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
Welsh National Opera with the company's musical director James Lockhart, Geliot is credited by "The Times" with introducing new young singers and "directing a host of groundbreaking productions" before leaving in 1978. The critic Rodney Milnes wrote in 1975 about WNO's productions: In 1973 Geliot's WNO staging of Britten's "Billy Budd" with Allen in the title role was presented on a Swiss tour, and two years later it was given in Barcelona. The company returned to London with its participation in the Amoco Festival of Opera at the Dominion Theatre in 1979, presenting "The Makropoulos Case", "The Magic Flute", "Ernani", "Madame Butterfly", and