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
Libretto of The Magic Flute to sublime human aspiration – in short from the circus to the temple, but never neglecting an opportunity for effective theater along the way. The sources for the work fall into (at least) four categories: works of literature, earlier productions of Schikaneder's theater company, Freemasonry, and the 18th-century tradition of popular theater in Vienna. The Schikaneder troupe prior to the premiere of "The Magic Flute" had developed considerable experience with performing fairy tale operas with similar plots, characters, and singers. Two bear a particularly strong relationship to "The Magic Flute": A very long tradition asserts that Freemasonry plays a major