It continually amazes me about die zauberflote, not the opera, the flute itself, that so many appear to take it for granted, as though there is nothing unusual. From my standpoint, there is just nothing more powerful. I call it a gift of “shalom” — something kind and refreshing, and this is true. Playing the flute while keeping in mind a certain person or issue always helps to make things better. No matter how dire a situation may appear, something wonderful seems to swoop in and turn everything for good.
There is another side of die zauberflote, however; a more enigmatic one, somewhat mystical. It seems that it can generate a sort of energy of fire that will charge into the layers of lies or misrepresentations in a situation and pull them out. Then it is as though a negative fog lifts and the truth becomes clear.
There seem to be a few stiffnecked people who think they can reverse the energy of die zauberflote somehow and use it to their own ends. Many of them are now dead. The luckier ones may be those who end up in a panic, seeking help to deal with something they find they do not understand.
Le Chant du Rossignol...(song of the nightingale) 