The Child And The Spells
A capricious child is punished. He must stay in his room until dinner. Very angry, he knocks over the tea set, torments the cat and rips up the wallpaper. However the innocent victims come to life and decide to teach him a lesson.
At the whim of an under-an-hour-long succession of tableaux, almost thirty characters sweep us away in their humorous universe. The Tea Pot speaks to the Child in a delightful mix of French and English, the Chairs chat with extreme politeness and the Arithmetic recite whimsical calculus.
On a transparent screen, the video artist Grégoire Pont sparks ephemeral and animated images interacting with the singers : thunderbolts come out of their mouth, wings grow on their back. Colette’s inventive text is carried by Ravel’s musical genius who, with foxtrot and ragtime, mischievously introduces musical theatre in the opera.

cast, production
music Maurice Ravel | libretto Colette | concept and video Grégoire Pont | stage direction James Bonas | with the Solistes du Studio et la Maîtrise de l’Opéra de Lyon – Ensemble instrumental | choirmaster Karine Locatelli | set and costumes design Thibault Vancraenenbrœck | lighting design Christophe Chaupin
with Anna Cavaliero The Shepherdess, The Owl, The Bat, Anne-Sophie Petit The Fire, The Princess, The Nightingale, The Pastourelle, Frances Gregory Mummy, The Tea Cup, The Dragonfly, Anne-Lise Polchlopek The Shepherd, The Female Cat, The Squirrel, Hoël Troadec The Tea Pot, The Tiny Old Man, The Frog, Florent Karrer The Clock, The Male Cat, Louis De Lavignère The Chair, The Oak
production : Opéra de Lyon
co-creation : Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse
revival of the 2016 production at the Opéra de Lyon in partnership with the Auditori of Barcelone
Musical Fantasy in two parts, 1925
Libretto by Colette © ARIMA CORP / NORDICE BV
administered by les Éditions DURAND S.A
you might also like
  1h25
tarifs