magic bells which will help him if he is in danger. They are told that three lovely boys will show them the way.

In the next scene we see Princess Pamina who is being guarded by a cruel Moor called Monostatos. He has tied the princess up. Papageno arrives and both men are frightened of one another. Monostatos runs away, Papageno unties the rope around the princess and tells her about the prince who is on his way to rescue her.

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In the next scene Tamino finds himself in a holy place. The three boys have guided him there. They tell him he must be patient and silent. He meets a priest who tells him he must not think that Sarastro is cruel. He tells him that Pamina is alive. Tamino is very happy to hear this, takes his flute and plays. The animals from the forest come round him. Pamina and Papagena are caught by Monostatos. He is about to tie them up, but Papageno plays his magic bells and, when they hear the music, Monostatos and all the animals cannot help dancing and they disappear, still dancing. Sarastro enters. He tells Pamina once more that she must stay with him to learn how to live a good, virtuous life. She must not become evil like her mother. Monostatos enters with Tamino whom he has caught. Tamino and Pamina see one another and embrace. Sarastro says that Monostatos must have a beating. He says that Tamino and Pamina cannot have one another yet. First they will have to go to the temple and go through some trials to show that they are good.

Act Two[changechange source]

Sarastro explains to the priests that Tamino and Pamina will have to go through the trials to show that they are worthy of one another. If they can do this then they will be able to defeat the evil power of the Queen of the Night.

Tamino and Papageno go through the trials together. Tamino remains calm and brave. Papageno is frightened and finds it difficult to keep quiet, but he continues because he has been promised that a girl called Papagena will be waiting for him.

In the first trial the Three Ladies try to make them think that the dark place they are in will lead them to death. In the second trial they see Monostatos about to rape Pamina. The Queen of the Night explains why she wants power. She says that Tamino and Pamina will be cursed unless Sarastro is killed. Tamino realizes that this is all part of the trial and he must not do anything. Papageno is given food and drink by Papagena who is disguised as an old lady. Tamino plays his flute. Pamina appears but turns her back on him. The Queen of the Night sings a very famous song in this section. It is famous because it reaches the highest ranges of a female voice.

Tamino and Pamina have to go through the last trial together. Papagena enters and dances, then, when Papageno promises to be true, she throws off her disguise and disappears. Pamina thinks her mother is going to use her dagger, but at the last moment the boys save her and take her to Tamino. Tamino plays the flute as they go together through fire and water. The chorus sing in triumph.

Papageno cannot call Papagena back with his shepherd pipe. The three boys remind him about his magic bells. He plays them and Papagena appears. They are united.

In the last scene Monostatos and the Queen of the Night enter to do battle, but they are defeated. Good triumphs over evil.

Masonic ideas in the opera[changechange source]

Mozart belonged to a group of Freemasons. The Magic Flute is full of Masonic symbols. For example: the number three is an important number in masonry and there are lot of things in the opera that happen in threes: there are three long chords at the beginning of overture, and the three chords appear again in the scene in the temple. Even the key is E flat major which has a key signature of three flats. There are three ladies, three young boys and three trials. The scenery used in the early productions make it look as if the story comes from Egypt or somewhere in the Orient. Mozart and Schickaneder meant this to have a Masonic meaning. The trials are similar to the rituals in Masonic ceremonies.

Movie versions[changechange source]

• Trollflöjten (1975), directed by Ingmar Bergman, in Swedish
• The Magic Flute (2006) directed by Kenneth Branagh, set during World War I

ACT ITamino, a prince, is pursued by a monster. The Three Ladies, who serve the Queen of the Night, come to his rescue and kill the monster.

They stand over the unconscious Tamino, discussing which of them should guard the prince and which should go and tell the queen, finally deciding that all three of them will go. Tamino awakes as the bird catcher Papageno arrives and introduces himself to the prince, saying that he was the one to slay the monster. The Ladies return and punish Papageno’s lie by placing a padlock on his mouth. They give Tamino a portrait of the Queen’s daughter Pamina, who, they tell him, is being held by the evil Sarastro. He instantly falls in love with Pamina’s portrait. The Queen of the Night appears and charges Tamino with rescuing her daughter. The Ladies give Tamino and Papageno magic instruments to protect them on their journey.

The prince is given a flute while the bird catcher receives a set of bells. Joining them are three Spirits who guide their way.In a room in Sarastro’s palace, his slave Monostatos pursues Pamina. Papageno, sent ahead by Tamino, enters and the slave and the bird catcher frighten each other away. Papageno soon returns however, and tells Pamina that her mother has sent Tamino to rescue her and that he is in love with her.

She is overjoyed to hear the news and, upon learning of Papageno’s desire to find a wife, the two sing of their hopeful love.The Spirits guide Tamino to Sarastro’s temple, telling him that if he is steadfast, patient, and silent he will defeat Sarastro. Tamino is denied entrance at two of the three temple doors. At the third door, a high priest appears and tells Tamino that it is the Queen, not Sarastro, who is evil. Assured that Pamina is alive, Tamino plays his flute to summon Papageno. As wild animals are charmed by its sounds, he hears Papageno’s pipe in response and runs toward the sound.

While trying to escape, Papageno and Pamina are captured by Monostatos. But Papageno plays his magic bells and Monostatos is left helpless. Sarastro enters to great fanfare. Papageno trembles in fear but Pamina tells him that they must speak the truth. She tells Sarastro that she was trying to escape because of Monostatos’s unwanted advances. Sarastro says that he cannot return her to her mother, but promises her eventual freedom after she has learned the ways of virtue. He punishes Monostatos, and orders Pamina and Tamino to be veiled and led into the temple for purification.ACT IISarastro tells the priests that Tamino will undergo the initiation rites and that Pamina and Tamino will be married.Tamino and Pamina are led into the temple.

The Priest tells Tamino that he can still turn back, but Tamino says that he is determined to do anything necessary to win Pamina. Papageno at first refuses to undergo the trials, but when the Priest tells him that, if he does, Sarastro will give him a wife named Papagena, he agrees. Tamino and Papageno are told that to pass the test they should not trust women and that they must not speak to them. The Three Ladies appear asking what they are doing there saying that the Queen is on her way. Papageno is scared but Tamino tells him to be quiet and refuses to speak to them.Pamina is asleep in a garden. Monostatos approaches her, full of lust. The Queen of the Night arrives and scares him away.

She gives Pamina a dagger and tells her she must kill Sarastro. After she leaves, Monostatos returns and threatens to reveal the plot.

Sarastro enters and drives him away and comforts Pamina.Tamino and Papageno are still in the midst of their trial. Papageno is tempted by an old woman who offers him water. She disappears when the Spirits arrive to bring them acutal refreshments and guide Tamino through the rest of the trials. Pamina enters and tries to speak with Tamino.

When he only responds in silence she believes that he no longer loves her and she leaves in despair.The priests predict Tamino’s successful completion of the trials. Sarastro separates Tamino and Pamina, saying that they must remain apart while he undergoes the final two trials. After they leave, Papageno enters and plays his bells, singing that all he wants is a wife. The old woman reappears and, claiming to be just 18 years and two minutes old, tells him that if he doesn’t marry her he will remain alone forever. After Papageno reluctantly agrees, she magically becomes the young and beautiful Papagena. But before he can embrace her, she disappears again.The Spirits find Pamina attempting to commit suicide with her mother’s dagger, thinking that Tamino has abandoned her.

They take the dagger from her and assure Pamina that she will see Tamino soon.Two men in armor sing of the triumph of the brave. Tamino says that he is ready to be tested. When he hears Pamina’s call, the men assure Tamino that the test of silence is over. Pamina and Tamino rush toward each other and she shares loving words. United, they pass through the final two trials unscathed.Papageno, in despair at his loss of Papagena, attempts to commit suicide. The Spirits arrive and tell him he should play his magic bells to call her.

Once he does, she instantly appears and the two sing a stammering duet of their wedded bliss soon to come.Monostatos appears with the Queen and her Ladies, as they plot to destroy the, but Sarastro appears with Tamino and Pamina at his side, and the evil ones are cast into eternal darkness. Sarastro unites the young lovers and everyone gives thanks to the gods.