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Editorial Reviews
Ravel's one-act opera L'Enfant et les Sortilèges has a particular importance for Sir Simon Rattle. Shortly after winning the John Player conducting prize at the age of 19, he conducted the work in concert and received his first major critical success, launching his storied career. A subsequent performance in Glyndebourne in 1987 sealed his reputation for the piece, and now he has finally recorded it for EMI Classics.
Joining Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker is a stellar cast including Magdalena Kozená, Jose van Dam, Sophie Koch, and Annick Massis. Together, the ensemble helps to bring out the fairy-tale beauty and childlike wonder of the work.
Rounding out the program is Ravel's celebrated Mother Goose Suite (Ma Mère l'Oye), a charming classic that culminates in theglorious "Fairy Garden" section.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ravishing playing from Berlin, but Ravel's exquisite opera never quite achieves liftoff,
By Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges; Ma Mère l'Oye (Audio CD)
As the product description says, Simon Rattle has a history with Ravel's fairy-tale opera, 'L'enfant et les sortileges.' He first conducted it in Liverpool as a 19-year-old back in 1974. Now it's his intention to "bring Ravel to Berlin" -- as if Karajan didn't do that long ago -- but the results are mixed. This concert performance from the fall of 2008 is magical in the orchestral parts, which are prime Ravel in his faux-naive, semi-popular vein, full of sophisticated and delightful touches. For that alone, one can listen with real enjoyment, marveling at the brilliance of execution -- their evocation of a night forest stirring with birds and animals is worth the price of admission.
Yet without a real staging and French singers who knowingly catch on to Ravel's fragile mixture of innocence and worldliness, L'enfant doesn't spring to life. The plot revolves around a spoiled brat of a boy who gets his comeuppance when the furniture, plants, and animals that he casually torments suddenly come to life to rebuke him. Colette's libretto is delightful, and it holds its own here. But the child, sung by a vocally charming Magdalena Kozena (i.e., the current Mrs. Rattle), doesn't sound bratty or childish enough. The rest of the cast is plump with notable singers, but a few of the men are too old, and their voices wobble. Dramatically, one can do much better with Maazel's classic account on DG. Ravel's Ma Mere l'Oye (Mother Goose) is a natural fit since it too comes from the fairy-tale world. I've never been drawn to its gauzy, wispy idiom, but if ever I was going to be charmed, the finesse of the Berliners would do it; their playing is phenomenal in its delicacy and poise. In all, this generous CD displays the best of intentions, and a great deal is enjoyable, even iff the main event comes off a bit too genteel and lacking in spiciness.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
WINNING RAVEL,
By Klingsor Tristan (Suffolk) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges; Ma Mère l'Oye (Audio CD)
This is a near-perfect gem of an opera. Colette's libretto strikes the ideal match of childhood innocence, warm humanity (even among the animals) and pure whimsy. And she found the perfect foil when Ravel agreed to collaborate. A reserved, dapper dandy among adults, Ravel always found a perfect sympathy with children and with small things. His score matches the libretto in its sublime combination of colour, quirky forms (foxtrots, American Waltzes, etc.), ravishing melodies and rich harmonies.
On first hearing, this new Berlin Philharmonic performance certainly nails all the multivaried colours conjured up by this master-orchestrator. Rattle has a superb instrument at his disposal and the engineers do a wonderful job with this live performance in Berlin's Philharmonie. Trombone glissandi, magical harp writing, the delicacy of pipe and drum for the shepherds, Ravel's unique flair in writing for woodwind, the Flute a coulisse (a kind of Swanee whistle), a prominent piano part, a huge array of percussion that includes everything from an Eoliphone to a Rape a fromage (which I assume is a cheese-grater), all are realised by the players and captured by the engineers with perfect clarity and depth. Rattle has long retained an affection for this piece - some years ago he conducted it at Glyndebourne with designs by Maurice Sendak of Wild Things fame. As in his previous Ravel recordings, including an overwhelmingly cataclysmic La Valse and a vivid Daphnis et Chloe, Rattle does understand Ravel's unique aural world very well. And the jazzy rhythms benefit enormously from his special ability to lift and `bounce' a rhythm. Occasionally he can seem a little detached, a touch reserved, but you could argue that such traits were characteristic of the composer, too. And when warmth and humanity flood into the music - e.g. the duet with the story-book princess, the squirrel's hymn to freedom or the marvellous final pages - Rattle catches just the right mood without ever overplaying it. The singers are a fairly starry line-up, but any overweening egos seem to be ideally absorbed into what is essentially an ensemble piece. Magdalena Kozena is perfectly cast as the child, catching his blind tantrums, his loneliness and his fears on a voice that captures just the necessary note of adolescence. Nathalie Stutzmann, Annick Massis (in the stratospheric parts of Fire, Princess and Nightingale) and Jose van Dam, all fit perfectly into the ensemble, yet are full of characterisation in their several parts. Francois le Roux sounds a little stretched as the Clock but makes a most seductive Cat when partnered by Sophie Koch. The fill-up is the Mother Goose ballet, a piece Rattle previously recorded in Birmingham back in 1990. The earlier performance has more charm and childlike innocence, this new one excels in orchestral colour and brilliance. But it is the winning, highly colourful performance of L'Enfant that makes this disc highly desirable.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rattle takes us on a delightful journey, reminiscing the joys of childhood,
By
This review is from: Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges; Ma Mère l'Oye (Audio CD)
Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortileges is a wonderful composition that captures the essence of childhood in a way unlike anything else. What makes it special is that it is more than mere entertainment, as delightful as it is. Ravel's wistful look at childhood is sophisticated, and behind all the fun, one gets the impression that Ravel is homesick, regretting his past and wishing he could be a child again. Tantrums or no, children are still innocent. And while I think performers should make this piece humorous, there needs to be more to it; you should be left wanting to be a child at the end. I think Rattle realizes all of this. Here he has the world's greatest orchestra and a cast of first rate soloists to help him out. And EMI gives such good sound quality that the disc is almost recommendable for that reason alone. But there's a lot more to it. First of all, I don't think I can describe just how wonderful the Berliners sound. I'm sure that the recording quality helps, but they are simply a joy on every page with delightful orchestral playing. First desk players Emmanuel Pahud on the flute, Jonathon Kelly on the oboe, and Stefan Dohr on the horn are particularly stunning. Rattle gives his orchestra full reign, allowing his orchestra to create an atmosphere that is teeming with inspiration. The most subtle of details come forth crystal clearly. And while some reviewers are displeased with the soloists, they are very athletic, always interesting. There is so much adventure in the piece, and all of our musicians play their part with much love. The last closing minutes are performed with such beauty that I can't help but fight the tears. Here's what Rattle himself had to say on the experience of recording the work: "After recording it, we were just all so sad when it had finished. We thought, `Well, we would happily just come once a week for the rest of our lives and play this piece again'". It sure sounds that way! The following Mother Goose is captured just as well. A purely orchestral work, it gives the Berliners more chances to show off their skills than the preceding work; the orchestra is now the only star. In Rattle's hands, the work becomes dreamy and elusive, but that's not to imply that it is uninteresting. The finesse of the orchestra never ceases to amaze and Rattle again lets the orchestra go, making for moments of hushed beauty and ones of dazzling excitement. But never is the theme of childhood forgotten. This is music made so light it could almost float. Everything sounds innocent, as it is in a child's world, even when the orchestra takes off on full throttle. Some people might want more fun, but I'm so enraptured by the splendor of the playing that I couldn't want anything more. In closing, this is a wonderful disc, one that transports us to a child's world. When the music's all over, we'll be sad that we're not in the world of childhood to stay.
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