Allegro moderato It is in the third part that the music reaches a high level of virtuosity for the soloist, including the following very difficult coloratura: It can be seen that Mozart aligned the text (dann) to give the singer the most sonorous and singable vowel "a" for most of the passage. The highest note, F6 in scientific pitch notation, is claimed by a posthumous witness to have been mentioned by Mozart on his deathbed; the composer was (if the story is true) imagining his sister-in-law's performance. See Death of Mozart. Critical opinion While countless audiences have enjoyed hearing skilled sopranos navigate the difficult coloratura passage, Spike Hughes detects a more significant purpose in Mozart's writing: The coloratura, which is never overdone for a moment in this aria, has a tremendous dramatic impact. It is not intended as a display of a singer's vocal prowess but of the Queen's character and as [in] Die Entführung ... coloratura is often synonymous in Mozart's mind with resolution and anger. References Notes Sources Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, The Magic Flute (1985) New York: Dover Publications (reprint of a 19th-century Peters edition). External links Cheryl Studer Rita Streich Wilma Lipp performed this hundreds of times and left at least five different recordings, some studio, some live Arias from The Magic Flute Opera excerpts Soprano arias