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| CD Review: The Little Prince Opera |
| Posted By: Cary Wong on October 30, 2005 - 10:00 PM |
CD Review: The Little Prince Opera
The Little Prince (Opera) *** 1/2
RACHEL PORTMAN AND NICHOLAS WRIGHT
Sony Classical 5187492
Disc One: 15 tracks - 55:12 Disc Two: 14 tracks -
45:17
DVD: Sony Classical SVD 58846
Oscar-winner Rachel Portman takes a break from film music and tries her
hand at opera. The changeover is not as daunting as you might imagine,
since this particular opera is based on the popular children's book, Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry. The classic novel concerns a little prince who
wanders the planets looking for friends, and meets an unfortunate
aviator who has landed in the Sahara Desert. The prince tells stories
of his many adventures, sort of a Canterbury
Tales for the "les enfants explorateurs" set. Portman's
wonderfully inventive score is the opera's big asset. From the mournful
violin and flute introduction in the opening number, "The Pilot," to
the joyous finale, Portman's music is accessible to younger listeners,
but will capture adults as well.
Sony Classical has released both the full DVD and CD of the BBC-TV
version that aired on PBS's Great
Performances earlier this year. The production, directed by
Francesca Zambello, with set and costumes by the late Maria
Bjørnson, is based on their work with the Houston Grand Opera's
World Premiere in 2003, which has since been seen in Milwaukee Skylight
Opera and Boston Lyric Opera. The opera will have its New York premiere
at the New York City Opera in November 2005 with Joseph McManners of
the BBC production to reprise his role for his stage debut as The
Little Prince.
While the score is immensely moving and simple, the production and
lyrics (by playwright Nicholas Wright) are too busy for my tastes.
While the inspiration for the look of the opera is based on de
Saint-Exupéry's illustrations for the book, the staging, at
least for the TV version, is awfully precious at some moments and
overtly theatrical at others. Both the book and the opera focus too
much on the pilot at the beginning, which, except for the cool flying
effects, will have young attention spans wandering. Only when the
prince has his many adventures does the opera truly engage. The last
cravat is the lack of humor to Wright's mostly dry libretto. Because of
this British version of childhood (where's the Harry Potter magic when we need
it?), Zambello felts the impulse to "cute" the production up needlessly.
Still, the BBC production does inspire wonder and highlights Portman's
most successful vignettes. The pilot's (Teddy Tahu Rhodes) opening
number includes the most elegant of Portman's score, which takes off in
a stirring moment of flight. McManners' performance as The Little
Prince is competent. Hesitant in spots, McManners will only grow into
the part when he makes it to New York. Of course, the Rose (Mairead
Carlin) is important in the story, and Portman's music for her is both
playful and mournful. "Magical" is the only word to describe the Act
One finale of Lamplighters. But the highlight is British soprano Leslie
Garrett's "The Fox," in the second act. Her performance, along with
Portman's music, in this section melted all adult reservations out of
my body, and touched the inner-child wonder in me.
Opera, with its elongation of words, may confuse the younger listeners
at first; even I wished there was subtitles on the DVD, but the CD has
the full libretto. The CD can be enjoyed on its own (especially if you
have knowledge of the book), but for those new to The Little Prince, I recommend a
viewing of the DVD or a live production to get the full effect of this
lovely evocation of childhood and innocence. --
Cary Wong
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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Today in Film Score History:
April 26 |
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| Alan Parker begins recording his score for Jaws 3D (1983) |
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| Barry Gray died (1984) |
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| Bronislau Kaper died (1983) |
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| Bruce Broughton begins recording his score The Blue and the Gray (1982) |
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| Carmine Coppola died (1991) |
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| Dave Grusin begins recording his score for The Firm (1993) |
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| David Bell records his score for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Tracking Into the Wind” (1999) |
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| Francis Lai born (1932) |
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| Giorgio Moroder born (1940) |
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| Jerry Fielding begins recording his score for Gray Lady Down (1977) |
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| John M. Keane born (1965) |
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| Maurice Jarre begins recording his score for Distant Thunder (1988) |
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| Miklos Rozsa begins recording his score for Green Fire (1954) |
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| Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter record their score for Kronos (1957) |
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| Reinhardt Wagner born (1956) |
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