NYU Steinhardt To Stage L'ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES

NYU Steinhardt's Program in Vocal Performance will present L'Enfant et Les Sortilèges (The Child and the Magic Spells) from November 30 to December 2. The one-act opera features music by Maurice Ravel and libretto by Colette and will be sung in English. NYU Steinhardt's Garth Bardsley directs.

L'Enfant et Les Sortilèges-which was first performed in Monte Carlo in 1925 and has since established itself as a mainstay of the international operatic repertoire-is a fairytale about a child's nightmare come to life. After being scolded by his mother, the child takes out his anger on the surrounding objects in his room which subsequently come to life to punish him for his actions.

In part two, the child's bedroom transforms into a garden filled with singing plants and animals which have been tortured by the child. As the scene darkens and intensifies, a squirrel gets hurt and the child comes to its aid, prompting the other animals to recognize kindness in the child and carry him back home.

Colette's fairyland libretto-born out of the Parisian avant-garde movement which had pushed the boundaries of artistic invention and understanding since the end of the 19th century-is a story of redemption and retribution underpinned by questions of morality sparked by the writers' experiences of the First World War.

NYU Steinhardt's production of L'Enfant et Les Sortilèges runs Friday, November 30 at 8 p.m., Saturday, December 1 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday December 2 at 3 p.m. at the Provincetown Playhouse, 133 Macdougal Street. Tickets are $15 general admission and $5 for students, seniors, and NYU faculty. For tickets, contact NYU Box Office at tickets.nyu.edu, call 212.998.4941, or visit in person at 566 LaGuardia Pl (at Washington Square South).

L'Enfant et Les Sortilèges - music direction by Ji Young Lee, stage direction by Garth Bardsley, set design by Ryan Howell, lighting design by Abigail Hoke Brady and costume design by Olivia Hern.

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