Emma Posman

Magic opera, Singspiel, a comedy with spectacular stage effects, Masonic ritual with Egyptian mysteries, heroic-comic opera? Die Zauberflöte is heard more often and has been more frequently performed, discussed, queried and interrogated than almost any other work in the history of opera. It is rare for the mysteriousness and multiformity of a work to be adjured with such mantric intensity. It is equally rare for a work to enjoy such undisputed success despite all these debates – and for over two hundred years at that.

Cambio madre por moto is a chamber opera by the Belgian composer, Frank Nuyts to an original libretto by the best-selling Spanish author Rosa Montero. With a light touch and in contemporary Spanish, Rosa Montero’s funny libretto tells the story of a husband and wife who want to divorce and discuss this with their children for the first time. To make matters worse, the husband’s mother and the lawyer turn up. The latter is a family friend and a specialist divorce lawyer, but he turns out to be rather closer to the mother than expected; all ingredients for incisive dialogues full of familiar arguments back and forth. ‘The children come first!’ is the parents’ mantra, but whether this is actually the case remains to be seen…