L'Enfant et les Sortilèges

By Maurice Ravel, libretto by Colette. Directed by Philip Lowery, conducted by Jonathan Khuner. Produced by Berkeley Opera at Julia Morgan Theater, July 2008. A slightly modified version without the Tea Dance was produced by Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, in March 2011, directed by Caroline Schiller.

Artist Ariel did most of the artwork for the projections, and also designed the Berkeley production. Puppeteers Michael and Valerie Nelson operated Ariel's teapot and teacup in the "Tea Dance" video, and constructed and operated the other puppets used during the show. My wife Barbara Adair redrew and simplified Ariel's chair images to make them easier for me to trace for the cel animation used in Chair Dance.

For me, the single most exciting moment of the evening came early in the Ravel, when a pair of overstuffed armchairs walked off the stage and immediately reappeared on screen in cartoon form — with the addition of anthropomorphic eyes and ears that enabled them to sing.
     —Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle

Good use is made of a giant video screen at the rear of the stage and Jeremy Knight's digital animation reaches a brilliant climax with an arithmetic book gone berserk.
     —D. Suzanne Weiss, culturevulture.net