Mozart's Secret
There are many mysterious elements in the Magic Flute that make the opera stand out from Mozart’s other works. Through the centuries, the opera’s elaborate fantasy world, monarchs and deities have prompted questions about what inspired the opera, and whether it has any hidden meaning. Many have called it a Masonic opera, a thinly veiled allegory of the rituals and beliefs of the Freemasons, a powerful and secret brotherhood that dates back to the 7th century. It is a brotherhood whose past and purpose are shrouded in mystery, and has been linked to the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, and the Priory of Scion. But why did Mozart join the freemasons, and what affect did the organization have on his music?
As Freemasonry evolved from a society of medieval architects to a secret international fraternity, it acquired a political dimension that led to the persecution of its members...
Masonic lodges began to be seen as hotbeds of political dissidence, and were raided and closed by monarchs who were paranoid about the spread of revolutionary ideals from France into their own countries. Nevertheless, the freemasons persevered in trying to make the outside world resemble the brotherhood, where men left their social class at the door and were regarded as equals, only moving up the Masonic hierarchy by passing tests, not by having a title or property.
This ideology was undoubtedly appealing to Mozart, who hated being treated like a servant by the nobles he worked for, and would have fared much better in a world where skill, not birth, decided one’s place. Mozart could also sympathize with the Masonic belief in self-perfection, which was instilled in him by his father at an early age and continually pushed him to compose.
