The Magic Flute: The Queen of the Night's Aria
An exploration of Mozart's famous aria and the singspiel genre
I do not recall where or when I first heard “Der Hölle Rache,” otherwise known as the famous Queen of the Night’s aria in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, but it has become a melody that immediately comes to mind when I think of operatic music. I am sure almost everyone has heard this memorable tune before, with the following video as a widely circulated case in point.
This performance of the aria at the Royal Opera House is by the Bavarian soprano Diana Damrau. This aria occurs in Act II of Mozart’s singspiel—that is, “an opera in the German language, containing spoken dialogue and usually comic in tone,” which Mozart played a significant role in developing musically and generically.1
The context for this aria is the Queen of the Night’s rage after learning that Tamino intends to join Sarastro’s brotherhood—her long-standing rival. The Queen of the Night feels betrayed and tells her daughter Pamina to murder Sarastro, in order to steal the power of the ‘sun circle’ from him. One need only observe Damrau’s facial expressions to perceive that this aria is intended to portray the Queen of the Night’s rage and grief at the prospect of Tamino and her daughter's possible betrayal in joining Sarastro. Yet, when paying close attention to the singspiel’s plot, it also becomes clear that this aria is not entirely about the emotional turbulence of betrayal, for it also reveals the Queen of the Night’s ferocious and overgrowing desire for power, which culmminates in her violent demand that Pamina murder Sarastro.
Even before the aria begins, Mozart sends a cue to the audience, preparing them for what is coming. An atmosphere of darkness abruptly descends upon the stage as the music prepares for the aria to culminate, with the string section consisting of semiquavers and the horns producing chordal notes.2 Although the music leading up to this aria is only one bar and a half, comprising seven and a half beats in total, Mozart effectively sets the stage for the Queen of the Night.
Though the soprano’s facial expressions are strong indicators of the character’s emotions, the musical key of the piece has a simultaneous and undeniable effect on the way this emotion is conveyed to the audience. Indeed, it is important to note that the Queen of the Night’s aria is written almost entirely in D minor. In Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst (1806), or Ideas for an Aesthetics of Musical Art, the German composer and poet Christian Schubart suggested that the D minor key denotes a specific sense of “melancholy.”3 In my view, Bach’s Cello Suite No.2, also in D minor, sustains Schubart’s idea; it also has a serious and sobering mood, as well as containing elements that clearly evoke sorrow and melancholy. Whenever I perform the prelude from this suite, I imagine a person kneeling on the floor, praying in despair. Indeed, I perceive the prelude as a prayer in itself.
Thus, the Queen of the Night is represented in a more emotionally nuanced way, as opposed to the embodiment of evil; rather than using a key such as G Minor, which is most often associated with unambiguous malice and strong feelings of resentment, Mozart uses the D Minor key to encompass her mixed emotions of love for her daughter, mingled with the underlying fear of losing power. The D minor key does not directly evoke the catastrophic mood that can be portrayed in other minor keys, and rather expresses a feeling of desolation. Rather than simplistically connoting a sense of cheer or devastation, Mozart’s aria is subtle and explores the Queen of the Night’s intertwining emotions of betrayal, fear, and affection.
The Queen offers Pamina a knife, commanding that she murder Sarastro, and sings the following poignant words.
Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen,
Tod und Verzweiflung flammet um mich her!
Fühlt nicht durch dich Sarastro Todesschmerzen,
So bist du meine Tochter nimmermehr:
Verstossen sei auf ewig,
Verlassen sei auf ewig,
Zertrümmert sei'n auf ewig
Alle Bande der Natur.
Wenn nicht durch dich Sarastro wird erblassen!
Hört, Rachegötter, hört der Mutter Schwur!
[Hell's vengeance boils in my heart,
Death and despair blaze about me!
If Sarastro doesn't feel the pain of death through you,
Then you will not be my daughter anymore:
Disowned be you forever,
Abandoned be you forever,
Destroyed be forever
All the bonds of nature.
If not through you Sarastro will turn pale!
Hear, gods of revenge, hear the mother's oath!]
The lyrics to this aria hyperbolise the Queen’s anger, characterising her rage as so strong that it threatens to sever “all the bonds of nature.” This phrase illustrates the extremities of human emotion, which are here so powerful that they verge on the threshold of nature.
While this aria has a compelling melody that strongly adheres to one’s memory, the piercing notes sung by the Queen give the audience the idea that she is lamenting directly at them. The use of exceedingly high notes—the soprano must be able to reach an F6—convey the extremity of human emotions, which in this case are intense fear and rage that stem from a sense of betrayal and powerlessness. The vocal pitch range required to reach these great musical heights is as wide as it is rare. Many professional sopranos have an extremely difficult time attempting this aria, which is thus mainly performed by “coloratura sopranos”: that is, operatic sopranos who specialise in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps, and trills.4 Not only must these sopranos reach an F6 above the top C, they must be able to sing the highest notes that are written in complex rhythms and sung in specific articulation techniques like staccato. The sonorous yet ear-piercing notes that the Queen sings thus reflect the moment of crisis at the centre of this opera.
This singspiel was premiered in 1791 at the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. For The Magic Flute, Mozart worked alongside the librettist Emmanuel Schikaneder, who created the storyline of the singspiel. Mozart composed the music for several singspiele in his lifetime, such as Bastien and Bastienne (1768), Zaide (1780), The Abduction from the Seraglio (1782), The Impresario (1786), and finally The Magic Flute (1791). The Magic Flute would be the final singspiel he composed, as it was also performed two months prior to his death. It was received with exceptional enthusiasm, however; indeed, as Maynard Solomon described, “although there were no reviews of the first performances, it was immediately evident that Mozart and Schikaneder had achieved a great success, the opera drawing immense crowds and reaching hundreds of performances during the 1790s.”5 The composition of The Magic Flute, alongside his other singspiele, significantly contributed to the singspiel genre itself, which became more widespread and popular during this time.6 Previously, the singspiel genre had largely been performed by groups of travellers as a form of entertainment, which young Mozart would often have encountered along with other different musical experiences.7 As the singspiele genre became more popular, Mozart composed his first, namely the comedy Bastien und Bastienne. Eventually, his contributions to the genre would elevate it from a source of popular entertainment to high art.
Britannica, "singspiel". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Sep. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/art/singspiel. Accessed 17 September 2022.
Clarinetosaurus. 2013. “Der Hölle Rache Kocht in Meinem Herzen.” Clarinetosaurus. October 14, 2013. https://mahaliastamford.wordpress.com/2013/10/14/der-holle-rache-kocht-in-meinem-herzen/#:~:text=The%20title%20.
Christian Schubart, A History of Key Characteristics in the 18th and Early 19th Centuries. University of Western Michigan Research Press: 1983. https://wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html
Wanda Marie Thibodeaux, “What is a Coloratura Soprano?” Musical Expert, September 3, 2022 https://www.musicalexpert.org/what-is-a-coloratura-soprano.htm
Maynard Solomon, Mozart: A Life (New York: Harper Collins, 1995).
Luke Howard, “The Singspiel and Mozart,” Utah Opera, April 18, 2014 https://utahopera.org/explore/2014/04/the-singspiel-and-mozart/
Ibid.