Opera in German outskirts of the city. In 1791, he persuaded Mozart to set one of his libretti, "The Magic Flute". This proved to be no ordinary "Singspiel". Though the traditional farcical elements remained, Mozart added a new seriousness, particularly in the music for Sarastro and his priests. Even more than "Die Entführung", the "Magic Flute" pointed the way forward for future German opera. The greatest German composer of the next generation, Beethoven, seized on "The Magic Flute"'s blend of domestic comedy and high seriousness for his only opera, "Fidelio", the story of a devoted wife who saves her husband from political imprisonment.
Western concert flute the transverse flute was redesigned. Now often called the "traverso" (from the Italian), it was made in three or four sections or joints with a conical bore from the head joint down. The conical bore design gave the flute a wider range and more penetrating sound without sacrificing the softer, expressive qualities. In addition to chamber music, the traverso began to be used in orchestral music. In the Baroque era, flutes become used in the scores of opera, ballet and chamber music. With this, composers wrote music for the flute. These included Praetorius, Schütz, Rebillé and Descoteaux, Quantz, Bach, Telemann,