The Magic Flute

Act I

In ancient Egypt, a tenor prince named Tamino passes out while attempting to escape a huge snake. He’s rescued by three ladies in black dresses-servants to someone calling herself the Queen of the Night. When Tamino wakes up, a guy in a feathered costume comes dancing toward him: it’s Papageno, the baritone bird catcher of the Queen of the Night. He claims that He killed the giant snake.

At this, the three ladies put a padlock on Papageno’s mouth and show Tamino a picture of the Queen’s daughter Pamina. He falls in love hard enough to belt out the gorgeous tenor aria “Dies Bildnis ist bezauberndschon (“this portrait is enchantingly lovely”). Pamina has been captured by the high priest Sarastro, a bass. “Rescue my daughter,” the Queen of the Night sings in an explosion of murderously difficult coloratura-soprano fireworks, “and she’s yours”. To help Tamino on has way, they give to him a golden flute and to Papageno, a set a silver bells. The two guys set off on their journey, accompanied by three youths (boys played by women). At high-priest Sarastro’s palace, evil Monostatos, a Moor who works for Sarastro, is making the moves on Pamina. Papageno the Birdman scares Monostatos away and assures Pamina that she’ll be rescued.

The three youths, meanwhile, have dumped Tamino in a grove containing three temples. A priest in the third temple explains that priest Sarastro isn’t actually the bad guy; the Queen of the Night is the real evil one. Sarastro himself enters, hailed by the chorus: Pamina accuses Monostatos of making a pass at her: Priest Sarastro punishes him with 72 lashes of the whip. Sarastro now puts the two young lovers into the Temple of Ordeal, where they’re supposed to prove they’re worthy of happiness.

Act II

Guided by the priests, Tamino passes a test in which he’s not allowed to speak to women. Pamina passes a test of her own- repeatedly escaping the advances of Monostatos. The birdman, meanwhile, meets an old hag who introduces herself as Papagena, his future girlfriend- and who later turns into a gorgeous 18 year-old, also in a bird costume. No doubt hopelessly confused by all these characters and plot twists, Pamina contemplates suicide. The youth-boys women comfort her.

Tamino meanwhile, is facing a test of fire and water. Pamina joins him for this final trial, which seems to consist of walking in and out of two caves, playing the magic flute, and then announcing “we bravely met the dangers”

But uh-oh, the evil queen has promised Pamina to the evil Monstatos in exchange for helping wipe out priest Sarastro. Fortunately, following the crashing of thunder, lighting, and waterfalls, the evil little band “sink into the earth” (talk about convenient!) Priest Sarastro and his priests congratulate Tam and Pam for making it through the plot alive.