Even Salieri, the notorious villain of Peter Shaffer's drama Amadeus, admired Mozart's comic opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), which was premièred in Vienna a few weeks before Mozart's death in December 1791. Though sometimes enjoyed as a children's opera, this is not a pantomime: rooted in Freemasonry, the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason, it promotes the ideals of progress, virtue, self-betterment, truth and justice. Tamino, an Egyptian Prince, has a magic flute to take him and his beloved Pamina through trials of constancy and endurance, before they can attain ultimate bliss. Critics have long been confounded as to how Mozart could present such a light-hearted yet deep masterpiece, with such wonderful music, while being in deep financial trouble. There is great stylistic diversity. The sensationally difficult part of the Queen of the Night comes from the Italian opera tradition, while the comical bird catcher Papageno (originally performed by the librettist Schikaneder) si