Monostatos
Racism in Die Zauberflöte
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10759683 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Steffen Lösel (0000-0002-7953-3517, Emory University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 275-324 |
| Publication date | 2019-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Soundings An Interdisciplinary Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-1861 • E-ISSN: 2161-6302 |
| Publisher | The Pennsylvania State University Press (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.5325/soundings.102.4.0275 |
| OpenAlex | W2981634913 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s (1756–1791) Die Zauberflöte (libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, 1751–1812) is one of the most popular operas in the history of the genre. And yet, for contemporary audiences, it is deeply problematic, marred by its stereotypical portrayal of the stage moor Monostatos, whom Georg Nikolaus von Nissen—second husband to Mozart’s widow Constanze—describes in his biography of the composer as a “low, cowardly slave [whose] submissive character was created in correspondence with his nation.” This article looks at Monostatos in the philosophical and social context of the eighteenth century. It argues that the role reflects the pervasive racial stereotypes of Enlightenment-era anthropology— stereotypes that were so well entrenched that the opera’s authors did not question them despite their personal acquaintance with a highly respected African living in Vienna at the time: Angelo Soliman (c. 1720/21–96)
Art · Art history · Biography · Character (mathematics · Context (archaeology · Enlightenment · Literature · MOZART · Opera · Racism · Scottish Enlightenment · Sociology · Theology · Gender Studies · German Literature and Culture Studies · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · History · Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and Hegel · Philosophy
Studies on Voltaire and the eighteenth century.
Black Skin, White Masks
Kant as an Unfamiliar Source of Racism
Reading Kant’s Geography
Kant’s Third Thoughts on Race
Der Mohr auf der deutschen Buhne des 18. Jahrhunderts
Das deutsche Singspiel im 18. Jahrhundert
Mozart and His Librettists
Substitutes for Wisdom
Kant's Second Thoughts on Race
Angelo Soliman, der Hochfurstliche Mohr
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |