A observe 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 only was I grappling with the genius of Mozart but I had Goethe to deal with too !! I suppose I took a comparatively reductionist strategy to the question, how the fuck do I do this ? The answer came from a shocking source however one no much less sensible, Kraftwerk.

A observe from Jeremy Sams

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

My job was to structure this 12-page fragment into an unique electro opera. After which to write down verses to encourage Damon – who in flip would encourage me. Our collaboration led us into directions which would have stunned, and I hope, delighted Goethe. 

From a kidnapping during a rave, by way of an all-seeing hen 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 weird as its unique. It has stunned and delighted us.

by way of Lido 2 Paris [X]