The Little Prince

About

This first opera by Rostov-based composer Leonid Klinichev was written especially for young audiences, on a commission from Larisa Gergieva and the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers. Long inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s tale, Klinichev accepted the commission in December 2015 and completed the score by January 2016. Madina Klinicheva shaped the libretto into poetic verse, highlighting the story’s most vivid figures—the capricious Rose, the wise Fox, the power-loving King, the crafty Snake, and the solitary Lamplighter. The production seeks to express the tale’s universal ideas in clear language accessible to children, while offering deeper layers for adults, encapsulated by the line: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”