"Die Zauberflöte" is simultaneously one of Mozart's most accessible and most complex operas. Yet while this duality makes it a potentially valuable cultural artifact for the language classroom, students' unfamiliarity with both its operatic genre and Enlightenment context can pose a challenge to teachers. This article functions as a historical backdrop and teaching guide, offering a focused look at the opera's treatment of two of its central themes that remain relevant today: gender and race. By comparing the treatment of these social issues seen in "Der Zauberflöte" and with contemporary German pop songs, we can help students peer beyond the surface-level entertainment of the opera, giving them both a richer understanding of its Enlightenment context while adding a new layer with which to understand contemporary German and U.S. culture.