(Photo: ©OMC Marco Borrelli)

A Parisian critic during the belle époque once wrote about the Opéra de Monte-Carlo: “If only the Paris Opera could assemble for one special performance a cast equivalent to the one that the inhabitants of the little earthly paradise on the Mediterranean will be able to applaud all winter long!” (La Renaissance musicale, October 8, 1881) On Sunday March 23rd, 2025, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo proudly presented one of the fruits of that golden age as the final spectacle of the season: a double bill of Maurice Ravel’s two operas “L’Heure espagnole” and “L’Enfant et les sortilèges.”

A Special Association with Monte-Carlo

This year marks not only the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, but also the hundredth anniversary of the première of his opera “L’Enfant et les Sortilèges”—which took place at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Although Ravel and his librettist, the celebrated writer Colette, had initially planned to premiere the work in Paris, Raoul Gunsbourg (1860–1955), then director of the Monte-Carlo opera house, convinced them to debut it in Monaco, following the success of “L’Heure espagnole” in 1924.

The 1925 premiere took place on 21 March 1925, conducted by Victor de Sabata, with the ballet scenes performed by members of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The choreography was the work of a young George Balanchine, his first project for the company. “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” would not reach Paris until almost a year later, when it was staged at the Opéra-Comique.

“L’Heure espagnole”

For the current production, Jean-Louis Grinda, former Director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, staged both works in a co-production with the Opéra de Tours, the Opéra Grand Avignon, and l’Opéra royal de Wallonie.

The performance opened with a striking visual projected onto the closed curtain: a caricature of Ravel and Colette seated in front of a sea of music stands—a clever nod to the creative pairing behind the evening’s program. Curiously, the first opera to be performed was “L’Heure espagnole,” with a libretto by Franc-Nohain (Maurice Étienne Legrand), and when it came time to begin “L’Enfant et les Sortilèges,” the earlier evocation of Colette was nowhere to be seen.

The set design for “L’Heure espagnole” was traditional—a clockmaker’s shop drawn in cartoon-like strokes. While the setting was straightforward, the production’s energy was uneven. The opera’s risqué plot, in which Concepción (mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez) juggles her lovers during her husband’s weekly absence, offers room for either subtle innuendo or an overtly sensual interpretation. Grinda’s staging, however, failed to commit fully to either, leaving the tone somewhat flat. Apart from one or two sight gags—as when Concepción slid off her red underwear and tossed it to tenor Cyrille Dubois in the role of Gonzalve—the performance lacked the undercurrent of sexuality that would have kept the action afloat, either comically or otherwise.

Arquez sang with earthy richness, her mezzo-soprano providing a weightier sound than the lighter sopranos often cast in the role. Yet her performance lacked the playful excess needed to create a strong contrast with her dutiful husband Torquemada (tenor Vincent Ordonneau).

The somewhat tepid ambiance was enlivened by the performance of Dubois in the role of Gonzalve, demonstrating a talent for both comic flair and vocal agility, notably in his sliding passages accompanied by the cellos. Baritone Florian Sempey as Ramiro and bass Matthieu Lécroart as Don Inigo Gomez were competently sung but underdeveloped as characters, missing the sparkle needed to drive the farce forward. The vaudeville style finale with its habanera rhythms and Boccacio moral made for a satisfying conclusion, particularly in the well-coordinated short cadenza passages for all five singers.

The Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, under Kazuki Yamada’s precise direction, delivered a vibrant performance. There were some outstanding solo contributions, notably in the moments of Spanish color played by the bassoons.

“L’Enfant et les sortilèges”

Grinda’s approach to “L’Enfant et les sortilèges” was more refined and effective. He set the opera in an elegant 1920s mansion, where the servants were transformed into the magical characters and objects populating the child’s fantasy world.

After a slightly mechanical oboe duet in the opening, the performance quickly gained momentum. Arquez returned as L’Enfant, portraying the role with a touching mix of vulnerability and defiance. Soprano Florie Valiquette stood out as Le Feu, La Princesse, and Le Rossignol, her crystalline tone and expressive phrasing particularly captivating in the princess’s scene, where she perched atop a wardrobe and wove her florid vocal line around the solo flute.

Once again, Dubois stole the show as Le Petit Vieillard Arithmétique, gesticulating wildly in his scene with the children’s choir from the Académie de Musique Rainier III. The Opéra de Monte-Carlo chorus was also impressive, their offstage voices creating a surround-sound effect from the lobby behind the audience.

This Ravel double bill marked a fitting conclusion to the 2024–2025 season in Monte-Carlo, which featured five fully staged productions and three concert performances. Despite some uneven moments in “L’Heure espagnole,” the strength of the vocal performances and the brilliance of Yamada’s orchestra ensured a success.