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Description
Tamino, the protagonist from Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte," or in English, "The Magic Flute." Tamino is the protagonist, but no one really cares. That's because we're too distracted by CHARACTERS WITH PERSONALITY (*cough Papageno and Papagena cough*), and that scary-ass Queen of the Night (bitch).

Still, I'm trying to like Tamino. I really am. He's the idealistic portrait of how a man should behave like a manly man, which, in the eyes of the Era of Enlightenment, includes such things as:
- Not talking to your girlfriend
- Playing the flute
- Prancing around with a guy who dresses in nothing but feathers
- Announcing to everybody that you're a prince
And last, but not least,
- Pledging yourself to chastity.

"Welcome to the man's club. We have........books. And cute little dioramas with the sun and planets.
Oh, but to earn this, you have to pass through trials of the elements: fire, water...and you also have to--"
"What about earth and air?"
"Shut up, Tamino; you're not a man yet. You don't GET an opinion."

And of course, what is the ideal man supposed to say? Yes. He says, "That sounds like a good idea!" and brings his feather-brained friend along with him.

Anyway, I've always thought Tamino was a little spacey, like he doesn't really understand how the world works. That little drawing in the upper left corner was drawn during one of his derpiest dreamy songs, "Wie Stark ist Nicht Dein Zauberton," in which he charms a bunch of wild animals with none other than his magic flute.

The lower left picture is Tamino finding injustice in something, although I like to think of it as the expression he makes when someone points out that he fainted at the very beginning of the opera because he was scared of a snake.
"EXCUSE me, that snake was one hundred feet long and had teeth the size of my arms!"
Yeeeeeah........but you still fainted.

The entire Magic Flute opera is available for listening here, but it's entirely in German and with no subtitles: [link]
In other words, it's delightful.
No but really, the singers are just incredible.

EDIT: HOLY SHIT! The last three minutes of that recording are a song I've NEVER heard before!!! Guess who it features? Daz right, our man Tamino. Sounds like he's pining for Pamina's love because he's asking where she is. Sounds like Sarastro is with him, too. What IS this?! I've never experienced this part of the opera before! SOMEONE ENLIGHTEN ME!!!

SECOND EDIT: The last three minutes are a song that would normally have taken place just before "Wie? Wie? Wie?" and is a duet between Tamino and Papageno. Now, the question is, why is this always cut? It seems to be a very rare song that the majority of productions cut from their performances. Now the thing I wish to be enlightened on is why this is. Gentlemen?

THIRD EDIT: It was not determined whether or not the piece "Pamina, wo bist du?" was actually authentic Mozart or not, and if it was, he clearly decided to cut it from the production. A wise choice, some say.

2 Feb. 2012

Description
Tamino, the protagonist from Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte," or in English, "The Magic Flute." Tamino is the protagonist, but no one really cares. That's because we're too distracted by CHARACTERS WITH PERSONALITY (*cough Papageno and Papagena cough*), and that scary-ass Queen of the Night (bitch).

Still, I'm trying to like Tamino. I really am. He's the idealistic portrait of how a man should behave like a manly man, which, in the eyes of the Era of Enlightenment, includes such things as:
- Not talking to your girlfriend
- Playing the flute
- Prancing around with a guy who dresses in nothing but feathers
- Announcing to everybody that you're a prince
And last, but not least,
- Pledging yourself to chastity.

"Welcome to the man's club. We have........books. And cute little dioramas with the sun and planets.
Oh, but to earn this, you have to pass through trials of the elements: fire, water...and you also have to--"
"What about earth and air?"
"Shut up, Tamino; you're not a man yet. You don't GET an opinion."

And of course, what is the ideal man supposed to say? Yes. He says, "That sounds like a good idea!" and brings his feather-brained friend along with him.

Anyway, I've always thought Tamino was a little spacey, like he doesn't really understand how the world works. That little drawing in the upper left corner was drawn during one of his derpiest dreamy songs, "Wie Stark ist Nicht Dein Zauberton," in which he charms a bunch of wild animals with none other than his magic flute.

The lower left picture is Tamino finding injustice in something, although I like to think of it as the expression he makes when someone points out that he fainted at the very beginning of the opera because he was scared of a snake.
"EXCUSE me, that snake was one hundred feet long and had teeth the size of my arms!"
Yeeeeeah........but you still fainted.

The entire Magic Flute opera is available for listening here, but it's entirely in German and with no subtitles: [link]
In other words, it's delightful.
No but really, the singers are just incredible.

EDIT: HOLY SHIT! The last three minutes of that recording are a song I've NEVER heard before!!! Guess who it features? Daz right, our man Tamino. Sounds like he's pining for Pamina's love because he's asking where she is. Sounds like Sarastro is with him, too. What IS this?! I've never experienced this part of the opera before! SOMEONE ENLIGHTEN ME!!!

SECOND EDIT: The last three minutes are a song that would normally have taken place just before "Wie? Wie? Wie?" and is a duet between Tamino and Papageno. Now, the question is, why is this always cut? It seems to be a very rare song that the majority of productions cut from their performances. Now the thing I wish to be enlightened on is why this is. Gentlemen?

THIRD EDIT: It was not determined whether or not the piece "Pamina, wo bist du?" was actually authentic Mozart or not, and if it was, he clearly decided to cut it from the production. A wise choice, some say.

2 Feb. 2012