The Golden Pot fairytale may have been influenced by his experience in the theater, which began in 1808 (Robertson 1992, xi). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" was one of the many operas that Hoffmann conducted during the period in which he wrote "The Golden Pot". In the opera, Tamino must survive tests imposed by Sarastro,a wise magician, if he is to win her. The wise old Sarastro resembles Archivist Lindhorst in this regard, and Sarastro also has a female foe, the Queen of the Night, who is Pamina’s mother, comparing to the applemonger, who was Veronika’s wardress. Like the applemonger, the
Eric Cutler in June 2009. He performed the Duke of Mantua in Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto", in a Fenice's production, for a tour in Italy which involved Reggio Emilia and Venice. Cutler's most critically acclaimed performances have all been in Mozart operas. These include Tamino (Metropolitan Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Glyndebourne and Edinburgh Festivals), Belmonte in "The Abduction from the Seraglio" (Boston Lyric Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Teatro Real Madrid) and Don Ottavio in "Don Giovanni" (Wolf Trap Opera Company and Santa Fe Opera). EMI issued Eric Cutler's first solo recording featuring songs of Barber, Schumann, Hahn and Liszt, called