Cast of The Little Prince. Photo credit: Emily Cooper

I saw the final performance of The Little Prince last night. Written by Rachel Portman, with libretto by Nicholas Wright, I found this opera, based on a favourite children’s book by Antoine Saint-Exupéry and was published in 1943, to be both charming and a bit irritating all at the same time.

Well-orchestrated by conductor Giuseppe Pietraroia, and members of the Victoria Symphony, the opera has its moments, for sure. But the modern music left me wanting something more. The opera premiered at Houston Opera in 2003. I enjoyed the set design, by James Rotondo, and the lighting was effectively done by Sophie Tang. The show is a visual feast, with puppets, including cranes in flight, volcanoes, a lamplighter, a snake, a fox and many other familiar characters from the original book.

I found the character of the Pilot (played by Andrew Love) to be the most effective performance of the night. The Little Prince (played by Callum Spivack) was the weak link for me. The young singer need to be mic’d, which is not ideal, and his voice was not very strong to begin with. A disappointment. That said, I enjoyed the Victoria Children’s Choir (under the direction of David Stratkauskas) and found them to be charming throughout.

Other highlight performances came from Christian Sanders as the Snake/Vain Man, Emma Parkinson as the Fox, Melody Courage as the Rose, Benjamin Butterfield as the aforementioned Lamplighter/Drunkard, Marcus Nance as the Businessman, and Giles Tomkins as the King. All of these supporting singers played their roles very well.

Overall, it was the music that left me wanting more. Of course the music is contemporary, I get that, but it was also not very memorable. There were no melodies that stick in the mind, nor passages that made we want to download this particular opera. I enjoyed the orchestra, who are more than competent, and I’m pleased that Pacific Opera Victoria has found a successor to Timothy Vernon. Giuseppe Pietraroia is a worthy successor to Vernon, and I can see that POV is in good hands under his baton. The costumes, by Judith Bowden, were another visual delight in the show. However, overall, this opera left me wanting more. Closed.