The English translation of the libretto written by Colette “L’enfant et les sortilèges” is translated to “the bewitched child”. The first representation was performed in Monte-Carlo in 1925 before it was represented in Paris at the Opéra Comique in January 1926. The printed edition of Ravel’s orchestration classified the work as Fantaisie Lyrique based on a poem by Colette. This opus constitutes a forgotten forerunner of the much more popular musical “Cats” . In the end of Colettes narrative the animals call the child her “mama” and praise the good and wise child. It probably remains a forgotten 100’s anniversary, despite the fact that the topic of humans and animals, or nature in more general terms, have become more and more unbalanced over the last 100 years.
