Ihr (der Liebe) Zweck zeigt deutlich an,Nichts edlers sei als Weib und Mann;Mann und Weib, und Weib und Mann,Reichen an die Gotter an.
The main points, how Tamino is to win Pamina by hisPAMINA.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,51at 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."52Bitter painDIE 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.53Instead 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 sorrowsDIE 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 theTHE 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 out54that 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 soDIE 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. NotTHE 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,55which 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 abourgeoischaracter, 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;57where 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 theTHE 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 offensiveDIE ZAUBERFLöTEthan 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, KapellmeisterPAPAGENO.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 onlypizzicatoby the stringed instruments, and in a measure by the chorus; the whole is most innocently simple, and of charming effect.59The 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'sLOVE OF MAN AND WIFE.suggestion.61That 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):—
Wenn dann die Kleinen um sie spielenDie Eltern gleiche Freude fühlen,Sich ihres Ebenbildes freunO, welch ein Gluck kann grosser sein?
The words with which the boys lead Papagena to Papageno—
Komm her, du holdes, liebes Weibchen!Dem Mann sollst du dein Herzchen weihn.Er wird dich lieben, süsses Weibchen,Dein Vater, Freund und Brader seinSie dieses Mannes Eigenthum!
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,62did 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.'"63According 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."64At 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.66An 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 cannotENSEMBLES.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 ofDIE 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.67In 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 neverthelessTHE 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 madefullymanifest, and the "Zauberflöte" is the point of departure for all that modern music has achieved in thisDIE 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.69In 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 thePERFORMANCES AND IMITATIONS."Zauberflöte."71In the following year appeared "Das Labyrinth, oder der Kampf der Elemente," announced as a continuation of the "Zauberflöte," by Schikaneder and Winter;72it was performed in Berlin with great magnificence in 1806.73Goethe'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.74Schikaneder was not mentioned, which gave rise to some coarse pamphlets in doggerel verse.75Schikaneder'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.76The run was extraordinary,77but 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.79In Berlin it was first given on May 12,1794, with a success80that testified to the preference for German rather than Italian opera there;81the 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."83It may be mentioned as a curiosity that the "Zauberflöte" was played in a French translation84at Braunschweig* and in Italian at Dresden,85until the year 1818,86when 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:—