KVT – Magic Spells Cast at the Opera House

In the end all the creatures (who would have been under seige from the child in real life) are moved by the tears of the rotten tot…especially after she turns a new leaf and assists one on the garden squirrels she’s badly damaged a day or so before, and they help her find the mummy for whom she’s desperately wailing. (As for me, I think they should have given the kid a few well deserved kicks up the bum before hand).

Glorious singing by the adult principal voices, equally glorious choristing from the excellently trained young people. Tremendous choreography in a fairly seamless show that I’d go a thousand or so miles to see again by the same magnificent company.

Can’t help it…the superlatives won’t stop dripping from my brain and racing out through my fingertips.

The little opera is not performed often because it requires a really good orchestra, a large mixed chorus of adults and children and a team of very good soloists. The scale of cast and fantastical setting makes it difficult to stage ….WE WERE SO LUCKY! We may have got a version abreviated for travelling- minus a few bits and pieces-but what we got was certainly really good enough.

A brilliant (oh those superlatives again!!) chamber orchestra played Ravel’s score with enormous virtuosity and before the curtain went up gave us a few etudes (or whatever) and the bassoon playing was perfection to the max.

Very controversial French novelist, Colette wrote the story about the naughty but finally chastened child with a deft and whimsical air way back in the nineteen teens and she was more than lucky that Ravel agreed to put it to music…music that carried delicious whiffs of Weil and Gershwin along with it.

We all loved it when artistic director/conductor etc Gael Darchen set the orchestra into celebratory mood with Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ and ascended the stage to present to us, piece by applauded piece, the huge cast. We could have clapped all night.

Truly truly thuyet voi!

Thanks… and thanks infinitum you lovely French.

…….and congratulations to the children in the padded seats who obviously enjoyed the show and also to their parents for rearing such nice young people.

Images from L’Espace.