The Magic Flute chorus for several numbers (notably the finales of each act). Mozart also called for a "" (instrument of steel) to perform Papageno's magic bells; an instrument which has since been lost to history, though modern day scholars believe it to be a keyed glockenspiel, which is usually substituted with a celesta in modern-day performances. Charles Rosen has remarked on the character of Mozart's orchestration: "Die Zauberflöte" has the greatest variety of orchestral color that the eighteenth century was to know; the very lavishness, however, is paradoxically also an economy as each effect is a concentrated one, each one—Papageno's whistle, the
The Magic Flute (at right), which does not give full names; "Hr." = Herr, Mr.; "Mme." = Madame, Mrs.; "Mlle." = Mademoiselle, Miss. While the female roles in the opera are assigned to different voice types, the playbill for the premiere performance referred to all of the female singers as "sopranos". The casting of the roles relies on the actual vocal range of the part. The work is scored for two flutes (one doubling on piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets (doubling basset horns), two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones (alto, tenor, and bass), timpani and strings. It also requires a four-part