The Glimmerglass Festival To Present Family Opera THE LITTLE PRINCE

The Glimmerglass Festival will present Rachel Portman's opera, The Little Prince, on December 19 and 20 at 7 p.m. in the Cooperstown High School auditorium.

Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic illustrated storybook, The Little Prince follows the journey of a pair of unlikely friends: a Pilot whose plane has gone down in the Sahara Desert and a magical young prince who, until now, has made his home on a nearby planet. Through their sharing of stories, the audience encounters a wise fox, a delusional king and a wealthy businessman, among other characters. Through their adventures, the pair learns to view the world anew through each other's eyes.

Performed with piano accompaniment, the semi-staged production of The Little Prince will feature colorful costumes and props by Maria Bjornson from the acclaimed production at Washington National Opera. The show will be directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by James Lowe; performers include members of the Glimmerglass Festival Youth Chorus, as well as Glimmerglass Festival artists ChristIan Bowers, Allegra De Vita, Raquel González and Lisa Williamson, who have all previously performed with The Glimmerglass Festival Young Artists Program.

The Little Prince was originally commissioned by Houston Grand Opera and received its world premiere in 2003; the production runs approximately two hours, including an intermission.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for youths 12 and younger and may be purchased at www.glimmerglass.org. For more information call the Glimmerglass Festival Box Office at (607) 547-2255. For youths interested in participating in the youth chorus for this production, please e-mail auditions@glimmerglass.org.

The Festival's holiday performances of The Little Prince are made possible by generous support from Wendy Curtis, and Robert Nelson and Van Ramsey.