Film music, especially modern film music, tends to rely on convention and cliche. It also tends to go for broad strokes rather than subtle details. It is in these ways that Rachel Portman’s background as a film composer come to light. There are broadly two moods: sentimental, and silly. Portman turns the existential text of “The Little Prince” into simply sentimental. For me there was an almost cringe worthy moment in the first act when the pilot and the little prince are looking at the sunset when Portman resorts to the tried and true mediant relationship (I to III in this case). This particular chord progression was used by romantic composers like Liszt and Dvorak sparingly in the context of their harmony and always brings a certain sense of longing. Film composers have gleaned on to the trick and use it constantly to evoke these feelings. Edward Scissorhands and Up are the most glaring examples. It pulls on the heart strings every time, but it has lost much of its original effectiveness. It is now cliche. In general I felt that Portman turned to the obvious or cliche and much subtlety was lost.
In a work as long as an opera, key relationships and harmonic variety are vital to keeping the music to the ear and avoiding fatigue. In “The Little Prince” it seemed as though Portman spent a long time on a few keys with little variety. The result is that the flow and structure lacks direction and we are left with a series of moments. As a film composer form and structure are always imposed from the film and so it makes sense that this is one of the weaker aspects of the music. This became an issue at the end of the first act and the end of the piece where Nicholas Wright and Portman tack on big endings where none dramatically or musically made sense.
In many ways, Portman’s film experience is an obvious benefit. While the emotions may be overly simplified emotions, they are very clear and direct, an absolute necessity for children and sometimes a rare occurrence in contemporary music. The orchestration is standard and “filmy” but expertly done. 26 instruments sound like a large orchestra and the voices come through clearly. She also has a knack for writing for the voice. The lines follow the naturally speaking patterns when necessary and the words are extremely clear. Portman’s choice of the children’s chorus was inspired and added a necessary other element to keep things sonically interesting, whimsical, and likely ads interest for children.
The costume design, set design, direction, and singing on “The Little Prince” are all excellent. The costumes managed to translate Saint-Exupery’s drawings into the real world while maintaining a level of abstract and whimsical. The direction and camera work were most pleasing. It fell somewhere between the standard opera DVD and an actual film production. Unlike many opera DVDs the camera position changed and moved and fit the nature of the story as a whole. The singing and acting were clear and emotional. Joseph MacManners was particularly impressive given his age, even if the acting was a bit stilted on occasion. It was great to see the wonderful Willard White as the king and tenor Teddy Tahu Rhodes did an excellent job as the pilot and more than anyone else he took me along the journey.
In the end the music for “The Little Prince” occupies a world in between romantic opera and modern. Like much film music it has neither the tunefulness of romantic opera, or the daring colours and extreme expression of modern. The result is pleasant to listen to, and emotional, but not on the whole a deeply moving or challenging experience.