Anniversary: the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel's birth.
L’Heure espagnole is a French one‑act opera from 1911, described as a comédie musicale, with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc‑Nohain, based on his 1904 play (comédie‑bouffe) of the same name. Set in 18th‑century Spain, the opera tells the story of a clockmaker whose unfaithful wife attempts to seduce several men while he is away, leading them to hide inside — and eventually become stuck within — her husband’s clocks.
The title can be translated literally as “The Spanish Hour”, but the word heure also means “time” — as in “Spanish Time”, with the connotation “How They Keep Time in Spain.”
Ravel’s colorful orchestration employs a wealth of unusual instruments; it is exuberant and full of witty references. Spanish tunes and rhythms pervade L’Heure espagnole, a hallmark shared by many of Ravel’s other celebrated works.
Cast
Torquemada: Kaëlig Boché
Concepción: Gaëlle Arquez
Gonzalve: Cyrille Dubois
Ramiro: Florian Sempey
Don Inigo Gomez: Matthieu Lécroart
Ensemble
Orchestra: Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo
