Toch’s rarely performed Egon und Emilie, a subtle and crisp parody of German opera in the early 20th century, and Poulenc’s L’histoire de Babar, the setting of Jean de Brunhoff’s much-loved children’s book, are performed alongside the premiere of Isabella Gellis’s new chamber opera: an absurdist fantasy for which the libretto is a direct transcription of a video made by her sister as a child.

Toch Egon und Emilie, Op 46
Poulenc L’histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant
Isabella Gellis new opera (world premiere)

Isabella Gellis conductor
Lotte Betts-Dean mezzo-soprano
Joseph Havlat piano