Front Row Reviewers: Utah Opera’s The Little Prince is Filled with Wonder and Delight

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.”

Continue at frontrowreviewersutah.com