The west front of the Eglise Notre-Dame la Grande, Poitiers, with its magnificant Romanesque statuary.

At Opera Limoges to see an entertaining production of Maurice Ravel’s opera ‘L’Enfant et les Sortilèges’. First performed in 1924, the second of Ravel’s fantasy operas (after ‘L’Heure Espagnol’ 1907), the opera tells the story of a child ordered to stay in his room as a punishment. Magic takes over as toys, household objects and animals come to life. Back-projected images onto a black curtain provided the special effects that brought the story to life.

At La Halle aux Grains, Toulouse, for a concert with a definite Spanish flavour. Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under Spanish conductor Josep Pons played a first half of Ravel’s ‘Rapsodie Espagnole’ and ‘Piano Concerto in G major’. The soloist was renowned Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, who returned to the stage for a stunning encore with a solo arrangement of the ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ from Manuel de Falla’s ‘El Amor Brujo.’  The second half began with Ravel’s ‘Alborada del Gracioso’ before continuing with an excellent performance of de Falla’s ‘Le Tricorne, Suites 1 & 2’.

Josep Pons and Javier Perianes

Ravel: ‘Rapsodie Espagnole’; Ravel: ‘Concerto for Piano in G major’; de Falla: ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ from  ‘El Amor Brujo.’; Ravel: ‘Alborada del Gracioso’;  de Falla: ‘Le Tricorne, Suites 1 and 2’.