Portal:Opera/Selected picture/112
Credit: Unknown artist. Restoration by Adam Cuerden
The stage setting for part 2 of Maurice Ravel's opera, L'enfant et les sortilèges. The libretto by Colette tells the story of a rude child whose destructive behaviour is ultimately transformed when the objects and animals he has harmed come to life and reprimand him. In this final scene, the child wanders outside to a garden filled with singing animals and plants. After being offered the opportunity to write a musical work, Colette wrote the text of L'enfant et les sortilèges in eight days. Several composers were proposed to her but she was only excited by the prospect of Ravel.