Three is The Magic Number | WNO (2024)

Three is The Magic Number | WNO (1)

Throughout human history, the number 3 has always had a unique significance, but why?

The ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, postulated that the meaning behind numbers was deeply significant. In their eyes the number 3 was considered as the perfect number, the number of harmony, wisdom and understanding. It was also the number of time – past, present, future; birth, life, death; beginning, middle, end – it was the number of the divine. Three is often the magic number in fairy tales and this certainly rings true in our ‘visually sumptuous’ (Wales Arts Review) production of Mozart’s beloved The Magic Flute.

Our prince charming Tamino is rescued from a big orange lobster by Three Ladies – servants of the Queen of the Night - dressed as nannies or governesses, marking the beginning of his journey of self-discovery and enlightenment. During his quest he is guided by Three Boys who lead him to Sarastro’s temple (the spirits only appear in Sarastro’s kingdom).

Three is The Magic Number | WNO (2)
Three is The Magic Number | WNO (3)

The number 3 is also associated with the Freemasons, of which Mozart and his librettist Schikaneder were members, and the theme of 3 appears repeatedly in the piece – both on stage and in the pit.

The opera’s opening overture is written in Eb Major, which has 3 flats, and it begins with 3 chordal gestures, imitating the secret knock that masons would have used in Vienna at the time to gain access to their Lodges.

Our irresistible production was designed by Julian Crouch and he emphasised the magical number by having 3 doors in each of the set’s 3 walls. Strength, beauty and wisdom also symbolize the 3 great pillars of the Lodges. Inscriptions upon the 3 temples refer to Nature, Reason and Wisdom, also of Masonic origin. To the Viennese of that day, political symbolism was easily and broadly interpreted; they saw the opera's Queen of the Night as no one other than their own Empress Maria Theresa, the hero Tamino was seen to be the “good” Emperor Joseph and the heroine Pamina was the Austrian people itself.

Pythagoras believed that the number 3 stood for good fortune and following recent reviews for our revival production, we agree. Described by the critics as ‘an unabashedly entertaining evening of operatic pantomime’ (Bachtrack), don’t miss our re-telling of Mozart’s coming of age story at a theatre near you this Spring Season.

Three is The Magic Number  | WNO (2024)

FAQs

How is 3 a magic number? ›

Throughout human history, the number 3 has always had a unique significance, but why? The ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagoras, postulated that the meaning behind numbers was deeply significant. In their eyes the number 3 was considered as the perfect number, the number of harmony, wisdom and understanding.

Why is 3 a magic number in rhetoric? ›

For the uninitiated, the rule of three suggests that words grouped into threes are more appealing and easier to remember. Our brains are pattern-seeking machines, constantly looking for relationships and meaning in the world around us.

What is the magic behind the number 3? ›

If we look at the pattern of the number 3, it is connected to the body, mind, and spirit - the cycle of birth, life, and death, and can represent wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. The ancient greek philosopher Pythagoras considered the number 3 to be a near-perfect number and a symbol of the divine.

What is the magic number riddle 4? ›

“One” has three letters. “Three” has five letters. “Five” has four letters. Four must be “magic” because it has the same number of letters as its actual value.

What is magic of 3? ›

A series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses is known as a tricolon in literary parlance. In intermediate classrooms, we call it the Magic of Three. Tricolons are easy to read, easy to say, and easy to remember.

What does your magic number mean? ›

It becomes prominent every year in September as teams begin closing in on clinching. A team's magic number represents the combination of wins needed by that team and losses by its closest competitor to clinch a given goal. Every time a team wins, its magic number decreases by one.

What is an example of a magic number? ›

It is quite similar to the happy number. For example, 325 is a magic number because the sum of its digits (3+2+5) is 10, and again sum up the resultant (1+0), we get a single digit (1) as the result. Hence, the number 325 is a magic number. Some other magic numbers are 1234, 226, 10, 1, 37, 46, 55, 73, etc.

What is an example of magic 3? ›

Examples of Magic Three

"Starting today, we must (1) pick ourselves up, (2) dust ourselves off, and (3) begin again the work of remaking America." "Your careers will be determined largely (1) by how well you speak, (2) by how well you write, and (3) by the quality of your ideas… in that order."

What is a magic number and why is it bad? ›

Magic Number JavaScript

A number in your code that appears arbitrary. All magic numbers should all be replaced with calculations or constants. Having magic numbers in your code is bad programming style.

Why is 3 a holy number? ›

The number 3 biblically represents divine wholeness, completeness and perfection. If there ever was a desire to highlight an idea, thought, event or noteworthy figure in the Bible for their prominence, the number 3 was used to put a divine stamp of completion or fulfillment on the subject.

What is the 3 digit magic number? ›

The mystery is this: first, take any three digit number, where the first and last digits differ by two or more and reverse the number to produce a new one. Then subtract the smaller from the larger producing another new number. If you reverse this number and this time add the two, the result will always be 1089.

What does 3 mean in chat? ›

This cute symbol is most commonly used to discuss romantic relationships, friendships, or passions when texting, tweeting, or posting. Someone may use a <3 to replace the word “love” in a sentence or to convey warm feelings for someone or something.

What is the magic number rule? ›

In computer programming, a magic number is any of the following: A unique value with unexplained meaning or multiple occurrences which could (preferably) be replaced with a named constant. A constant numerical or text value used to identify a file format or protocol; for files, see List of file signatures.

What is the magic number theory? ›

In a famous paper, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information” (1956), Miller proposed as a law of human cognition and information processing that humans can effectively process no more than seven units, or chunks, of information, plus or minus

What is the magic number strategy? ›

Enhance Customer Retention Rates

The SaaS Magic Number is calculated by dividing the growth in recurring revenue by the previous period's recurring revenue. This indicates that the metric is heavily influenced by your capacity to retain existing customers and generate additional revenue over time.

What does 3 represent in numerology? ›

Numerology Number 3 is the auspicious number ruled by Jupiter that holds deep spiritual meaning in life. People belonging to numbers 3, 12, 21, and 30 are associated with the planet Jupiter, and are sincere, understanding, and spiritual. They are positive thinkers with traits like loyalty and trustworthiness.

Why do I keep seeing the number 3? ›

Whether in the spiritual, personal, or financial aspects, if an individual is repeatedly seeing the sequence of threes, it means that it is their time to expand. In an interview, King elaborated that number three encourages the person to invest energy into the growth and expansion of life's journey.

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