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| The Musical Almanac ��by Kurt Nemes |  |
May 17. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: �Der Vogelfanger bin ich ja� from Die Zauberflote
Papageno serves as the comic relief in Die Zauberflote. I think of him as a kind of Puck-like character but with the veniality of say, Fred Flinstone. He lies, he drinks, he chases women, but he sings an incredibly joyful and sweet aria in the first scene:
The birdcatcher am I,
And always merry, tra la la!
I wish I had a trap for girls--
I�d catch them by the dozen then!
I�d keep them in a cage at home,
And all the girls would be mine alone.
If all the girls were mine alone,
Some I�d trade for high-grade sugar;
Then to the one I like the best
I�d give all the sugar she wanted.
And if she then kissed me tenderly.
She�d be my wife and I her husband.
She would sleep beside me
And I would rock her like a child.
I find this mix of fantasy, coarseness and tenderness to be quite refreshing. Who else would I choose to identify with? Despite all my self-wallowing, self-pity, I have remained most of my life a puckish, but very optimistic, imp.
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