Press Room

Jun 6, 2019

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Click here to access the Online Press Kit, which includes a PDF of this press release, artist bios and photos, production images, the synopsis of L’enfant et les sortilèges, and other supporting materials. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / JUNE 6, 2019

MARTYN BRABBINS LEADS THE SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY & CHORUS AND A CAST OF INTERNATIONALLY-RENOWNED GUEST ARTISTS IN SEMI-STAGED PERFORMANCES OF RAVEL’S L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILÈGES, JUNE 27 & 29–30, 2019

Mezzo Isabel Leonard performs the title role of The Child

Production conceived by Director James Bonas and Animator & Concept Artist Grégoire Pont

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—British conductor Martyn Brabbins leads the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) and Chorus, joined by Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco, San Francisco Boys Chorus, and an internationally-renowned cast featuring mezzo Isabel Leonard as The Child, in semi-staged performances of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges (The Child and the Magic Spells), June 27 & 29–30 at Davies Symphony Hall. Currently Music Director of the English National Opera, Brabbins has previously conducted Ravel’s enchanting opera at the Opéra de Lyon in France in 2012, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich in 2013, and again in Lyon in 2016—premiering a new production, which will be featured at the San Francisco Symphony’s performances in June. Originally commissioned by Opéra de Lyon in association with L'Auditori de Barcelona and Maestro Arts, the production was conceived by Animator Grégoire Pont and Director James Bonas. The production team also includes Lighting Designer Christophe Chaupin, Stage & Costume Designer Thibault Vancraenenboeck, and Stage Manager Marie-Cécile Leclerc. Using advanced projection techniques, Pont and Bonas create a whimsical and innovative semi-staged production that brings to life the magical world of Ravel’s mesmerizing opera. Featuring a poignant libretto by Colette, one of France’s most influential writers of the 20th century, L’Enfant et les sortilèges is a lyric fantasy that explores the incredible world of young imagination. James Bonas comments, “L'enfant is an extraordinary work—a miniature so detailed, so finely wrought that it contains whole worlds within it. The combination of Colette's imagination and Ravel's emotional and ambitious response to her text creates an amazing opportunity.”

[To download the full PDF version of this press release, click the link at the top]