The Magic Flute in Full Score (Dover Miniature Scores: Opera) - Softcover

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0486466167 ISBN 13: 9780486466163

Publisher: Dover Publications, 2008

Synopsis

Created at the peak of the Enlightenment, Mozart's divine and enduring milestone of opera is both a lighthearted fairy tale and an epic story of the struggle between good and evil. The Magic Flute met instant acclaim at its 1791 premiere, and it remains among the composer's most performed and admired works.
This edition is reproduced from an authoritative source, complete with bar-numbered movements for easy reference. Affordable and compact, it is the lowest-priced complete edition available. Perfect for study or for following live and recorded performances, this miniature score is ideal for use in the classroom, at home, or in the concert hall.

About this title

Review

Mozart's last opera, the simultaneously comic and serious fairy tale The Magic Flute (Die Zauberfloete), is as problematic as anything in the medium. Some deplore it for its perceived sexism and racism; some deplore it for its arguably goofy plot. "Depending on your perspective," writes David Foil in his essay in this book, it "is either the silliest opera ever written or a work of profound insight that happens to be dressed in the trappings of a cartoon." That it is Mozart's sublime music that ennobles something meant to be merely a short-lived popular entertainment is not in question.

This volume, issued by Black Dog Opera Library, puts together Foil's essay, lots of pictures, a complete libretto (with running commentary) in English and German, and a classic recording on two compact discs in one comfortably priced hardcover package. It is a fine introduction to what remains a great opera, goofy plot or no. (And Bellini's plots aren't even goofier?) It is worth buying just for the now out-of-print EMI/Angel 1972 (remastered in 1987) recording, contained on two very long-playing CDs, found inside the front and back covers of the book. The dialogue portions work better in this version than in most recordings. Anneliese Rothenberger is an appealing Pamina, and Walter Berry is a delightful Papageno. Edda Moser nails the difficult music of the Queen of Night, while Kurt Moll is our day's definitive Sarastro. Wolfgang Sawallisch, brisk and never lugubrious, conducts his soloists and the Bavarian State Opera Chorus and Orchestra with total certainty.

From the Publisher

The ultimate gift for opera lovers, the irresistible illustrated libretto pairs Davide Pizzigoni's engaging images with J. D. McClatchy's witty new translation and a music CD of the rare 1937 recording of Arturo Toscanini conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0486466167
• ISBN 13: 9780486466163
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240