Perth Festival: A Magic Flute
Mozart's The Magic Flute often seems to me like a quintessence of opera, equal parts nonsense and delight. It's an absurd fairytale, with all that form's arbitariness and illogic. It also includes some of Mozart's most sublime melodies and dazzlingly playful conceits. The arcane Masonic symbolism that informs much of the story suggests a multitude of possible meanings, but the truth is that this