The Queen of the Night has always been my favorite character in that Opera, and the version you showed from Diana Damrau is so emotionally tense, i love it
The meta plot seems to be the old Castlevania 2 theme "The Morning Sun has Vanquished the Horrible Night." But my leanings have always been towards the Queen of the Night. Her husband gave away the Sevenfold Circle of the Sun to his high priest instead of to her, as it should have been. I mean, she IS still queen. I'm not quite sure what the monarchy's situation is in this fantasy land of Mozart's, but it's my opinion that was the first misstep. The second was the kidnapping of the Queen's daughter. Doesn't matter the intent. That's kidnapping royalty. That's a crime no matter who you are. Though, I do have to ask... The Queen and her handmaidens have battle prowess and magical powers... did Pamina get the short end of the stick in that regard? No magic? No ability to defend herself? Ultimately Papageno and the three boys are a distraction from true crime... Sarastro and priests taking what is rightfully the Queen's. Now, don't get me wrong, Monostatos is way in the wrong too... but both he and Pamina would have been spared their situations had the Queen of the Night been given her due when her husband passed. I mean... what husband passes and leaves their faithful wife powerless and at the mercy of chanting fools? I can only assume that things work differently in the world Mozart created for this opera and I can only go on what I know and feel. All hail the Queen of the Night.
I consider both Sarastro and Queen of the Night as villains. Neither one is more right than the other. It’s just the 18th century mindset of, “A man is more dependable with power than a woman” which is why it historically was seen as more black and white. In my opinion though had Sarastro not had the power who’s to say he wouldn’t try to have killed the Queen of the Night for it?
Magic Flute is always a tough sell for me. It has some magnificent music but the Libretto is an absolute train wreck. Not to mention absurdly and explicitly racist as well as misogynist. There is some vile, vile shit in here and german is my native language so I‘m condemned to understand all of it. You cut off Monostatos‘ Aria before that part, but he actually sings verbatim that „Everything is enjoying love‘s joys and I must avoid love because a black person is ugly!“ I feel gross just typing and translating. He goes then on to praise the beauty of white women, which enchants him. You could say, that is just him rationalizing her rejection, but still. (Did I mention that this Aria is nowadays quietly stricken from the Opera for the most part? No? Well, I have now) Best way for me is ignore anything plot related that does not directly involve the true hero of the story, my main man Papageno and support the person with the cooler Melodies and, I‘m sorry, but it‘s not even a contest. Queen of the Night is in the right. So, even though I don‘t like the Opera very much, I definitely enjoyed your video. You have now gained a new subscriber.
I’m with you on SO many levels! I had an entire rant about Monostatos aria but thought better to cut it in the final edit. Thanks so much for watching and sharing your thoughts! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. 💛🎶
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The Queen of the Night has always been my favorite character in that Opera, and the version you showed from Diana Damrau is so emotionally tense, i love it
Thank you for watching! You are appreciated! See you in my next video! ✨
Complicated story with lots of moving parts but very well explained. Great job!
The meta plot seems to be the old Castlevania 2 theme "The Morning Sun has Vanquished the Horrible Night." But my leanings have always been towards the Queen of the Night. Her husband gave away the Sevenfold Circle of the Sun to his high priest instead of to her, as it should have been. I mean, she IS still queen. I'm not quite sure what the monarchy's situation is in this fantasy land of Mozart's, but it's my opinion that was the first misstep. The second was the kidnapping of the Queen's daughter. Doesn't matter the intent. That's kidnapping royalty. That's a crime no matter who you are. Though, I do have to ask... The Queen and her handmaidens have battle prowess and magical powers... did Pamina get the short end of the stick in that regard? No magic? No ability to defend herself? Ultimately Papageno and the three boys are a distraction from true crime... Sarastro and priests taking what is rightfully the Queen's. Now, don't get me wrong, Monostatos is way in the wrong too... but both he and Pamina would have been spared their situations had the Queen of the Night been given her due when her husband passed. I mean... what husband passes and leaves their faithful wife powerless and at the mercy of chanting fools? I can only assume that things work differently in the world Mozart created for this opera and I can only go on what I know and feel. All hail the Queen of the Night.
I LOVE your response! I’ll respond more later but thank you for watching! 💛🙏🏾✨😍
@@OperaForBlackFolks looking forward to it.
I consider both Sarastro and Queen of the Night as villains. Neither one is more right than the other. It’s just the 18th century mindset of, “A man is more dependable with power than a woman” which is why it historically was seen as more black and white.
In my opinion though had Sarastro not had the power who’s to say he wouldn’t try to have killed the Queen of the Night for it?
Magic Flute is always a tough sell for me. It has some magnificent music but the Libretto is an absolute train wreck. Not to mention absurdly and explicitly racist as well as misogynist. There is some vile, vile shit in here and german is my native language so I‘m condemned to understand all of it. You cut off Monostatos‘ Aria before that part, but he actually sings verbatim that „Everything is enjoying love‘s joys and I must avoid love because a black person is ugly!“ I feel gross just typing and translating. He goes then on to praise the beauty of white women, which enchants him. You could say, that is just him rationalizing her rejection, but still. (Did I mention that this Aria is nowadays quietly stricken from the Opera for the most part? No? Well, I have now) Best way for me is ignore anything plot related that does not directly involve the true hero of the story, my main man Papageno and support the person with the cooler Melodies and, I‘m sorry, but it‘s not even a contest. Queen of the Night is in the right.
So, even though I don‘t like the Opera very much, I definitely enjoyed your video. You have now gained a new subscriber.
I’m with you on SO many levels! I had an entire rant about Monostatos aria but thought better to cut it in the final edit. Thanks so much for watching and sharing your thoughts! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. 💛🎶