ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a problem concerning the representation of race that needs to be confronted by directors of Die Zauberflote. This problem is how to represent Sarastro's underling, Monostatos. One of the sources of Die Zauberflote is Muuler's Kaspar der Fagottist, in which Zumio, the fat harem keeper, is the parallel character to Monostatos. Just six years before Die Zauberflote, he published his Bestimmung des Begriffs einer Menschenrasse, perhaps galled by Herder's refusal to accept race theory. Indeed, Franz Grillparzer's incomplete satire Der Zauberflote zweiter Teil draws parallels between Monostatos and the hated, but white, Metternich. An important matter to consider when debating Monostatos's role in Die Zauberflote is that Sarastro's temple is a Prufungstempel, not just a temple. Nicholas John remarks: "His promiscuity is self-centred and ultimately sterile, while love elsewhere in Die Zauberflote is enshrined as selfless and fruitful".
