Dear Friends:

Next week is a very big week at Cal Performances as we both welcome San Francisco Opera and The Little Prince to Zellerbach Hall and announce our highly anticipated 2008/09 Season!

The Little Prince comes to Zellerbach Hall, May 2–9
One of my goals as Director of Cal Performances has been to foster meaningful collaborations both on campus and in the larger artistic community. I was very pleased therefore to find a willing and enthusiastic partner in San Francisco Opera's General Director David Gockley, who shares my vision that a close collaboration between our two organizations can greatly benefit us both, as well as the community. While our first official project together was the high-definition simulcast of Don Giovanni in Zellerbach Hall last June, it is really our joint presentation next week of the West Coast premiere of The Little Prince that marks the first major step in what I hope will be a long and fruitful alliance. This production in particular was an ideal starting point for our partnership in that it is both perfectly suited for the Zellerbach Hall stage and more importantly, speaks to a primary goal for both organizations: the desire to introduce new audiences to the exciting world of opera and the performing arts.

This family friendly opera first premiered at Houston Grand Opera when Gockley was General Director there, and has been seen in two different productions at the New York City Opera since then. Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic work of fiction published more than six decades ago, The Little Prince tells the tale of a pilot who crash-lands in the desert and meets an open-hearted boy from another planet. Directed by Francesca Zambello and set to a score by Academy Award-winning composer Rachel Portman, the production features sets and costumes by designer Maria Bjørnson that were inspired by drawings by Saint-Exupéry himself that appeared in the original publication. The role of the Pilot is sung by Romanian baritone and former Adler Fellow Eugene Brancoveanu; the role of the Snake/Vain is sung by tenor Thomas Glenn, who created the role of Robert Wilson in the world premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic at San Francisco Opera in 2005; and two local 12-year-olds will share the role of the Little Prince: Tovi Wayne from Modesto and Tyler Polen from Los Altos.

Best of all, this event is affordably priced so that the entire family can enjoy opera together: children 16 and under are half price for all performances! In addition, Cal Performances and San Francisco Opera will also jointly present an additional free family-friendly event titled "Exploration Workshop: Inside The Little Prince," Sunday, May 4 at 11 am at UC Berkeley Alumni House, led by Caroline Altman, Director of Education at San Francisco Opera Guild. And ticket holders for the Friday, May 2 performance are invited to join us for a free pre-performance Sightlines discussion with director Francesca Zambello, 6:30-7 pm in Zellerbach Hall. For more information about The Little Prince and the accompanying workshop and Sightlines discussion, please visit our website.



Our Partnership with San Francisco Opera continues in 2008/09
Cal Performances is looking forward to deepening our relationship with the San Francisco Opera during our upcoming season, including a joint presentation of the West Coast premiere of Three Decembers (Last Acts), a new chamber opera written by Jake Heggie and starring Frederica von Stade, and the co-presentations of opera superstars Angela Gheorghiu and Salvatore Licitra, each in concert with Members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Complete details on all the 60-plus events on our highly anticipated 2008/09 Season, my final as Director of Cal Performances, will be announced next Tuesday, so watch your mail or our website beginning April 30 for more information!

Thank you and I hope to see you all for the West Coast premiere of The Little Prince, Fri – Sun, May 2 – 4, and Fri – Sun, May 9 – 11, in Zellerbach Hall.


Robert Cole
Director, Cal Performances