The Magic Flute part 1

Students will be returning to the Capital Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire on Tuesday, March 10, 2008 to view a performance of "The Magic Flute". 

To better understand the nature of this work Ms. Hanson has provided you with some questions. Mr. Merrill will help you use Blogger to record your answers. Begin this assignment by carefully reading ALL questions listed here first. Mr. Merrill will then suggest some useful tools and a proper strategy to help you with this.

Section 1

Q: What kind of performance is "The Magic Flute"?

A: Opera

Q: Who is its author?

A:  Mozart

T or F: As a youth this author was considered to be almost talentless and had few or no recognizable skills whatsoever.

Q: Is "The Magic Flute" a Myth, Fable, or Fairy tale?

A:  It is a combination of a myth and a fairy tale.

Q: What differences are there between these 3 forms of story telling?

A:  Fable involves the lesson learned through animals,  a fairy  tale is a traditional fantasy story
and a myth is based on Gods and Heroes which try to explain why people are the way they are.

Please given an example of each

Myth:  Hercules, Iliad and the Odyssey  

Fable:  Narnia, Aesop's Fables

Fairy Tale:  Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Alice in Wonderland

Please define the following words:

Allegory: an analogy or symbol 

Opera:  theatrical performance set to music

Singspiel: German, light opera, with spoken words

Libretto:   The text or words of an opera


Section 2

There are many different styles of singing. A person's singing voice is often defined as a "range". Please select the correct range for each style of singing voice:

A high female singing voice:

Soprano • Tenor • Bass

The highest male singing voice:

Countertenor • Contralto • Baritone

The lowest female singing voice:

Mezzo-Soprano • Countertenor • Contralto

The most common type of male singing voice:

Baritone • Baritone Bass • Tenor

The most common type of female singing voice:

Tenor • Mezzo-Soprano • Baritone Bass

The lowest male singing voice:

Baritone Bass • Baritone Base • Bass

Section 3


“The Magic Flute” was originally written in the German language. Here are some German words and phrases. Using an on-line German/English Dictionary, see if you can translate the following words:



Bitte:  ask

Danke: thanks

Guten Morgen: Good one tomorrow

Schule: train

Bleistift:  pencil

Stuhl:  chair

Fenster: window




Now an Extra Credit Challenge!
See if you can translate the following German phrases:

Koennen Sie mir britte sagen wo die Toiletten sind?
Can they to me please say where the toilets are?

Wann hast du Geburtstag?
When you have birthday?

Die Oper uberraschte!

The opera surprised!