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Sarastro's diary. Programme notes for Opera Factory's 'Magic Flute' Sept-Nov 1996 The day it all began: Today is a disastrous day, as my great friend and admired leader has died. With his last breath he told me the secret of the sun circle and gave me the golden circle as a symbol of my knowledge. Now I know. It is a great honour to be chosen to carry the secret but I shall never be able to look upon my own or any other life with the same innocence. Now I carry the key to wisdom but the burden of knowledge is already weighing heavily on my shoulders. I have seen the light, I know the way and I must now lead those who want to follow the way to the light. Am I honoured or punished? The day of the funeral: It is a sad day, but I feel that through the chain of the secret my life is linked with his death. The chain that started with Orfeo and Hermes must be handed down from one worthy carrier to the next but to be worthy one has to find the balance. Without wisdom, the secret would be an empty box. Now that I possess knowledge, I have to find harmony to attain wisdom. Reason has to balance nature. My master found harmony in his marriage. He found wisdom through knowledge and love: his reason guided her nature to their wisdom. When he died he gave me the knowledge and left his wife her love. Reason and nature are now separated and wisdom has died. This morning I tried to speak to her but she was furious - she wanted the knowledge for herself. I fear that her love for him has lost direction and turned into hate against me. The following day: I keep thinking: to be a worthy carrier of this secret of light, I have to find wisdom. The harmony between reason and nature creates wisdom but how do I get there? Reason provided me with knowledge, will perhaps nature give me love? Yes, of course that's the answer! That is where I will find harmony, I must find love. Some days later: In search of love I went back to my master's house, but found nothing but hate and anger: I fear for his daughter. She is such a pure soul, so innocent, so beautiful. However when I tried to speak to her, her mother went into a fury and threw me out of the house. I cannot forget Pamina's face, so beautiful and pure - she has captivated me. Meanwhile her Mother throws emotional tantrums, flirts and thunders of rage: with all her power of nature she is turning into a Queen of the Night. The day of war: The inevitable happened today. I didn't want it to, but I couldn't help it. I sent out Monostatos to invite Pamina for a visit at my temple. I wanted to talk to her about the increasingly worrying condition of her mother and maybe... maybe she can give me love. Monostatos in fact didn't get anywhere near the castle before being insulted and sent back with a clear message for me to mind my own business. I told him to get Pamina away and with a bunch of slaves he went out and kidnapped her. Now she is here and in chains, but who is the prisoner? I thought she might bring me love - what do I do now? I had to rescue her from the destructive power of her mother but look at her - I feel as if I destroyed her myself. Have I committed a crime against nature, or within good reason, performed an heroic act of rescue? I don't know, although I know that I should know. All I know is that I have to find harmony: Pamina will have to give me love. Shortly after: The queen of the night has declared war on me and all my followers - with her power she has spread fear and anger amongst us. I'm not afraid, I know she can't harm me but she can influence the people and turn them against our order. A solution has to be found. Something has to be done… soon. The secret chain that was handed down from Orfeo and Hermes will only stop being handed down with the end of the world. But turned the other way around this means that once the chain is broken, the world must end. My power of reason is now fighting against her power of nature. If the queen of the night succeeds in destroying our order, the chain will end with me and with the chain, the world. Later on: Things get worse. I'm aware that Pamina possesses the power of nature for everybody is falling in love with her. She even charms the slaves but Monostatos knows no reason, or love and he tried to rape her. Terrified, she managed to escape, but he caught her before she could reach her mother. Now I have to keep an eye on him as well. In the confusion Papageno managed to walk in... and out with Pamina. Somebody clearly must have told him the way for I know him to be honest but not very intelligent. He usually serves the Queen of the Night, so maybe he is sent as a messenger. I spotted Papageno and Pamina outside when I was working with the animals. At first, obviously, I was surprised to see them together but as I observed them I saw that they seemed to get on pretty well. They were talking about man, and woman and love and I thought maybe, if they could be a couple, they would heal the balance. But I didn't even complete this thought because Papageno could never be worthy of carrying a secret of any importance. Invaders seemed to appear today from all directions. At the Northern gate I encountered a stranger who tried to force his way in. He puzzled me. At first I thought he was sent by the Queen of the Night to wreak damage but then I realised that although he was clearly under influence of her hateful power he was not just out for revenge. Although he came for Pamina there was no guidance in his actions, he came with a pure heart, driven by the force of nature and suddenly it dawned on me: this was love knocking on my door for knowledge. I was trying to win Pamina for myself, to marry east and south in a world where east belongs to west and south belongs to north. Here in front of me stood the potential new carrier of light, and the chosen partner for Pamina. However, I thought, I cannot give her away just like that, he must prove his worth. Will he be willing? Will he be capable? If only... I could not speak further with him, only offer him the hand of friendship and protect him. If he could find harmony, he would save the chain, save the world. Back with Pamina and Papageno I witnessed how suddenly Monostatos jumped on them and it nearly broke my heart. Their miraculous escape, however, made me wonder if I wasn't wrong about Papageno. In all his simplicity he seems to possess a strong kind of harmony that simply made my slaves dance to his tune. Although they got away this time, I could not set them free yet. And Monostatos is really getting on my nerves now. A new day: A very special day. First I have to inform the brotherhood of the arrival of Tamino, than I want to pray to the Gods to protect and guide Tamino in his difficult task ahead. Fortunately the brotherhood agrees to take Tamino through the tests in spite of his royal background. Papageno will assist him. The tests are not easy for an ordinary man but for Tamino they maybe even more difficult. He may still be in the thrall of nature and the gods know what will happen if reason looses grip on him. The Queen of the Night may use her flirts and charms and Tamino could lose himself utterly. Tamino and Papageno get ready for the first test of silence and, as I feared, the Queen of the Night sends her fancy flirts and charms out to enthral Tamino. She knows as well as I do that Pamina and Tamino are destined for one another. But if they find each other within her territory then the world will be lost for ever. If Tamino holds on and finds the way, he will save mankind and make an end to all the superstitious and evil deeds of the Queen of the Night. Ignorance and prejudice will be brushed aside and be no more. The Queen's servants are discovered by our initiates and are chased out. Tamino has survived the first test and Papageno hasn't done too badly either. Maybe I'll find a reward for Papageno: a matching counterpart, a little Papagena, if he proves worthy. I have to see Pamina, I know she is not for me, but she still keeps captivates me. As I arrive, I realise that there is a queue to see her. I hide and witness Monostatos, completely poisened by his passion for this woman. It is not love that drives him, but an urge, an instinct he cannot control. He does not have the reason to guide his own nature. He is a slave of himself and in his blunt egoistic behaviour in danger of spoiling the purity of vulnerable Pamina. Furious, I am about to interfere when the Queen of the Night sneaks in, full of destructive intent. Pamina, the pure soul is tormented by violence and hatred. Then I look at myself and think 'And I? what am I doing here?'. Did I really see this or was it in my imagination? Just look at me! Chasing Pamina like a lovesick adolescent, slave to my own feelings. Was I really angry with Monostatos or was it my own uncontrolled behaviour that disgusts me? I turn back to Pamina and there is my slave again. He returns vengefull and full of hate, but this I can not allow in my temple of wisdom. I chase him out but I can not punish him. Both Monostatos and the Queen of the Night have opened the doors to my own temple. I have seen the light within myself. Now I know the way. I know that I will be worthy to pass on the secret chain if only Tamino proves worthy to receive it. He has the potential, but he does not know yet how to make it work. I have seen him calling out nature with his flute but when all these animals appeared in front of him, he did not know what to do. Even his love for Pamina materialised. Drawn by the music of his magic flute she found him and wanted to speak to him but fortunately he was strong enough to keep silence. I feel the strength of wisdom growing in this boy and I will pray to the gods to stand by him. The last test is the most difficult test. They will have to forsake life in order to attain a higher state of being. I decided to give Tamino and Pamina a chance to see each other and to say a last farewell just in case. As they fall into each others arms I feel a deep warm love for both of them. I am worried but I can't say a word. They will have to find the way themselves. It tears my heart apart when I separate them to prepare Tamino for the trials. Will their love pull them through? Will they both be strong and pure? Meanwhile on a completely different level Papageno is fighting a battle of his own. I just have to direct him every now and again, but he is doing fine. Tamino's love is pure - he has now understood that the only way to find freedom is to undergo the dangerous purification rituals. Pamina's love is very very strong but needs to be controlled. Otherwise this power will backfire, her mother will have her way and the original power of love and nature will destroy her own daughter. I know Pamina needs to be balanced by the power of reason but I am not allowed to interfere and Tamino is not ready for it yet. I feel as if at this point all my powers have left me. I can only stand back and watch Pamina in desperation preparing for her own destruction. Gods give her light! Give her knowledge, for all our sakes show her the way! I cant take it any more and close my eyes but when I open them the miracle has happened. Pamina has seen the light and runs after Tamino to stand by him in his trial. I know this is completely against all the rules but I take responsibility for allowing her to do it nonetheless. I know she is now worthy of undergoing the purification rituals herself and if they don't survive they will go down together with the world. But if they do come trough the light will be forever. I will kneel in front of those who have shown me the way. Pamina brings with her the flute - Tamino could make music but didn't know how to enjoy it. Pamina, on the other hand understands the powers of music but needs to learn the way. Only together do they stand a chance of understanding the powers of nature and reason. Together they create the power of wisdom. They will not only survive the test but heal the broken balance and continue the secret chain of the circle of the sun. Papageno? He has now suffered enough, he can have his desired Papagena. Whilst watching the tests I hold my breath. I have no idea how they are doing, but I can feel their harmony floating above the dangerous fire and water. When they eventually appear on the other side they are completely unharmed, perfectly fit and happy, but I am exhausted. They are celebrated with great happiness but I can't join them yet. I am happy for them, for the world, for the order of the sun, but I know my time is up. I will have to stand down and hand over all I have worshiped to a new generation. Deep in myself I feel a vague resistance: after all, I once wanted Pamina for myself and now I can feel a deep set hate against Tamino for taking her away from me. I found love but in order to get it I had to give it away. Tamino and Pamina are now dressed in the bright white garments of the purified and as I blink my eyes against the light I feel all my anger and jealousy being washed away by their happiness. They have made it, they have vanquished the night and their love has overcome my hate. Together they have found knowledge, love and harmony and through them the powers of nature and reason are united again in the power of wisdom - I am proud to hand over the golden circle of the sun to this worthy couple.
©René Linnenbank July 1996 |