![]() Sarastro: (the Italian name for Zarathustra) The spiritual leader who resides in the seven circles of the sun -perhaps symbolic of the lodge Grand Master. Tamino: The initiate who is willing to undergo the trials set forth in order to achieve a higher state of being is thought to symbolize a masonic initiate. Three musical knocks throughout the opera represented by wind instruments (beginning of second part of overture). Since then, the E-flat has often been referred to as the Masonic key. ![]() The three chords in E-flat major in the overture and grand final: Mozart had written quite a few numbers for the masonic lodges and liked to use E-flat, which has three flats arranged in triangular form (the “Masonic Trinity” sheet music style). (Beethoven was a mason too which - if you read the lyrics of Ode to Joy explains the brotherhood concept pretty well). The Temple of Wisdom (Solomon’s Temple) should symbolize the temple of humanity, in which all people are “brothers” who should unite in a higher spirituality. Three temples appear on stage in the Magic Flute: The “Temple of Wisdom”, the “Temple of Reason” and the “Temple of Nature” similar to three of the pillars of belief of the free masons – the other two: strength and beauty. Symbolically they may also represent a person’s inner voice of reason. They are thought to symbolize the two deacons and the master of ceremonies of a lodge who likewise accompany new masonic apprentices on their symbolic journey during which they must face the trials of two of the four basic elements: fire and water. They demand of Tamino three traits: steadfastness, patience and secrecy – three golden rules of the free masons. Three boys: In the Magic Three, three young boys offer Papageno and Tamino guidance on their journey. The Masonic Triangle (you know the one – look at the back of your 1 dollar bill) reflected in the many groupings of three in the opera: The steps of a Freemason: Entered Apprentice (youth), Fellow Craft (manhood), Master Builder (old age) – we see similar representations of Tamino as he undergoes his journey in the opera. You can go deep into philosophy, psychology and spirituality here and simply say it’s like Yin and Yang, good cannot exist without evil, there can be no Sonnie without Cher - you get the picture. Unification of opposing forces of the universe to achieve oneness: On the one side you have the dark evil Queen of the Night who also represents in addition darkness/Isis/Booz/feminine/moon/fire/evil/chaos and on the other you have Sarastro who represents light/Osiris/Jakin/masculine/sun/water/good/order. ![]() The goal of the free masons and Tamino in the opera is to overcome that which ruins the spirit of man (perverted thought, uncurbed emotions and destructive actions) in order to ascend the stairs of the one Lodge – the Universe – to attain universal oneness. For those in-the-know The Magic Flute amounts to a 1791 shout-out to the composer and writer’s masonic brethren.īelow are just a couple characteristics of the opera that have provided fuel to the fire of speculation. For the unordained, the opera relates the age-old tale of the hero’s journey: a hero reluctantly answers the call to adventure and leaves the world he knows to undergo trials and overcome challenges to earn his reward and return home a new (and better) person. Indeed, since its origin, The Magic Flute, like episodes of South Park, has led a double life. One proposes that the timing of Mozart’s death (so soon after the premiere of The Magic Flute) was no coincidence. Theories of Mozart’s death are as numerous and varied as the Gulasch in Vienna’s Gulaschmuseum. The opera opened to much acclaim but less than a month and a half after its debut, Mozart suffered a painful and mysterious death, and confided in his loved ones his conviction that he had been poisoned (see last week’s post: Mozart, the Free Masons and A Mysterious Death). To work on what would be his last and one of his most celebrated pieces, Mozart temporarily moved in with Emanuel Schikaneder, the man who penned the libretto of The Magic Flute and also happened to be a fellow member of “Zur Wohltätigkeit,” Mozart’s masonic lodge. On September 30, 1791, two years after the French Revolution, The Magic Flute premiered in Vienna. Music is the most potent instrument in education because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul.
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