A word from Damon Albarn

The thought of me writing  an opera and for it to be a continuation of The Magic Flute sounds ridiculous, it was and is, not solely was I grappling with the genius of Mozart but I had Goethe to cope with too !! I suppose I took a comparatively reductionist strategy to the question, how the fuck do I do this ? The reply got here from a shocking supply however one no much less sensible, Kraftwerk.

A word from Jeremy Sams

It was Jean-Luc Choplin that introduced me to Goethe’s proposed sequel to Mozart’s Magic Flute. To my disgrace and surprise I hadn’t even heard of it ! Lots of Goethe’s inventions have been irresistible. Papageno and Papagena producing a brood of singing bird-children. Tamino and Pamina unable, via a curse, to console one another over their stolen baby…

My job was to construction this 12-page fragment into an unique electro opera. And then to write down verses to inspire Damon – who in turn would inspire me. Our collaboration led us into instructions which might have stunned, and I hope, delighted Goethe. 

From a kidnapping throughout a rave, by way of an all-seeing fowl and a hysterical man-queen, to a imaginative and prescient of the top of the world, our sequel has turned out to be splendidly bizarre – virtually as bizarre as its unique. It has stunned and delighted us.

by way of Lido 2 Paris [X]