Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera containing the Queen of the Night’s aria “Der Hölle Rache” is The Magic Flute.
The opera is a German Singspiel, combining spoken dialogue with musical numbers. Its libretto is attributed to Emanuel Schikaneder, who also played Papageno at the premiere. The plot follows Prince Tamino, who seeks to rescue Pamina, while the apparently villainous Queen of the Night gives way to a more complicated conflict involving Sarastro.
The Magic Flute premiered at Schikaneder’s Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna on 30 September 1791, only a few months before Mozart’s death. “Der Hölle Rache,” often called the Queen of the Night aria, is famous for its exceptionally high coloratura writing.
The opera is sometimes treated as a simple fairy tale, but its imagery also reflects Enlightenment ideals and Masonic symbolism. The Queen of the Night is not the opera’s central character; Tamino, Pamina, Papageno, and Sarastro drive the larger journey.