The Magic Flute troupe, tenor Benedikt Schack (the first Tamino), and had contributed to the compositions of the troupe, which were often collaboratively written. Mozart's participation increased with his contributions to the 1790 collaborative opera "Der Stein der Weisen" ("The Philosopher's Stone"), including the duet ("Nun liebes Weibchen", K. 625/592a) among other passages. Like "The Magic Flute", "Der Stein der Weisen" was a fairy-tale opera and can be considered a kind of precursor; it employed much the same cast in similar roles. The libretto for "The Magic Flute", written by Schikaneder, is thought by scholars to be based on many sources. Some works
Libretto of The Magic Flute libretto attracted the admiration of Franz Liszt, who after attending a performance copied down several of them in a personal letter. Ingmar Bergman in his 1975 film of the opera gave special treatment to the didactic poetry by having his characters hoist "a series of placards on which these moral sentiments are carefully lettered." The passage quoted above beginning "Zwei Herzen" has attracted particular admiration: Heartz called it "the loveliest of all the opera's beautiful moments"; Abert wrote of "a paradisal radiance unique in this work". Liszt quoted Schikaneder's verse in his letter and appended, "Amen!". A matter that perturbs