Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, and died in Vienna, Austria, on December 5, 1791. The first performance of The Magic Flute took place in Vienna, at the Theater auf der Wieden, on September 30, 1791. The Overture to The Magic Flute is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, and strings. Approximate performance time is seven minutes.

In the final year of his tragically brief life, Mozart composed two full-length operas in 1791—Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K. 620, and La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus), K. 621. The Magic Flute is based upon a story by Jakob August Liebeskind.  The Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina, aided by a magic flute, are able to surmount extraordinary trials and enter the Temple of Wisdom, presided over by the high priest Sarastro. Emanuel Schikaneder, manager of the Vienna Theater auf der Wieden, and like Mozart, a Mason, authored the opera’s libretto. Schikaneder also sang the lead comic role of the bird catcher, Papageno, in The Magic Flute’s premiere.

The Magic Flute is in the form of a singspiel, a then-popular form of light opera that alternates musical numbers and spoken dialogue. It is a testament to Mozart’s genius that he was able to transform this comic genre (as well as the rather convoluted fairy-tale plot) into a work of transcendent beauty and eloquence. The Magic Flute is a sublime masterpiece and the fitting—albeit premature—culmination of Mozart’s incomparable genius in operatic composition.

The Overture to The Magic Flute begins with a slow-tempo introduction, launched by three majestic chords, associated in the opera with the Temple of Wisdom and Sarastro. The solemn opening yields to the principal Allegro. The Overture concludes with a spirited coda, once again capped by three chords.

Program notes by Ken Meltzer