Mozart conducted the orchestra, [c] Schikaneder himself played Papageno, while the role of the Queen of the Night was sung by Mozart's sister-in-law Josepha Hofer.

Guy reminds me a lot of Rom from A Company of Swans, another hero who can accomplish anything by sheer force of will.Papageno plays his magic bells, causing Monostatos and his slaves to dance off the stage, mesmerised by the beauty of the music (chorus: " Das klinget so herrlich" / That sounds so splendid). The number three is highly significant in Freemasonry and recurs as the number of ladies, boys and temples.

Like The Magic Flute, Der Stein der Weisen was a fairy-tale opera and can be considered a kind of precursor; it employed much the same cast in similar roles. They are light, charming, heart-warming, feel-good confections that are peopled with delightfully endearing characters. Opening up an Eva Ibbotson book is like biting into a hot biscuit smothered with butter and jam--at once perfectly satisfying and extremely comforting. Ravichandra Kulur was initiated into the heart of the enchanted kingdom of classical Carnatic music and gave his first concerts at the age of 9.Tessa has been brought up to behave like an aristocrat, but she's extremely comfortable running around helping the members of the opera company in any way she can, often to her detriment. The three ladies suddenly reappear and instead of giving Papageno wine, cake and figs, they give him water and a stone, and padlock his mouth closed as a warning not to lie. Together they reflect on the joys and sacred value of marital love (duet: " Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen" / In men, who feel love). Tessa and Guy might be the leads in a Heyer romance, were it not for the fact that the subject over which they connect is discussed with such knowledge and nuance, and presupposes that one may evaluate the soul of another based on the music they love, how they respond to it, and how they speak of it.