Soprano flute alternative part is provided either for the C flute or for the piccolo. With the substitution of one of these more commonly found instruments, however, the distinctive colour of a treble flute sound is missing. Soprano flute The soprano flute (also called a third flute or tierce flute) is a type of flute, a musical instrument in the woodwind family. It is pitched in E, a minor third above the concert flute, and is the only member of the modern flute family that is not pitched in C or G. The pitch was set at a time such flutes substituted
The Magic Flute the Masonic influence is exaggerated. Schikaneder and Mozart were Freemasons, as was Ignaz Alberti, engraver and printer of the first libretto. The opera is also influenced by Enlightenment philosophy and can be regarded as advocating enlightened absolutism. The Queen of the Night is seen by some to represent a dangerous form of obscurantism, by others to represent Roman Catholic Empress Maria Theresa, and still others see the Roman Catholic Church itself, which was strongly anti-Masonic. Some modern audiences detect strains of misogyny and casual racism in "The Magic Flute". The names of the performers at the premiere are taken from