In 1791, disappointed by the fickleness of the Viennese, who preferred other composers, Mozart accepted a proposal from his friend Emanuel Schikaneder, director of the Theater auf der Wieden, to write an opera in German for the more popular audience in the suburbs. The Magic Flute was an instant hit, and has been ever since. A Singspiel that combines gaiety and depth, Mozart's opera is as much a product of the Enlightenment as it is a children's story, as much an allegory on the nature of Man as it is a reflection of the composer's membership of Freemasonry. Robert Carsen overturns the Manicheanism of the libretto by seeing Sarastro and the Queen of the Night as allies who guide the young Tamino and Pamina along the path of virtue. This interpretation is embodied in an elegant, uncluttered production in which both love and wisdom triumph in the end.