FULL L’enfant et les sortilèges Paris 2021 Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental Iannis-Xenakis
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: L'enfant et les sortileges (Version pour piano à quatre mains, flûte et violoncelle)
- Composer: Ravel Maurice
- Libretto: Colette
- Venue & Opera Company: Auditorium of the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental Iannis-Xenakis in Évry-Courcouronne Grand Paris Sud, France
- Recorded: March 23, 2021
- Type: Concert Semi-staged
- Singers: Melodie Plait, Ann Moulin, Rongxin Liang, Eveline Waligora, Annie Langlais, Celine Froger, Kim Gyeongsu, Bergson Kouame, Quentin Souillier-RC, Patrick Girod
- Conductor: Irina Kataeva
- Orchestra:
- Stage Director: Martial Renaud
- Stage Designer: Francoise Henry
- Costume Designer:
- Lighting Designer: Francoise Henry
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Grand Paris Sud
- Date Published: 2021
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The project of the CRD Xenakis accompaniment class in collaboration with the flute and percussion classes. With the participation of singing class students.Capture of the concert ENFANT ET SORTILÈGES by Maurice Ravel, recorded on March 23, 2021 at the auditorium of the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental Iannis-Xenakis in Évry-Courcouronne Grand Paris Sud. Students from Irina Kataeva’s accompaniment class worked in collaboration with students from vocal, flute and percussion classes.”
There is a score of the reduction of this Ravel opera for piano and voice and during the summer of 2020 we looked at how to “dispatch” the musical material to integrate the different instruments.
We transcribed the score for the instruments present with the 10 pianists from the accompaniment class
In view of the year of Covid this work gave a lot of meaning to everyone. This opera is very demanding and difficult.
We were only able to have one dress rehearsal with all the musicians (who all took a covid test beforehand)
We are very proud of the results and hope that this recording reflects the quality of this work.
L’Enfant et les Sortilèges is a lyrical fantasy in two parts composed by Maurice Ravel between 1919 and 1925, in collaboration with Colette who wrote the book (initially entitled Ballet pour ma fille). This is Ravel’s second and last lyrical fantasy, after L’Heure bleue (1907).
In an old country house, in the middle of the afternoon, a seven-year-old child sits grumpily in front of his schoolwork. The mother enters the room and gets angry at her son’s laziness. Punished, he is seized by a fit of anger: he throws the Chinese cup and the teapot, tortures the squirrel in its cage, pulls the cat’s tail; he stokes the embers with a poker, knocks over the kettle; he tears up his book, tears off the wallpaper, demolishes the old clock. “I am free, free, wicked and free!…” Exhausted, he falls into the old armchair… but it moves back. Then begins the fantastic game. In turn, the objects and animals come to life, speak and threaten the petrified child. In the house, then in the garden, the creatures expose their grievances and their desire for revenge one by one. As the child calls out for his mother, all the creatures pounce on him to punish him. But before fainting, he treats a little squirrel injured in the tumult. Gripped with regret, the creatures forgive him and bring him back to his mother, calling to her in unison with him. The work ends with the two syllables sung by the child: “mama”.