Isabelle Aboulker's 'Les Enfants du Levant' Brings Dark History to Light
Isabelle Aboulker, an 80-year-old composer known for youth operas, has created 'Les Enfants du Levant', based on a true story from 1861. The opera recounts how about sixty children aged 5 to 21 were marched from La Roquette prison in Paris to a penal agricultural colony on a paradise island off Toulon, which later became a penal colony. The work transforms this dark memory into a vibrant, luminous score, performed by the children of the Maîtrise de l'Opéra de Lyon. Directed by Pauline Laidet, the opera runs from May 27 to 30, 2026, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Oullins-Pierre-Bénite/Lyon. Aboulker has composed around thirty operas for young audiences, including 'Archipel(s)' for the Maîtrise populaire de l'Opéra-Comique.
Key facts
- Isabelle Aboulker composed 'Les Enfants du Levant'.
- The opera is based on a true story from 1861.
- In 1861, about sixty children aged 5 to 21 were marched from La Roquette prison in Paris to a penal colony on an island off Toulon.
- The island was a paradise island that later became a penal colony.
- The opera is performed by children of the Maîtrise de l'Opéra de Lyon.
- Pauline Laidet directed the production.
- The opera runs from May 27 to 30, 2026.
- Venue: Théâtre de la Renaissance in Oullins-Pierre-Bénite/Lyon.
- Aboulker has composed about thirty youth operas.
- She also composed 'Archipel(s)' for the Maîtrise populaire de l'Opéra-Comique.
Entities
Artists
- Isabelle Aboulker
- Pauline Laidet
Institutions
- Opéra de Lyon
- Maîtrise de l'Opéra de Lyon
- Théâtre de la Renaissance
- Maîtrise populaire de l'Opéra-Comique
- Opéra-Comique
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Toulon
- La Roquette prison
- Oullins-Pierre-Bénite
- Lyon