Deft ‘Prince’ opera turns into perfect little treat
Every year around this time, many parents take the occasion to inculcate their children into the traditional cultural pleasures of the season — “The Nutcracker,” “A Christmas Carol” and so on — with opera generally getting left out in the cold.
Happily, that seems to be changing.
“The Little Prince,” composer Rachel Portman’s delightful 2003 opera based on the beloved children’s book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, returned to the stage of the Marines’ Memorial Theatre in San Francisco over the weekend, in a deft little production by Opera Parallèle. This is the company’s second December mounting of the opera, and if this isn’t shaping up to become an annual holiday ritual, I for one will be surprised and disappointed.
“The Little Prince” could not be more ideally designed to introduce the younger set to the joys of opera. It’s got a colorful little plot, drawn from a storybook that can (and frankly should) be read to kids in advance.
It’s got a simple, tuneful score that divides its time between funny, bumptious music-hall episodes and melodies of rich emotional sweep. Nicholas Wright’s libretto proceeds in crisp rhyming couplets that are
both substantial and easy to follow.
And no, the piece has no holiday content of any kind. But so what? Neither does Handel’s “Messiah.”
This isn’t just a jaded grown-up talking, either ( jaded grown-ups being the chief villains of Saint-Exupéry’s fable). The audience for the matinee performance on Saturday, Dec. 8 — the second in the company’s four-performance run — was populated almost entirely by children and their various handlers, and they sat raptly through the entire show (two hours with an intermission). They laughed at the jokes, thrilled to the adventures of the characters, and created far less ambient noise than most adult audiences with whom I’ve sat through performances of “Tosca.”
It probably helps that the Opera Parallèle production is so intimate in scale. In place of an orchestra, conductor Nicole Paiement led an accompanimental ensemble of just piano (Keisuke Nakagoshi) and percussion ( Joel Davel). Director Brian Staufenbiel staged the action in clear, bold terms, with a design that combined bright colors, illustrations, video projections and more.
None of it would matter, though, if the performances hadn’t been so skilled from top to bottom. Erin Enriquez, amplified for clarity and singing perfectly in tune, gave a gorgeous, affecting performance in the title role; she shares the role with Sophia Stolte, and their fellow members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus appeared as ensembles of stars and cranes.
Mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti delivered a vocally robust and emotionally fearless performance as the Aviator, the analog for Saint-Exupéry’s unnamed autobiographical narrator. Sharing the stage with a talented youngster is no artist’s idea of fun, but she made it look easy.
The Prince’s adventures include a whirlwind trans-cosmic tour from his little asteroid to the sands of the Sahara, and the people he meets on the way were vividly embodied by, among others, J. Raymond Meyers (as the Vain Man, here an Elvis impersonator), Christabel Nunoo (the Snake), Philip Skinner (the King) and Samuel Faustine (the Drunkard).
“The Little Prince” winds up with some squishy moralizing that doesn’t bear close inspection, but clever children will be able to see through that in an instant. The piece’s vivacity and charm outweigh any worrisome moments and make this an ideal entertainment for children of any age.
Watch for it again in another year.