Michel Fustier
MOZART'S MAGIC FLUTE
We are in Vienna in 1791. Mozart is thirty-five years old. Although he has already
written hundreds of masterpieces, he now lives in great poverty. In fact, he
is not very far from death. At the request of an old friend, he undertakes the
composition of a popular opera entitled The Magic Flute. In that opera he will
use most of the themes of Free-Masonry: love, happiness, justice, in other words
the fight of light against darkness and of life against death…
CHARACTERS:
Mozart, worn-out and impoverished but still very quick-minded.
Constanza, his wife, distressed by the situation.
Schikaneder, manager of a theatre in the suburbs of Vienna.
Two Freemasons.
1 - (in Mozart's lodgings)
MOZART - I heard a knock on the door…
CONSTANZA - I'll open the door… Who can it be? …Come in, sir.
MOZART - What a surprise: Schikaneder!
SCHIKANEDER – Here I am, dear Mozart. I am so glad… (they hug one
another)
MOZART - Constanza, this gentleman is Mr. Schikaneder… We met once in
Salzburg. Mr. Schikaneder is a theatre director.
CONSTANZA - I think I remember…
MOZART - A great theatre director. He now runs a theatre in the suburbs of Vienna,
don't you?
SCHIKANEDER - I do… Why didn't you come and see my performances.
CONSTANZA - Unfortunately, our poor Wolfgang is so overworked…
SCHIKANEDER - Overworked! Are you… overmoneyed too?
MOZART - Alas no… Neither The Marriage of Figaro nor Don Giovanni ran
for a long enough time.
SCHIKANEDER - Yes, I heard as much.
MOZART - And now I am doing odd jobs… I work a lot, but I am poorly paid.
CONSTANZA - See how miserable this small flat is and how cold! And I am pregnant
for the fourth time … Life is so difficult!
SCHIKANEDER - Dear Madam (he kisses her hands) …I have problems also.
I have been ruined by my extravagance… But listen to me, Mozart, I've
got an idea that could save both of us from wreckage.
MOZART - Really?
SCHIKANEDER - I have at my disposal a big theatre with lots of machines, traps,
pulleys, in which I can make thunder roar, rain fall, lightning strike, and
ghosts appear… Quite wonderful! Now, let us join together… Forget
the official theatres, where your genius is ignored, and write a popular opera
for me … Something enchanting! My theatre and your music will draw in
hordes of people.
CONSTANZA - Oh, Wolfi, how lucky we would be…
MOZART - Well… Something enchanting… Have you got an idea?
SCHIKANEDER - An idea, a subject, and even a libretto!
MOZART - Indeed?
CONSTANZA - Would you like some coffee? There is some left…
MOZART - Good idea… So you've got a subject and even a libretto…
(they leave)
2 - (two free-masons meet in a café)
FIRST FREEMASON - Has Mozart spoken to you?
SECOND FREEMASON - No… I don't think so… about what?
FIRST FREEMASON - He wants to write an opera.
SECOND FREEMASON - Good idea, he knows how to do it. Why would he have spoken
to me?
FIRST FREEMASON - Because of the subject of his opera… I bet you can't
guess…
SECOND FREEMASON - No use trying to guess: he has such an imagination!
FIRST FREEMASON - The subject of his opera is our rites and beliefs!
SECOND FREEMASON - Our rites and beliefs! He wants to compose songs about Free-Masonry?
FIRST FREEMASON -Yes… songs! That is exactly what he wants.
SECOND FREEMASON - But our ceremonies are secret!
FIRST FREEMASON - It's an open secret… Everybody knows about them. As
far as I am concerned, I think that on the contrary it would be a good idea
to tell people a little bit about us. After all, it's the happiness of mankind
we are after: there is nothing secret or shameful about that!
SECOND FREEMASON - Wait a minute… I'm not sure I understand: an opera
to be performed in public, in a theatre…?
FIRST FREEMASON - Yes. It is Mozart's and Schikaneder's idea, both of them our
mason-brothers… An opera that would show how man, in spite of the presence
of evil, seeks love, virtue and happiness, and how we masons can help him.
SECOND FREEMASON – Put that way, it looks like a good idea and he would
not betray any secrets… But, aren't you afraid that it would be terribly
boring?
FIRST FREEMASON - Not at all, since they want to make it a very lively show,
full of humour and fantasy… With lots of adventures, monsters, bird-catchers,
fairies, castles, angels from heaven, devils from the depths of the earth, choirs
of the blessed. A kind of allegory or parable… And at the end a double
wedding would take place…
SECOND FREEMASON - Very strange. But Mozart's music is so exceptional!
FIRST FREEMASON - I'm certain it will do more for Free-Masonry than our charities
and sermons.
3 - (in Mozart's lodgings)
SCHIKANEDER - Where is Mozart?
CONSTANZA - He has left on a trip
SCHIKANEDER – He has left on a trip! But… and The Magic Flute? It's
already the month of August and the rehearsals are to begin in October. Where
is he?
CONSTANZA - In Prague. He has been commissioned to write a new opera.
SCHIKANEDER - I should have known! He is unable to resist a commission. What
is the name of the opera?
CONSTANZA - The Clemency of Titus, for the crowning of Leopold, king of Bohemia.
SCHIKANEDER - Sheer madness! An Opera in six weeks…
CONSTANZA - He works very quickly!
SCHIKANEDER - What about me, has he let me down?
CONSTANZA - No, he has not. The Flute is almost finished… But… if
you want to know the entire truth… he has also been asked to compose a
Requiem.
SCHIKANEDER - Good gracious. Who asked him?
CONSTANZA - He doesn't know. A man dressed in black who refuses to tell us his
name. He started working, but the man in black told him it was not that urgent.
SCHIKANEDER - So much the better. As soon as he comes back, let me know: I'll
come and keep an eye on him… Together we face such a terrific challenge:
we have to succeed.
4 - (in a Vienna inn)
SCHIKANEDER - Mozart, thanks… Our success is stupendous… And it
has already lasted two months!
MOZART - You see you had no reason to worry!
SCHIKANEDER - I had a thousand reasons… But every night the theatre is
full. They love your opera very much… And most of them are very ordinary
people, craftsmen, humble workers… They are positively enthralled by your
music.
MOZART - Will it bring in some money for me?
SCHIKANEDER - You'll have your share, of course… Still it will be rather
modest since I have already given you as much money as I could. It's a pity
we had such great expenses… particularly for these excellent singers you
wanted me to hire… (changing the subject) And you, are you still working
on your Requiem?
MOZART - Yes… It's another way of speaking of life and death, though not
so enjoyable. But I find it difficult to finish… I am tired. Schikaneder,
very tired. Do you think that the Lord is good?
SCHIKANEDER - What do I think, what do I think…? What I think does not
matter, I'm not going to prevent God from being what he is.
MOZART - O my friend, I have pursued happiness, as in the Flute, but I have
only been able to obtain desolation and misery. And I feel that, far from rising
up to the light, I am slowly sliding down towards darkness. I am feeling great
pains… (he presses the small of his back) If only I could have a glimpse
of what paradise is! Tell me, you who know me, have I not wasted my life, have
I done all that I had to do?
SCHIKANEDER - Your life is a marvellous achievement, your music will enchant
very many generations!
MOZART - No, my music is but a trifle. I have not loved enough, the Kingdom
is closed to me… Schikaneder, my head is whirling… Oh, the terrible
pain, my back is aching. Hurry up, Schikaneder, hurry up… (he collapses)
SCHIKANEDER - Mozart, what's the matter? I'll call a doctor… But first
let me help you to your bed. It can't be serious.
MOZART - Rather call a priest… I'm afraid that on the contrary this is
the end. I feel it in myself, I know it. The Requiem I have been composing,
it was my own and I have not even been given time to finish it. (long silence)
O God, my God, all I am left with is your mercy.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Mozart lived from 1756 to 1791, a period which corresponds to the reign of
Louis XVI and the beginning of the French Revolution. During that short period
– thirty-five years! – he was able to compose one of the most significant
and prolific contributions to music.
He spent his childhood and youth in Salzburg, Austria, which did not prevent
him, as a child prodigy, from travelling in Europe under the guidance of his
father, particularly in Italy where he was munificently welcomed. Meanwhile
he had entered into the service of the archbishop of Salzburg, Coloredo. But
as he did not like to be considered as a valet, he left Salzburg and in 1780,
at the age of twenty-four, settled in Vienna on his own account. Then followed
ten years of a creative and difficult life, often interrupted by travels, and
marked by series of successes and failures. But his successes were often ephemeral…
He worked a lot, wrote a great number of pieces of music, but sank progressively
into a state of semi-oblivion. His life became miserable and he lost three of
the four children given to him by his wife Constanza … It is at that time
that he met Schikaneder, as told in the above play.
Mozart had absorbed all the musical traditions of his time and, as he used to
work very intensely and quickly; he produced in his short life a good thousand
compositions, original and infinitely varied. The catalogue Köchel includes
625 items, keeping in mind that each item can include several pieces of music.
The main works of Mozart are :
OPERAS: The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan Tutte, The Magic Flute
…
SYMPHONIES: forty one…
PIANO CONCERTOS: twenty seven, among which is The Coronation Concerto.
MANY OTHER CONSERTOS: for violin, horn, harp, flute etc.
SONATAS: for piano, for piano and violin, and many other instruments.
TRIOS, QUARTETS and QUINTETS.
RELIGIOUS MUSIC: cantatas, masses and, of course, the famous Requiem …
and many other pieces not mentioned here.
Originating in England, Free-Masonry developed, in a Europe marked by religious
and political absolutism, as a kind of power behind the scenes, a more or less
secret counter-force. Free-masons were citizens of importance whose lodges or
"sections" used to meet in what was called Masonic Temples. They observed
a secret ceremonial whose confidential character contributed to binding the
brothers together. They were Deists, but independent of all churchlike organisation,
they aimed to work for the common good and universal justice. They also formed
a network of influential people who helped each other in their respective undertakings
and who influenced political decisions of those in power. It's not surprising
that Mozart, who had no inclination towards formalized religion and who was
desperate to seize hands that could help him, had entered Free-Masonry, where
he met Schickaneder
Non commercial use allowed. Reg. SACD - Michel Fustier, 4 Chambfort, 69 100 Villeurbanne, France. Tel: 00 33 (0)4 78 84 25 28.