Die Zauberflöte

Papageno answers Tamino's question about who he is with the words, 'A man like you.' Tamino replies to the counter-question that he 'comes from noble lineage.' Thus, right from the beginning, it becomes clear that the bird-catcher Papageno already is what Tamino still needs to become: a human being. Humanity is therefore the goal. And although this goal is lofty, the way to it is humorously human and playful. The libretto describes this path with many trials, with hellish vengeance and the sweetest love, with dancing animals and wonderful boys, until Tamino and Papageno finally reach their goal happily. Die Zauberflöte, first performed in Vienna in 1791 as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's last opera, stands on the one hand entirely within the tradition of the old Viennese magic theater.