Rachel Portman

The Little Prince

The score calls for a boy Soprano for the role of the Prince, a baritone for the Pilot, eight other solo roles and a Chorus of twenty children to sing the parts of stars and birds. It is scored for Orchestra plus harp and celesta. The libretto has been sensitively adapted by Olivier Award winning playwright Nicholas Wright, among whose works are Vincent in Brixton and The Custom of the Country. Of The Little Prince, The New York Times's critic Bernard Holland said, 'Ms Portman's work lifts words in the air and carries them along, ' a most appropriate accolade for this work.

Simple but profound, the story of The Little Prince and the philosophical lessons for adults is loved the world over. In 2003 Rachel Portman, composer of music for nearly one hundred films and television shows and an Oscar-winner - in fact, the first female composer ever to win Best Musical or Comedy Score, for Emma, in 1996 - premiered her adaptation of this charming, timeless tale to uniformly positive reviews. It was later adapted for television and can be found on DVD.