Facts about The Magic Flute
- 06
The Queen of the Night's famous aria features a G7 soprano note, one of the highest notes regularly required in operatic performance.
- 05
Papageno's name derives from the Italian word papera, meaning duck, reflecting his bird-catcher role and the magical bird costumes he wears throughout the opera.
- 04
Two flutes appear in the opera, with the magic flute itself crafted from wood while the second instrument given to Papageno is made from silver.
- 03
In 1791, The Magic Flute's premiere at Vienna's Theater auf der Wieden drew approximately 900 spectators, making it an immediate commercial success despite initial skepticism about the opera's unusual plot combining Masonic symbolism with fairy-tale elements.
- 02
Emanuel Schikaneder, the librettist and lead performer of The Magic Flute, played the character Papageno during its 1791 premiere at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna.
- 01
Mozart composed The Magic Flute in Vienna during 1791, completing the two-act opera in just under five months before its September premiere.