From Night to Light: Harmony as Allegory in Die Zauberflöte

Abstract: Mozart's final opera, Die Zauberflöte , wields visual and musical metaphor to deliver possibly the most effective allegory of Enlightenment themes ever achieved in Austrian art. Supported by a systematic tonal analysis, this article reviews, integrates and expands upon decades of scholarly research on this opera, with a strict focus on the thematic symbolism of its harmonic elements. By unifying disparate sources and providing an independent overview of tonality throughout the two acts of Die Zauberflöte , this study aims to foment subtler appreciation of Mozart's application of harmonic contrasts. Special attention is devoted to the manner in which the symbolic meaning of such contrasts evolves together with the opera's dominant themes, to build a formidable musico-dramatic metaphor of a fundamental narrative of European Enlightenment—the philosophical struggle of reason against ignorance.