The Magic Flute

Also known as Die Zauberflöte, The Magic Flute is the penultimate opera of Viennese composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and is considered to be one of his greatest achievements. Despite the opera's light, almost fairy tale-like exterior, The Magic Flute is a fantastical allegory based heavily in Masonic symbolism and Enlightenment philosophy, with music that is considered to be some of the more sophisticated compositions of the time. The opera is also considered to have contributed to the popularization of singspiel, or a sung-through form of theater. The Magic Flute became immediately popular when it premiered in Vienna in 1791, and its popularity has only grown since then, particularly for its most recognizable aria, "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen."