The Child and the Spells by Ravel, E 11 apr 2022, Alates (2022/2022), Juhatatud Juraj Čiernik,, Dirigent Paolo Gatto, Theatre 12, Ostrava, Czech Republic

Ravel’s opera-ballet with its subtitle A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts is not common to see on Czech stages. The production was staged only at the National Theatre in Prague in 1927 (in 2000, the music accompanied Jiří Kylián’s very popular ballet). Many years later in 2016, the staging of this piece at the South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice, where it was performed as a family opera, impressed as well. The NDM chooses the same approach since the opera is to be devoted to children in the audience. The libretto was written by writer called Colette, and it is a fairy-tale story about a disobedient boy, who tortures animals, destroys nature and things around him. All these things come to life and rebel against the boy together with trees and animals complaining from the garden. In the end, the fear changes the boy to be kind and full of love. The libretto inspired Ravel to compose rhythmically playful dance music, which for its wit never become obsolete. This is a typical example of an impressionistic score enriched by number of onomatopoeic effects.