Fantastic Mr. Fox (opera)
Encyclopedia
Fantastic Mr. Fox is an opera in three acts composed by Tobias Picker
to a libretto
by Donald Sturrock based on Roald Dahl
's children's novel Fantastic Mr Fox. It was premiered by Los Angeles Opera
at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
on December 9, 1998.
, Fantastic Mr Fox was commissioned for the Roald Dahl Foundation. It received its world premiere performance by Los Angeles Opera
on December 9, 1998. Stephen Barlow
staged a new version of the work commissioned by Opera Holland Park
especially designed to be performed promenade style
in the gardens of Holland Park
in the Summer of 2010. This version, in an abridged form for seven instruments, starred Grant Doyle as Mr. Fox, Olivia Ray as Mrs. Fox, Jaimee Marshall as Miss Hedgehog, Henry Grant Kerswell, Peter Kent and John Lofthouse as Farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. A full-length orchestral version was toured by English Touring Opera
in 2011.. The world premiere of a full-length seven instrument chamber version was produced in September 2011 by The Microscopic Opera Company of Pittsburgh, PA and starred Daniel Teadt as Mr. Fox, Katherine Brandt as Mrs. Fox, Leah Dyer as Miss Hedgehog, Sean Donaldson, Jeffrey Gross, Sean Lenhart as Farmers Boggis, Bunce & Bean.
Tobias Picker
Tobias Picker is an American composer. Picker began composing at the age of eight and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Princeton University, where his principal teachers were Charles Wuorinen, Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt...
to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Donald Sturrock based on Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
's children's novel Fantastic Mr Fox. It was premiered by Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center . The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.The Pavilion has 3,197 seats spread over four tiers, with chandeliers, wide curving stairways and rich décor...
on December 9, 1998.
Performance history
Picker's second opera, after his 1996 EmmelineEmmeline (opera)
Emmeline is an opera in two acts composed by Tobias Picker with a libretto by JD McClatchy. Picker's first opera, it was commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera company and premiered in 1996...
, Fantastic Mr Fox was commissioned for the Roald Dahl Foundation. It received its world premiere performance by Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
on December 9, 1998. Stephen Barlow
Stephen Barlow (director)
Stephen Barlow is an Australian born , London based opera director. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and the University of Melbourne...
staged a new version of the work commissioned by Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park
Opera Holland Park is a summer opera company which produces an annual season of opera performances staged under a temporary canopy in Holland Park, a public park in a wealthy district of west central London of the same name. The venue is fully covered but is open at the sides.The canopy was...
especially designed to be performed promenade style
Promenade concert
See The PromsAlthough the term Promenade Concert is normally associated today with the series of concerts founded in 1895 by Robert Newman and the conductor Henry Wood – a festival known today as the BBC Proms – the term originally referred to concerts in the pleasure gardens of London where the...
in the gardens of Holland Park
Holland Park
Holland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
in the Summer of 2010. This version, in an abridged form for seven instruments, starred Grant Doyle as Mr. Fox, Olivia Ray as Mrs. Fox, Jaimee Marshall as Miss Hedgehog, Henry Grant Kerswell, Peter Kent and John Lofthouse as Farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. A full-length orchestral version was toured by English Touring Opera
English Touring Opera
English Touring Opera is an opera company in the United Kingdom. From 1979 to 1992 it was known as Opera 80.- About the company :Opera 80 was founded in 1979 by the Arts Council of Great Britain as the successor to Opera For All; in 1992 the company changed its name to English Touring Opera...
in 2011.. The world premiere of a full-length seven instrument chamber version was produced in September 2011 by The Microscopic Opera Company of Pittsburgh, PA and starred Daniel Teadt as Mr. Fox, Katherine Brandt as Mrs. Fox, Leah Dyer as Miss Hedgehog, Sean Donaldson, Jeffrey Gross, Sean Lenhart as Farmers Boggis, Bunce & Bean.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, December 9, 1998 (Conductor: Peter Ash) |
|---|---|---|
| Mrs. Fox | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán (born in East Los Angeles, California is an American mezzo-soprano. Ms. Guzmán has sung in major operas such as La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, La Favorite in Montpelier, France, and Goya at the Spoleto Festival in Italy... |
| Bennie Foxcub | Child | Jason Housman |
| Lennie Foxcub | Child | Theo Lebow |
| Jennie Foxcub | Child | Lauren Libaw |
| Pennie Foxcub | Child | Amy Recinos |
| Farmer Boggis | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Louis Lebherz |
| Farmer Bunce | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Doug Jones |
| Farmer Bean | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Jamie Offenbach |
| Fantastic Mr. Fox | baritone | Gerald Finley Gerald Finley -Career:He was born in Montreal and received his musical education in St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Ottawa, the University of Ottawa, King's College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music in London, England... |
| Agnes the Digger | mezzo-soprano | Jill Grove |
| Mavis the Tractor | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Lesley Leighton |
| Miss Hedgehog | soprano | Sari Gruber |
| Badger the Miner | baritone | Malcolm MacKenzie |
| Burrowing Mole | tenor | Jorge Garza |
| Rita the Rat | mezzo-soprano | Josepha Gayer |
| Porcupine | tenor | Charles Castronovo Charles Castronovo Charles Castronovo , is an American tenor. He is currently in demand internationally as an opera singer. Castronovo was born to a Sicilian father and an Ecuadorian mother in Queens, New York but grew up in Southern California. He attended California State University, Fullerton for undergraduate... |
Sources
- Battle, Laura (March 4 2011). "Foxy business on the road". Financial TimesFinancial TimesThe Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
- Rich, Alan (11 December 1998). "Fantastic Mr. Fox", VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
- Schott MusicSchott MusicSchott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe and is currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
, Fantastic Mr. Fox