Post by acrogers on Sept 27, 2011 15:19:22 GMT 9.5
The Masonic opera, particularly if you get a producer who understands what it really is (a very rare occurence, alas). Well some of the symbolism is clear, but I suspect we're missing a lot. For instance Pamino and Tamina obviously represent the aspirant to the Mysteries who has perhaps reached the level of integrating the masculine and feminine principles within themselves, do you think? Sarastro the High priest of the Sun is obviously the Initiator, while the Queen of the Night represents the forces of darkness, i.e. the Surd in the eternal mathematic. Yet she is as necessary to the whole as is the Devil Card to the Tarot deck. Monostatos (I've probably spelt his name wrong), her familiar and slave; what does he represent, temptation? I'v heard it suggested that Mozart was covertly attacking the Church through this character. Papageno seems to represent the unenlightened material world, that which is not yet ready to enter on the path to enlightenment.
Finally, we know that Mozart's Lodge in Vienna worked Egyptian rites (among others). Is that why the Temple of Initiation in the opera is the Sun Temple at Heliopolis, rather than King Solomon's Temple?
Post by acrogers on Sept 27, 2011 16:40:22 GMT 9.5
You see, Mozart and his librettist (both of them Masons) have us puzzled already. Queen of the Blazing Star? Yes, that is odd. Does anyone know what to make of it?
From a Masonic perspective the Queen of the Night being the Queen of the Blazing Star, ought to be a light character (such as the Widow Isis).
The difficulty with that interpretation is that the Queen of the Night in the opera is portrayed as a dark entity. She sings "The vengeance of Hell boils in my heart"
According to some, the QotN represents the anti-Masonic Empress Maria Theresa
Perhaps Mozart combined Masonic and political themes. Certainly the Masonry of the time was quite political.
Unfortunately there seems to have been a fault in the forum software and one of Tamrin's Tammie alarms has disappeared from this thread.
Tamrin, perhaps you would be so good as to repost it.
I tried to comply with your request but it was censored by your fellow administrator!? So much for freedom of expression here. Go figure.
It was all in the timing Tamrin. You obviously reposted your response after I had issued you a warning about giant red 'you know wha't alerts. So I deleted it.
Adrian, who started this thread is a professional musician, and a very good one. If you have something to say on The Magic Flute I am sure he would love to hear it.
Adrian is also an author of many books. We have two authors in our lodge, we are blessed.
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting…trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home -Wordsworth
Post by acrogers on Sept 29, 2011 16:05:31 GMT 9.5
I agree with Lorraine that The Magic Flute may well be political as well as Masonic. As she points out, European Masonry in Mozart's time was partly political, one can understand why when one considers that much of Europe even in the Enlightenment era was still semi-feudal in its attitudes.
Returning to the Masonic aspect and the real nature of Queen of The Night. As we know, in many of the older initiatic traditions, the candidate was not only given the opportunity to withdraw from the Quest, but his/her resolve was actively tested by temptation. So perhaps we may assume an element of deliberate deception in the Queen as a symbolic character. It is at least obvious in the first act that she deliberately attempts to deceive Pamino. A case perhaps of darkness masquerading as an angel of light?
Another element in the Opera often overlooked is that it is not an opera in the classical (18th century) sense at all, because it has, instead of recitative spoken dialogue, in German originally. In other words it is the ancestor of pantomime and even, ultimately of the Musical as an art form. Could it be that this is also designed to highlight its initiatic nature, with dialogue rather than recitative marking key points in the unfolding processes of initiation?