THE MAGIC FLUTE in Pop Culture

The Magic Flute is one of the operas with tunes so catchy and recognizable, even those who have never seen a performance of it have probably heard its music. Whether it’s the overture played as background music at the mall on an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or a music box on an episode of House bringing Papageno’s "Das klinget so herrlich" front and center, The Magic Flute is definitely in the pop culture landscape.

In 1995, Disney released Operation Dumbo Drop, a (family-friendly) movie starring Danny Glover, Ray Liotta, and Denis Leary about an Army mission to deliver an elephant to a village during the Vietnam War. The over-the-top plot also features a moment in which one character sings along, horribly, to the Queen of the Night’s famous aria, “Der Hölle Rache”:

"Der Hölle Rache" was also discussed in a 2009 episode of The CW’s popular Gossip Girl TV series, during the second season episode “You’ve Got Yale!” in which the main characters attend a performance of The Magic Flute. Opera is mentioned throughout the episode, and this short video features a few notable references:

In these clips, the anonymous Gossip Girl compares the drama of the main characters to Flute; Dan and Nate talk about going to the opera, and make a bonus reference to The Ring; and Eric breaks down Magic Flute to opera newbie Rufus, while they listen to "Der Hölle Rache." By the way, we definitely disagree with Eric’s assertion that Flute is "opera for amateurs." While it's a great introduction to those unfamiliar with opera, there's something for everyone in this Mozart masterpiece.

That same aria was included in the soundtrack for Eat Pray Love, released in 2010 and starring Julia Roberts. It was an interesting choice of music, considering the context: this very German aria is played to highlight the joy Roberts' character is experiencing while traveling through Italy and savoring Italian cuisine:

Flute's music has also been in numerous commercials, for everything from cars to macaroni and cheese. Papageno might enjoy Red Bull based on its "Red Bull gives you wings" slogan, but we bet he wasn’t so pleased with the outcome of this clever commercial for the energy drink, featuring Papageno’s entrance aria “Der Vogelfänger Bin Ich Ja” (“I’m a bird catcher”):

The most familiar bit of music from The Magic Flute is the Queen of the Night’s Act 2 aria, “Der Hölle Rache,” with its famous vocalise shooting up to high F. Since it becomes almost pure music—out of context, you might not know it’s sung by a crazy woman threatening to disown her daughter unless she murders her mother’s enemy—it’s been used in all kinds of contexts. For Volvo in 2018, this aria connoted an idea of luxury, in an advertisement which asked, “Can you design an SUV for an aria?”

Volvo transposed the aria down several steps, probably because the original high F is so extreme it didn’t quite work with the brand. But a couple years later, when Etsy.com used the Queen’s aria in an advertisement showcasing the many unique and original treasures people purchase and sell on the site, she was singing in the original key:

The worst Queen of the Night on record was the notorious Florence Foster Jenkins, whose ‘performance’ of the aria didn’t appear to be in any key at all, when Meryl Streep sang it in her 2016 movie, Florence Foster Jenkins. The recording of the real Jenkins is available on YouTube; here’s Meryl Streep’s remarkable impersonation:

MAGIC FLUTE Movies

In 1975, the great director Ingmar Bergman filmed The Magic Flute for Swedish television, sung in Swedish, set in (a replica of) an eighteenth-century theater near Stockholm, and created one of the greatest opera-to-screen adaptations of all time. If you've never seen it it's well worth a look. Criterion Collection has a DVD, and currently the entire thing is also posted on YouTube.

In 2006, Kenneth Branagh made a film adaptation of The Magic Flute that set the story during World War I, with the German libretto translated to English by Stephen Fry, and music conducted by James Conlon. Branagh's film is the first time The Magic Flute was filmed specifically for the big screen. You can watch bits and pieces online, including the duet between Papageno and Papagena. Here's how Branagh filmed the overture:

And in 2023, a charming family-friendly film was released, produced by Roland Emmerich and directed by Florian Sigl, in which a young man attending a high-pressure music school in Austria finds a magical portal to the world of The Magic Flute, where he takes over the journey of Prince Tamino. F. Murray Abraham, who so dazzled the world as Mozart's rival Salieri in Amadeus, plays the crabby headmaster, while opera stars Morris Robinson and Sabine Devielhe dazzle as Sarastro and the Queen of the Night. Available on DVD and for streaming; and here's a trailer:

It's not just The Magic Flute's music that has been referenced in film and TV over the years. Several movies, for example, have featured plot lines involving magical flutes—like the 1976 animated film The Smurfs and the Magic Flute. Set in the Middle Ages, the movie focuses on a court jester who discovers a magic flute that, when played, makes the townspeople dance uncontrollably. Sounds innocent enough—until a thief snatches away the flute and uses its powers to rob people of their gold. It's not quite the same adventure as in Mozart's opera, but it's a magic flute nonetheless! The entire movie is available for viewing on YouTube.

The Magic Flute is on stage February 22–March 9, 2025 at McCaw Hall. Learn more and buy tickets at seattleopera.org/flute.