I'd earlier thought about the Lerner & Loewe Little Prince for television, which got me curious about a newer musical version of the story with music by Rachel Portman. This version is much more operatic and stars New Zealand opera baritone/hunk Teddy Tahu Rhodes (seen right, in the opera Dead Man Walking) as the Aviator with a cast of British opera singers and a children's chorus.
If this version has much of a life in the opera house, I would be surprised. At least this production is clearly designed for television and the editing it allows. Well, in reading more about the opera, I discover that it has had quite a life on-stage--this television version being an adaptation of the work that premiered with Houston Grand Opera in 2003. I find the whole thing rather static though--both visually and musically--which makes me wonder if this is really an opera to bring children to. It's full-length, roughly two hours, with an intermission. I didn't sit still for much of the production on video tape! If there are leit motifs, I couldn't discern them or any real musical structure. While the music is tonal and at times very pretty. I didn't find a whole lot to keep me musically interested. It seemed atmospheric--in keeping with Rachel Portman's experience as a film composer.
Mr. Rhodes is an attractive presence on screen and if his text is not always the most understandable, his singing certainly is better than most. If you're curious about Teddy "Bear" Rhodes, I might suggest a fellow blogger who tracks the careers of many of today's hottest baritones--or barihunks as the terms has been coined for eye-candy who sing. One of Mr. Rhodes signature roles is the convict in the operatic version of Dead Man Walking. So sinister. So hot.
The Little Prince
Music by Rachel Portman
Libretto by Nicholas Wright
Based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Directed for television by Francesca Zambello
Bor BBC in 2006
Cast: Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Joseph McManners, Mairead Carlin, Willard White, Lesley Garrett, Tom Randle, Timothy Robinson, Rchard Coxon, Richard Suart, Aled Jones, Gweneth-Ann Jeffers
If this version has much of a life in the opera house, I would be surprised. At least this production is clearly designed for television and the editing it allows. Well, in reading more about the opera, I discover that it has had quite a life on-stage--this television version being an adaptation of the work that premiered with Houston Grand Opera in 2003. I find the whole thing rather static though--both visually and musically--which makes me wonder if this is really an opera to bring children to. It's full-length, roughly two hours, with an intermission. I didn't sit still for much of the production on video tape! If there are leit motifs, I couldn't discern them or any real musical structure. While the music is tonal and at times very pretty. I didn't find a whole lot to keep me musically interested. It seemed atmospheric--in keeping with Rachel Portman's experience as a film composer.
Mr. Rhodes is an attractive presence on screen and if his text is not always the most understandable, his singing certainly is better than most. If you're curious about Teddy "Bear" Rhodes, I might suggest a fellow blogger who tracks the careers of many of today's hottest baritones--or barihunks as the terms has been coined for eye-candy who sing. One of Mr. Rhodes signature roles is the convict in the operatic version of Dead Man Walking. So sinister. So hot.
The Little Prince
Music by Rachel Portman
Libretto by Nicholas Wright
Based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Directed for television by Francesca Zambello
Bor BBC in 2006
Cast: Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Joseph McManners, Mairead Carlin, Willard White, Lesley Garrett, Tom Randle, Timothy Robinson, Rchard Coxon, Richard Suart, Aled Jones, Gweneth-Ann Jeffers
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