The Magic Flute the Masonic influence is exaggerated. Schikaneder and Mozart were Freemasons, as was Ignaz Alberti, engraver and printer of the first libretto. The opera is also influenced by Enlightenment philosophy and can be regarded as advocating enlightened absolutism. The Queen of the Night is seen by some to represent a dangerous form of obscurantism, by others to represent Roman Catholic Empress Maria Theresa, and still others see the Roman Catholic Church itself, which was strongly anti-Masonic. Some modern audiences detect strains of misogyny and casual racism in "The Magic Flute". The names of the performers at the premiere are taken from
The Nose (opera) at that house, and in 2018 at the Sydney Opera House and in Berlin. Flute (doubling piccolo, alto flute), oboe (doubling cor anglais), B-flat clarinet (doubling piccolo clarinet, A clarinet, bass clarinet), bassoon (doubling contrabassoon), horn, trumpet (doubling cornet), trombone, triangle, tambourine, castanets, tom-tom, ratchet, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, tam-tam, glockenspiel, tubular bells, xylophone, flexatone, small domras, alto domras, two balalaikas, two harps, piano, and strings. The cast requires 82 singing/speaking parts, usually sung by about 14 performers. Opera in 3 acts and 10 scenes, without intermission St Petersburg. Kovalev, a Collegiate Assessor is being shaved by Ivan Yakovlevich