A Word from our Conductor

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this performance of Maurice Ravel’s The Child and the Enchantments. You are about to enjoy a truly unique performance. Not only is it uncommon to hear this piece in Hong Kong, but it is rarer still to hear opera sung in English, and almost unheard and unseen to have an opera staged in the thrust, that is, with the audience surrounding the singers.

As for the music, Ravel’s rich and colourful score shines through in Julian Yim’s reduced orchestration. Ravel has ingeniously used the orchestra to depict the essence of each character, be they ticking clock or shimmering fire. Each unique entity is painted with rhythm, melody, and timbre so cleverly and clearly that no surtitles are needed (don’t worry, we have them). At the same time, we have allowed the singers to express their own individual spirit in their interpretation of the roles, musically and dramatically, and this has been the essence of our production process: collaboration. Each person has openly contributed to this project. Special thanks to Minjung, our repetiteur, and Jessica Ng, our visionary. I feel truly honored to work alongside these good-spirited musicians and actors. Their enthusiasm and openness in this production have made me feel like a kid again. I hope you do too.

我非常榮幸歡迎您來欣賞莫里斯·拉威爾的《童子與魔法》。您即將體驗一場獨一無二的演出。這部作品在香港的演出非常罕見，歌劇以英語演唱更是難得一見，而歌劇以環形舞台形式呈現——即觀眾環繞歌者而坐——更是前所未聞。 說到音樂，拉威爾豐富且充滿色彩的配樂在這次的縮編版本中依然光芒四射。他巧妙地運用管弦樂來描繪每個角色的精髓，無論是滴答作響的時鐘，還是閃閃發光的火焰。每個獨特的角色都透過節奏、旋律和音色被精彩而清晰地刻畫，幾乎不需要字幕（但別擔心，我們還是準備了字幕）。同時，我們也讓歌者在音樂和戲劇上自由地詮釋角色，展現他們獨特的個性，而這正是我們製作過程的核心：合作。每個人都坦率地為這個項目貢獻心力。 特別感謝我們的排練鋼琴師 Minjung 和夢想者吳羿䝼。能與這些充滿熱忱的音樂家和演員共同合作，我深感榮幸。他們在這部作品中的熱情和開放讓我彷彿重回童年。我希望您也能有同樣的感受。