Libretto of The Magic Flute role in the content of Schikaneder's libretto. Mozart was an active Mason in Vienna, and wrote a substantial quantity of music for his own lodge, including in 1791 (see "Mozart and Freemasonry"). Schikaneder had been a Mason in Regensburg (1786–7) for a few months before his lodge suspended him. The simpler accounts of Masonic influence in "The Magic Flute" assume that Masonry provided a system of values, symbolism, and ritual for the opera, but no part of the narrative. More elaborate accounts suggest that the opera was intended as an allegory with a hidden Masonic agenda. For instance, the evil
Dionysos (opera) late work, which he fragmented and arranged in a different order. He chose the passages according to his plans for the music. Rihm said in an interview that opera needed more Magic Flute, "Mehr Machwerk." (More action.), citing the opening scene with three ladies coming to the rescue of the prince attacked by a snake. Rihm said that opera finds its potential in situations that are not ordinary ("... findet ihre Möglichkeiten in Situationen, die nicht alltäglich sind"). The opera has autobiographical traits and is in a way his first comic opera. Rihm dedicated the work "in friendship" to the