Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Religious Education
Sarastro's Repentance: One Dramaturg's Advice On The Magic Flute, Michael Evenden
Sarastro's Repentance: One Dramaturg's Advice On The Magic Flute, Michael Evenden
BYU Studies Quarterly
Traditionally, the scholar of dramatic literature and the director of plays (or the stage director of an opera) are opposed figures. Despite common passions, they have different goals, methods, and materials. In the end, a scholar's polished critical argument and a director's persuasive theatrical performance are held to be two decidedly different things. But a dramaturg (a kind of in-house scholarly advisor to the theater or opera company) attempts to be a scholar of dramatic literature and theatrical history and, at the same time, a canny and practical advisor to the artistic team of an actual stage production. A dramaturg …
The Queen Of The Night: A Mother Betrayed, Victoria A. Webb
The Queen Of The Night: A Mother Betrayed, Victoria A. Webb
BYU Studies Quarterly
It may be difficult for some to understand how any mother could sincerely sing both arias assigned to the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. Indeed, most critics assume she is insincere, at best. In her first aria, the Queen expresses desperate suffering caused by the abduction of her daughter, Pamina. In the second, Pamina has safely returned to her mother's embrace, only to be confronted with her "wrath of hell." I recently gained some insight into this inconsistency when I came face to face with a mother's wrath. On a long train ride, I sat next …
Monostatos, The Moor, David P. Crandall
Monostatos, The Moor, David P. Crandall
BYU Studies Quarterly
Monostatos, captain of Sarastro's guard and clandestine admirer of Pamina, is a character of frustrated villainy. Duplicitous, cowardly, and often dull-witted, he is bound to a menial social position and blinded, by a self-imposed ignorance that prevents him from realizing his ambitions. As an opportunist, Monostatos is entirely unsuccessful—his schemes and machinations never quite pan out. Yet of all the nationalities and peoples he could represent, why is Monostatos cast as a Moor? Why not a Greek or a Jew or a Dane? Is it simply his Moorish background that makes of him a rather odious and pathetic creature, or …