The Teatro das Figuras will host the Portuguese premiere of the opera "The Little Prince", by Rachel Portman, a British composer who was "the first woman to win an Oscar for a soundtrack", with the film "Emma" (1996), "and wrote this beautiful opera based on the story by [Antoine de] Saint Exupery", said Jorge Balça, responsible for the dramaturgy and translation, together with Rui Baeta. Jorge Balça told the Lusa agency that this is "a contemporary opera, but with a very accessible musical language", and its creators intend to "reach all audiences", in two performances, performed by a professional cast, which includes the participation of students from four conservatories in the Algarve. "We will be able to reach children, I hope, but we are making a very strong effort to also reach adults and bring back all the memories that each one will have with 'The Little Prince', which is a story that has been with us for so long, in fact it was written in 1943 and is part of the childhood of so many of us", he said. The director highlighted that the show was produced thanks to a "multifaceted effort by several entities", being a "co-production of Fadas e Elfos Associação Cultural and Orquestra do Algarve", with the support of the Directorate-General for the Arts and Égide -- Associação Portuguesa das Artes and the collaboration of ACTA -- A Companhia de Teatro do Algarve. "And we are collaborating with four music conservatories in the region -- Faro, Olhão, Loulé and Academia de Música de Portimão --, we have collaboration with the University of Algarve and the National Reading Plan and the National Arts Plan", he added. Jorge Balça explained that he grew up in the Algarve, in Portimão, and spent half his life in London, but despite continuing to work internationally, "it was extremely important to return" where he began his musical and theatrical studies "to give something back". The show is divided into eight parts and was prepared from scratch with the participation of students and choirs from the region's conservatories in mind, the director also pointed out, adding that the work "is not very long, it is 100 minutes with an interval in the middle", sung and subtitled in Portuguese, and has an "extremely accessible musical language, despite being contemporary music". "This work with the children and very close with the teachers and the people who are giving vocal support to these children, was extremely important to me and to the entire production from the beginning of the project", he assured. Jorge Balça argued that participation in this show gives these students "the opportunity to deal with opera", an art that "is quite global and complete" and that "will require not only musical ability, but also theatrical ability", within a "professional context". "It is important to say that, despite this community work, we are talking about a professional project, with all the values of a professional show, and we will be singing and acting alongside international singers, some of them world-renowned", he stressed, acknowledging that these students may thus have an opportunity that Jorge Balça would have liked to have had when he also began his career in the region. Directed by Jorge Balça and musically directed by Miguel Sepúlveda, the cast of "O Principezinho" includes baritone Rui Baeta, sopranos Sofia Marafona and Mariana Mendes, mezzo-soprano Inês Constantino, tenors Leonel Pinheiro and Paulo Lapa, alongside baritones Eduardo Portugal and José Bonifácio and bass Tiago Mota, who perform alongside Little Princes from the various participating music schools. Tickets are available on the Teatro das Figuras official website.

[News updated at 6:16 pm]

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