Opera Operas in concert: L'enfant et les sortileges (The Child and the Spells). Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) World famous Bolshoi Ballet and Opera theatre (established 1776) - Small Stage
Schedule for Operas in concert: L'enfant et les sortileges (The Child and the Spells). Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) 2022
Composer: Maurice Ravel Composer: Alexander von Zemlinsky
Orchestra: Bolshoi Theatre Symphony Orchestra
L'enfant et les
sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties (The Child and the Spells: A Lyric
Fantasy in Two Parts) is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is the second Ravel opera,
the first being L'heure
espagnole. Written from 1917 to 1925, the opera was first performed in Monte Carlo in 1925 under the baton of Victor de Sabata.
After being offered the
opportunity to write a musical work, Colette wrote the text in eight days.
Several composers were proposed to Colette to write the music, but she only was
enthused with the prospect of Ravel.
Der
Zwerg (The Dwarf)
is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky. Its libretto was
written by George Klaren, based
loosely on the story The
Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde. Zemlinsky completed the
short score in December 1919 and the orchestration in January 1921. The opera's premiere took place on May
28, 1922 at the Stadttheater in Cologne, Germany under the baton of Otto Klemperer. Its last performance in
Zemlinsky's lifetime was in 1926. Zemlinsky's choice of this drama was a
reflection of the end of his relationship with Alma Mahler, and the sympathy he felt
with the drama's main character.
The opera has
occasionally been produced with the German translation of the Wilde title
as Der Geburtstag des
Infantin. Der
Zwerg is less than 90 minutes
long, and is usually paired with another work when it is performed. The
first-ever double-billing of Zemlinsky's Der Zwerg and Eine florentinische
Tragödie was in 1981 at
the Hamburg State
Opera.
Synopsis
L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux
parties (The Child and the Spells:
A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts)
Synopsis
Set in an
old-fashioned Normandy country home, the opera tells the story
of a rude child who is reprimanded by the objects in his room which he has been
destroying. After being scolded by his mother in the beginning of the opera, the
child throws a tantrum destroying the room around him. He is then surprised to
find that the unhappy objects in his room come to life. The furniture and
decorations begin to talk; even his homework takes shape as it becomes an old
man and a chorus of numbers.
In the second part, the
bedroom becomes a garden filled with singing animals and plants which have been
tortured by the child as well. The child attempts to make friends with the
animals and plants, but they shun him because of the damage he did to them
earlier when they were inanimate. They leave him aside, and in his loneliness,
he eventually cries out "Maman". At this, the animals turn on him and attack
him, but the animals wind up jostling among each other as the child is tossed
aside. At the culmination, a squirrel is hurt, which causes the other animals to
stop fighting. The child bandages the squirrel, then collapses exhausted. The
animals have a change of heart toward the child, and decide to try to help him
home. They carry the child back to his house, and sing in praise of the child.
The opera ends with the child singing "Maman", as he greets his mother, in the
very last measure of the score.
Der Zwerg (The Dwarf)
Synopsis
At the
birthday celebration of the Infanta, Donna Clara, she receives a present of a
captured dwarf. She plays with him, and he becomes infatuated with the Infanta
at these attentions. He thinks of himself as a brave knight. However, he sees
his image in a mirror and thus his physical deformity. He tries to obtain a kiss
from the Infanta, but she spurns this. His heart breaks, and the dwarf
dies.
Schedule for Operas in concert: L'enfant et les sortileges (The Child and the Spells). Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) 2022
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