The Magic Flute--Die Zauberflöte

The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote)

The Magic Flute is an opera by Mozart split into two acts. I decided to watch this because I am currently in the University of Michigan's production of this show as a choir member. I found the full opera on Youtube with Soprano Kathleen Battle and Manfred Hemm. 

At first I watched the videos along with the subtitles. Then after 30 minutes I made an effort to not look at the subtitles so that I could rely on my hearing and German to interpret what was going on in the opera. This was very difficult since I have not had too much German. Luckily, with 2 German classes and being apart of this chorus  I was able to pick up on a few words and phrases. However, it was still difficult because the spoken lines seemed to go by so fast. I had a better chance understanding the songs because they were at a slower pace and often included some repetition. 

I was able to pick up phrases that repeated like "Es lebe Sarastro, Sarastro so leben" from the chorus parts. I also picked up words we just recently learned like "meine Tochter" and "nicht" "so bist du" and other small words and phrases! These words were found in the aria "Der Hölle Rache" which the Queen of the Night sings in the opera. In this song the singer is frustrated with her daughter so I was really able to pick up the words ! She articulated them very strongly because she was so angry. This really helped me figure out what she was saying. However, even with this it was hard to understand full lines. Nonetheless I am excited to continue to learn German just to see what else I can pick up on without having to use subtitles!

Here is the link to the video I watched!