The Little Prince (opera)

"The Little Prince", subtitled "A Magical Opera", is an opera in two acts by Rachel Portman to an English libretto by Nicholas Wright, based on the 1943 book of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. First performance: Houston, 2003.

History

"The Little Prince" was commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera and premiered in May 2003 with Nate Irvin as The Little Prince and Teddy Tahu Rhodes as the Pilot. It was then performed by the Skylight Opera Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Boston Lyric Opera with Jeffrey Walter as the Little Prince. Houston Grand Opera had a return engagement in December 2004 with Jeffrey Walter as the Little Prince and Jeffrey Allison. The University of kentucky opera (april 2005), The New York City opera (November 2005), as well as The Tulsa, Oklahoma City opera, and the Santa Fe opera. The San Francisco Opera and Cal Performances did a joint production in May 2008.

In the UK, it was filmed by the BBC following a nationwide talent search for children to play the roles of the Prince, the Rose and a chorus of thirty-six vocalists. Over 25,000 children applied, with over 6,500 taking part in auditions. The television show Blue Peter documented the search for the singers, and filmed their training and rehearsals. "The Little Prince" was broadcast on BBC2 on Saturday, 27 November 2004 at 7:30pm.

Performances scheduled in the US include those by the the New York City Opera in November 2005 respectively, the Tulsa, Oklahoma City Opera , the Santa Fé Opera

Cast and crew

"Please note : these concern the BBC production"

The BBC Cast :
* The Little Prince - Joseph McManners (Soprano)
* The Pilot - Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Baritone)
* The Fox - Lesley Garrett (Mezzo-soprano)
* The Rose - Mairead Carlin (Soprano)
* The Water - Gweneth-Ann Jeffers (Soprano)
* The Snake - Tom Randle (Tenor)
* The Lamplighter - Timothy Robinson (Tenor)
* The Businessman - Richard Suart (Baritone)
* The King - Willard White (Baritone)
* The Vain Man - Richard Coxon (Tenor)
* The Drunkard - Aled Jones (Tenor)
* The Children (stars & birds) - Children's choir

The San Francisco Opera Cast:
* The Little Prince- Tyler Polen / Tovi Wayne (Soprano)
* The Pilot - Eugene Brancoveanu (Baritone)
* The Fox - Marie Lenormand (Mezzo-soprano)
* The Rose - Ji Young Yang (Soprano)
* The Water - Tamara Wapinsky (Soprano)
* The Snake - Thomas Glenn (Tenor)
* The Lamplighter - Andrew Bidlack (Tenor)
* The Businessman - Brian Leerhuber (Baritone)
* The King - Kenneth Kellogg (Baritone)
* The Vain Man - Thomas Glenn (Tenor)
* The Drunkard - Andrew Bidlack (Tenor)
* The Children (stars & birds) - exclusive members of the "concert" of the San Francisco Boys Chorus and level four of the San Francisco Girls Chorus

The Crew :
* Directed by : Francesca Zambello
* Libretto by : Nicholas Wright
* Music by : Rachel Portman
* Costume & Production design : Maria Björnson (original)
* Based on the book by : Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Release details

Following the television broadcast, BBC in conjunction with Sony Classical released a double-CD and DVD production of "The Little Prince" on Monday 29th November 2004. Upon release the CD set entered the classical charts.

* The CD release contains the entire performance on two CDs (Acts 1 & 2), and comes in a fold-out case with the 74-page libretto, containing photographs from the opera and illustrations from the original book. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
* The DVD release includes the full performance as screened on BBC2, plus bonus features of the Blue Peter special, "The Little Prince" music video and a photograph gallery.

External links

* [http://www.lepetitprince.com/en/REVERB/opera_uk.php The Little Prince - A Magical Opera - section on the book's official site about the opera]
* [http://www.littleprinceopera.com The Little Prince Opera - the production's site]
* [http://thelittleprince.sonyclassical.com/ Sony Classical US]
*imdb title|0438166|The Little Prince Opera
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00069MNTG "The Little Prince" - CD release (Amazon link)]
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000621P42 "The Little Prince" - DVD release (Amazon link)]
* [http://www.littleprinceopera.com]