Ep. 136 Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortilèges

About this episode

This episode explores Ravel's opera L'Enfant et les Sortilèges and its themes of childhood and memory.

Can an opera, that most complex of art forms, take you back to childhood? Unlikely though it might seem, L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (“The Child and the Enchantments”) does just that through the talents of composer Maurice Ravel and writer Colette. This one-act opera, fantastical though it is, can transport you to all-too-real, seemingly lost memories. Over the course of the story, our nameless child protagonist wrestles with his powerlessness and power, responsibility and dependence, piteousness and pity. Join host Pat with Erica Miner, the mystery writer, lecturer and former Met Opera violinist, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of French composer Maurice Ravel on this episode of Opera for Everyone. For more on Erica Miner, visit ericaminer.com

People in this episode

Host: Pat

Guest: Erica Miner

Topics covered

• opera
• childhood
• Ravel
• music
• fantasy
• memory

Keywords

• opera
• Ravel
• L'Enfant et les Sortilèges
• childhood
• fantasy
• memory
• Erica Miner

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges

More episodes of Opera For Everyone

• Ep, 143 The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth · June 8, 2026 · 1h 59m
• Ep. 142 Alcina by Handel · May 10, 2026 · 1h 58m
• Ep. 141 Attila by Verdi · April 12, 2026 · 1h 60m
• Ep. 140 Moby Dick by Jake Heggie · March 9, 2026 · 1h 58m
• Ep. 139 Le Prophète by Meyerbeer · February 10, 2026 · 1h 58m
• Ep. 138 Rienzi, The Last of the Tribunes, by Wagner · January 12, 2026 · 2h 4m