Mozart's Fairy Tale Singspiel Opera - The Magic Flute - On The Wings Of Imagination

THE MAGIC FLUTE - ON THE WINGS OF IMAGINATION

By Anastasia Elena Baranoff | Egg Tempera Movement

The year was 1791. Austrian audiences were smitten with singspiels and their imaginative story lines. An ancestor of the Broadway musical, a singspiel cleverly merged spoken word with memorable singing numbers. Peppered with showy effects, like flying machines, blazing flames, roaring thunderclaps, the genuine crowd-pleasers dazzled.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart found himself enthusiastically composing an enchanting score for the Theater auf der Wieden. Joining forces with fellow Masonic brother Emanuel Schikaneder, the dream team concocted a production supreme.

The Magic Flute - On The Wings Of Imagination | Close-Up | Copyright © Anastasia Elena Baranoff

 

An ultimate showman and influential impresario, Schikaneder penned the fantastical libretto of what was to be known as The Magic Flute.

Set in the exotic land of Egypt, the fairy tale extravaganza featured extraordinary characters, the thrill of a heroic quest, a dizzying romance, alluring mysticism and secret rituals, all the prime ingredients of a theatrical victory.

The Mozart and Schikaneder production proved to be both entertaining and enlightening. Brimful of allusive symbolism and philosophical elements, The Magic Flute indulged both the mind and senses. Mozart’s dreamy compositions upraised the adventure to the most expressive heights.  

September 30, 1791 marked the day of the premiere. The playbill proclaimed that out of courtesy to a kind and respectable audience and out of his friendship with the librettist, Herr Mozart would conduct the orchestra.

A signifying sound of three knocks, a majestic three-chord brass sequence, rose over the auditorium. The curtain opened to reveal an otherworldly domain. Love and goodness triumphed over evil, a message of knowledge, liberty and progress was declared.  

The Magic Flute - On The Wings Of Imagination | Close-Up | Copyright © Anastasia Elena Baranoff

Schikaneder transformed into spirited bird catcher Papageno, Mozart directed the performance and Josepha Hofer, the composer’s sister-in-law, shined as Queen of the Night.

Mozart took great delight in inviting and accompanying family, friends and colleagues to experience his newly created oeuvre.

During the thrilling days that followed, he communicated his emotions in letters to dear wife Constanze: “I went behind the scenes when Papageno’s air accompanied by bells began, feeling such a strong impulse to play the bells myself for once. I played them a capital trick, for at Schikaneder’s pause I made an arpeggio; he started looking behind the scenes and saw me. The second time the pause came I did nothing, when he paused, and would not proceed. I guessed his thoughts and played a chord. He then struck the bells and said Halt’s Maul! (hold your tongue!) which made everyone laugh. I believe it was owing to this joke that many learned for the first time that Schikaneder did not himself play the instrument. You cannot think what a charming effect the music has from a box close to the orchestra, far better than from the gallery;”*

An eager public flocked to the three-story theater. In its very first month alone, The Magic Flute was performed 24 times to a packed house. 

It is said the production’s success assisted Schikaneder in building the new Theater an der Wien. Its Empire style portal was furnished with a sculpture of Schikaneder as Papageno with his children as the three boys from the singspiel. To this day the Papageno Gate greets visitors and residents of Vienna.     

Not long after its premiere, The Magic Flute was staged in such cities as Prague, Berlin, Paris, Saint Petersburg, London, Philadelphia, delighting and inspiring the world.

Schikaneder said that he wrote for the pleasure of the audience, and didn’t pretend to be a scholar. Clearly this welcoming approach yielded the perfect foundation for an opera masterpiece, which to this day continues to charm.  

The Magic Flute - On The Wings Of Imagination | Close-Up | Copyright © Anastasia Elena Baranoff

I first encountered Mozart as an impressionable child. Time and time again, a cassette tape voiced The Best Of Mozart during our daily excursions. The composer’s sublime music filled the transporting capsule that was our family car, as my mother and I glided down a paved California coastal road, the boundless waters of the Pacific Ocean soothing the sandy beach yonder. The sounds excited, expanding the surroundings, filling everyday life with inexplicable wonder.

At a tender age I got Mozart. Without the need for seminars or lectures, instinctively I knew his music was my kind of music, “too many notes” and all.

Later, the profoundly touching Amadeus enhanced my appreciation of my favorite composer. Peter Shaffer and Milos Forman’s film visually and emotionally stirred. Mozart’s energy, mischievousness, faith in his art and sense of purpose were simply irresistible.   

Over the years, I experienced his heartfelt operas, symphonies, concertos, sonatas. Mozart’s compositions are transcendently beautiful, inspiring the artistic soul.   

The Magic Flute - On The Wings Of Imagination | Copyright © Anastasia Elena Baranoff

As a fine artist, I took great pleasure in interpreting The Magic Flute.

In my genuine egg tempera painting entitled The Magic Flute - On The Wings Of Imagination, through the ornamental art composition I visualized the brilliance and enchantment of the music.

A lustrous kaleidoscope of color combinations and shapes, the artwork evokes the mystique and eccentric nature of the story and its players.

The Queen of the Night majestically presides over the purposeful gathering. Surrounded by the splendor of her palatial court, vibrant Papageno and valorous Prince Tamino are presented with the Magic Flute and Bells by the gracious Three Ladies, to avail them in a dangerous quest to free Princess Pamina from the clutches of menacing Sarastro.  

Like notes of the score, words of the libretto, the expressive painterly brush strokes lyrically weave together my fine art storytelling, soaring on the wings of imagination.     

 

(*An excerpt of a letter written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Vol. II; Translated from the collection of Ludwig Nohl by Lady Wallace; London: Longmans, Green and Co. 1865)

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Egg Tempera Movement is delighted to offer splendid fine art prints of The Magic Flute : On The Wings Of Imagination by Anastasia Elena Baranoff, published on luxurious canvas.

To learn more about The Magic Flute : On The Wings Of Imagination fine art print, visit https://www.eggtemperamovement.com/category/opera-fine-art-print-collection

 

The Magic Flute - On The Wings Of Imagination | Copyright © Anastasia Elena Baranoff