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OVERTURE

to Die Zauberflöte, KV620 (The Magic Flute)

by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria and died in 1791 in Vienna, Austria. At that time, Austria was part of the Holy Roman Empire.

A couple of years before he died, Mozart was introduced to Emanuel Schikaneder’s theatre troupe in Vienna, through a friend who was a member. This involvement led to the creation of Die Zauberflöte, also known in English as The Magic Flute, an opera in two acts. The libretto in the German language was by Schikaneder, who also performed the role of Papageno in the premiere, which Mozart conducted.

The Magic Flute was intended to be highly entertaining and was written in the form of a Singspiel, a form that features both singing and spoken dialogue. Magic was a popular entertainment with audiences at that time and its inclusion as a theme in the opera guaranteed the opera’s success. 100 performances took place in the first year, alone!

The success of The Magic Flute came a little late for Mozart. Three months after the premiere took place in September 1791, Mozart died.

The opera is one of the most frequently performed operas of all time and the Overture is frequently performed as a concert work, as well as being played at the beginning of every performance of the opera.

Step 1. Watch the video to experiment with sound at home

Step 2. Listen to the TSO recording of Overture to The Magic Flute

Step 3. Answer 10 questions

Step 4. Download a Word Search

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