By Jennifer Mustoe and Craig Mustoe
Utah Opera is presenting The Little Prince by Rachel Portman and Nicholas Wright, based on the amazing, world-famous book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. In the press event and discussion we attended, Artistic Director Christopher McBeth shared that Utah Opera has been looking for a family-friendly opera, considering Utah’s strong emphasis on family. The Little Prince rose to the top of the list. UO hired James Lowe to be Conductor, Tara Faircloth as Director, Jacob A. Climer as Set and Costume Designer, enlisted 25 singers from The Madeleine Choir School with Melanie Malinka as Children’s Chorus Director, and it will accompanied by our own Utah Symphony. Utah Opera has created a production dream team (McBeth said it is the “perfect trifecta”)–and all are so enthusiastic about this new project that it just radiated from them.
As I walked onto the set, which is covered with books and pages from books, there was an atmosphere of total excitement. It is lovely, and when I said, “I feel like I’ve walked into a book,” Climer said with obvious delighted pride and with joy, “Perfect! Done! We can all go to an early lunch.”
Conductor Lowe has done the piece several times, and his first reaction about being able to have a completely new vision was very invigorating. And fun fact–The Little Prince in Utah has the largest symphony ever accompanying the piece, with an expanded string section. And he raved (as all those at the event did) about the Children’s Chorus. He said they were hands down the best that’s ever been with this opera. The music by Portman (who is from England and is most popular for her film scores) lends itself so well as Britain has such a tradition of choral music, especially boys’ choirs. Fun fact two: the Children’s Chorus in The Little Prince has the biggest part of any opera–they’re onstage a lot. It’s a huge amount of music for the kids to sing. They are part of the show. The Chorus is the next biggest role, after Little Prince and the Pilot.
Since its first production of The Little Prince in Houston in 2003, there have been many revisions and cuts, even cutting out characters. The result is this production now has been honed to perfection.
Craig asked how can you take The Little Prince from page to stage? de Saint-Exupéry’s nephew was very involved he was very specific that it follows the book. Even when there are flashbacks to Little Prince’s planet, this is how the story is told in the opera, as well. It was a real process, from the beginning, with lots of feedback and work with Portman.
The costumes are exquisite. Nitai “Ty” Fluchel, who plays Little Prince, looks adorable. Costume Designer Climer wanted this piece to be very approachable and you can see this in his work. His costume for the Fox, played by Melanie Ashkar, is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. See videos of Fluchel and of Ashkar.
One of the things the production staff all agreed on is that this will be a show that families will love. (And they may even want to do this show regularly.) The adults will see the depth of the piece, its beauty, simplicity, and deeper messages of the book. But there is so much to see and hear and kids love seeing other children onstage. And Utah Opera is giving families an excellent pricing option to see this. On Monday, Jan 21 and Wednesday, January 23, the show is at 7:00 PM and the price can’t be beat. A family of four–2 adult, 2 children for $30.00, and discounted tickets for more children, if needed.
Director Faircloth says that The Little Prince is a philosophical treatise, but takes it with the most beautiful spoon of sugar. In chatting with her, I asked her if she liked working with that many children, and she lit up and said, “I love working with children. I’m lovingly firm.”
The recommendation for age of patrons: if you can sit in a theater for two hours (and there is an intermission) then you’re old enough to see this. Another thing that is great is this is a shorter opera, it’s in English, and there are supertitles in English.
There is fantasy and magic and wonder in this opera. I’ve said it in several of my reviews about opera, come and experience it. You don’t need to be an opera expert or even particularly knowledgeable about music. Opera is for everyone. If you’ve never been to the opera or you see them all the time, this is an experience you don’t want to miss. And you don’t need to be familiar with the book, either. As Ashkar, who plays the Fox says, it’s all played out here onstage. And what an amazing production it will be. Utah Opera’s production of The Little Prince will delight you.
“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.”
― The Little Prince
The Utah Opera presents The Little Prince, by Rachel Portman and Nicholas Wright
Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre, 50 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Jan 19, 25 7:30 PM, Jan 21, 23 7:00 PM, Jan 27 2:00 PM
Tickets
Contact: 801-533-NOTE (801-533-6683)
Utah Opera Facebook Page
Utah Symphony Facebook Page
The Little Prince Facebook Event
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