Probably, there is no person in the modern world who has never heard the name of Mozart. And few people have never come across mentions of his mysterious death.
Mystics traditionally associate it with the name of Salieri. On this occasion, one of Pushkin's Little Tragedies was written, and the film "Amadeus" was shot. But already in Pushkin's time it was known that the connection with Salieri was just a legend. In fact, Salieri in his era was much more successful and in demand, unlike Mozart; did not face financial difficulties, and, as a result, lived to a ripe old age.
Mozart was always on the verge of poverty. It rained during the funeral. But no one, except the undertakers, went to escort him to the grave. In those days, epidemics were raging, and therefore the bodies in the cemetery for the poor were thrown into a common grave and sprinkled with lime. Since then, no one knows where the grave of the great composer is.
However, quite recently we managed to stumble upon a new trace of this story.
To this day, Mozart is one of the most performed and quoted authors. And one of his most famous works is The Magic Flute. It would seem that this children's fairy tale cannot hide deep meaning in itself.
The fact that Mozart was a member of the Masonic lodge remains outside the brackets. At that time, Freemasonry was widespread in Europe. There were many Masonic lodges, initiation into them was described by a huge number of authors. But only the external manifestations of Freemasonry were described, while no one touched the inner essence.
Nobody but Mozart. It was he, together with his librettist Shikoneder, in The Magic Flute who fully revealed all the rituals of initiation into the Masonic order. Recall that most of the nobility in one way or another was in the Masonic lodges. But commoners also went to the opera! And all the sacraments, so anxiously guarded by secret societies, were on display.
And not only exhibited, but also ridiculed. After all, a woman was present in the rite of passage accurately reproduced on the stage. Princess Pamina underwent the rite of passage with Tamino. Masons could no longer forgive this. Two months after the premiere, Mozart passed away under unclear circumstances. The director of the opera in which the performance was staged died even earlier.
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It would seem that the story is old, and there is no point in returning to it.
However, The Magic Flute still carries a trail of secrecy in addition to the unchanging love of the public. And only now he began to swim out.
The Magic Flute is the 7th most popular opera in the world in terms of the frequency of its performances. And as soon as the directors did not experiment, they transferred it to our time and into antiquity, tried to make a tragedy and drama out of it, turned it into a ballet and into a movie (Ingmar Bergman). But in 1978, Swedish director Bo William Ohlsen decided to stage it at the Salzburg Festival the way it was intended.
As a scenography, give all the attributes adopted (and, it would seem, long dead) in the Masonic lodges; depict in detail the rite of passage. In general, to do what Mozart originally intended. Money was allocated for the production, but, suddenly, Ulsen disappears, his name, like the name of the play, is removed from the posters. A small number of press reports about the cancellation of the performance due to the artist's illness.
But, which is characteristic, the name of Olsen disappears from the posters forever. He no longer plays in Europe or at home in Sweden.
A little later, in 1986, a similar story takes place with Frederick Joffe, already in Vienna.
And quite recently we managed to get in touch with the famous director, People's Artist, Alexei Sidorov, who told us the following story:
- In the early eighties I worked at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater. I just got there, and I wanted to do something innovative, unusual. And I decided to take on Mozart. I heard a glimpse of Ohlsen's idea that the play could be done in the style of the Masonic order, and zealously set to work. I sat for hours in the library, went to museums …
I sketched the concept, prepared sketches with the artist and took them to the artistic council. He approved the project, and I had to start rehearsals. But the day before they came to me. Two people came. And they said that if I put on a production, then the next day there will be no me, no family, no apartment, and everyone will very quickly forget who Alexei Sidorov is.
And I refused to stage it. This was the reason for my dismissal from the theater. But I'm glad I'm alive. Those people who came to me then, more than 30 years ago, said that the same thing that happened to Mozart could happen to me. And they will look for my grave in Vienna, and she will be in Quebec. I suppose that it was there that the remains of the great composer should be looked for. But personally, I have neither the time nor the energy for this.
With this story, we turned to the World Society of Mozart Lovers, from where we received a polite refusal. Behind the beautiful words and gratitude for the attention to the German and world cultural heritage, there was a reluctance to get involved in a dangerous mess and outright fear. And although Mozart who found the burial would have expected worldwide fame, no one wanted to share him.
