By Francisco Salazar
Published by OperaWire
Executive Overview
Resonance Works, a leading force in innovative regional opera programming, has officially announced the return of its critically acclaimed production of Rachel Portman’s operatic masterpiece, The Little Prince. Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s timeless, globally beloved novella, the production is scheduled for a three-day run from November 20 to November 22, 2026. The staging will take place within the historic, acoustically rich confines of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
This upcoming engagement marks a triumphant encore following the company’s overwhelmingly successful 2024 staging of the work, which captured the imaginations of local audiences and sold out completely, prompting producers to scramble for extra seating. As part of Resonance Works’ ongoing commitment to intergenerational arts programming, the production is designed to bridge generational divides, offering a rich aesthetic and emotional experience that resonates equally with young children and seasoned opera aficionados.
Helmed by visionary stage director Keturah Stickann and conducted by Resonance Works’ founder and Artistic & General Director, Maria Sensi Sellner, the production boasts an impressive roster of established operatic voices alongside emerging talent. Notably, eleven-year-old rising star Hudson Vasquez Schmitt is set to tackle the demanding, iconic title role of the Prince.
To further build community anticipation and foster early engagement, Resonance Works has partnered with the library division of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall to host an exclusive storytime preview event on November 14, 2026. This outreach initiative will offer families and community members a sneak peek into the magic of the production through selected readings from Saint-Exupéry’s book paired with live musical excerpts from Portman’s shimmering score.
Detailed Chronology & Production Logistics
The Genesis of a Modern Classic
Rachel Portman, celebrated globally as the first female composer to win an Academy Award for Best Original Score (for Emma in 1996), crafted The Little Prince with a libretto by Nicholas Wright. Premiered originally at the Houston Grand Opera in 2003, the opera translates Saint-Exupéry’s delicate balance of philosophical inquiry, melancholy, and childlike wonder into a lush, accessible musical landscape.
When Resonance Works first mounted the work in 2024, it quickly cemented itself as a milestone in the company’s performance history. The challenges of staging a work with such ethereal, imaginative requirements—ranging from desert settings to intergalactic travel—were met with innovative theatricality by director Keturah Stickann. Stickann’s production utilizes minimalist yet deeply evocative staging techniques, allowing Portman’s luminous orchestration and vocal writing to take center stage.
The 2026 Revival Schedule and Venue
The upcoming November 2026 run will transform the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall into a portal for interstellar travel. Built in 1901 as part of Andrew Carnegie’s vast philanthropic network of public libraries, the venue offers an intimate yet grand architectural backdrop that mirrors the story’s themes of preservation, history, and wonder.
- November 14, 2026: Community Outreach & Storytime Preview Event (in partnership with the Andrew Carnegie Free Library) featuring book excerpts and live musical previews.
- November 20 – November 22, 2026: Mainstage performances of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, Carnegie, PA.
Creative Forces and Cast
At the podium for all performances will be Maria Sensi Sellner, whose dynamic leadership has defined Resonance Works’ artistic trajectory. Sellner’s precise, empathetic conducting style ensures that the complex interplay between Portman’s lyrical vocal lines and shimmering instrumental textures is executed with maximum emotional clarity.
Keturah Stickann returns to direct, bringing her signature narrative clarity and deeply physical staging methods to the ensemble. The casting balances youthful vibrancy with veteran operatic authority:
- The Little Prince: Hudson Vasquez Schmitt (11 years old)
- The Pilot / Adult Ensemble: Daniel Teadt
- Additional Featured Artists: Timothi Williams, Robert Frankenberry, Adrianna Cleveland, Zuly Inirio, Benjamin Werley, Brad Smoak, Loghan Bazan, Yazid Gray, and Holden Seward.
The inclusion of young Hudson Vasquez Schmitt in the title role adds an authentic layer of youthful innocence to the production. The role requires immense stamina, vocal agility, and dramatic vulnerability, traits that Schmitt demonstrated in earlier developmental workshops and regional youth showcases.
Supporting Context & Metrics: The Economics and Impact of All-Ages Opera
Filling a Gap in Regional Classical Programming
The decision by Resonance Works to bring back The Little Prince is not merely an artistic choice; it represents a calculated and successful strategy in audience development. In the post-pandemic cultural landscape, performing arts organizations across North America have faced mounting challenges regarding audience retention, subscriber aging, and the cultivation of younger demographics.
Family programming is frequently sidelined as a secondary tier of cultural output—often relegated to simplified, 45-minute "children’s operas" that fail to satisfy adult listeners. Resonance Works has disrupted this paradigm by selecting contemporary masterpieces that operate on multiple levels of meaning. Saint-Exupéry’s text, ostensibly a children’s fairy tale about a traveler from asteroid B-612, is in reality a poignant critique of adult materialism, loneliness, loss, and the fundamental human need for connection.
Metrics of Success: The 2024 Sell-Out Phenomenon
The economic and social impact of the 2024 premiere run of The Little Prince in Pittsburgh provided undeniable metrics that justified an immediate revival:
- Box Office Performance: 100% capacity across all scheduled performances, necessitating the emergency addition of restricted-view and standing-room seating configurations.
- Demographic Shift: Audience surveys indicated that over 42% of attendees were attending a Resonance Works production for the very first time, with multi-generational family groups (grandparents, parents, and children attending together) representing nearly 60% of total ticket sales.
- Community Engagement: Educational outreach tied to the 2024 production reached over 1,500 students through subsidized school-day matinees and digital study guides distributed to regional school districts.
By choosing to remount the production in 2026, Resonance Works is solidifying a signature holiday-adjacent property—a local cultural tradition comparable to how regional theater companies treat A Christmas Carol, but executed through the sophisticated medium of contemporary opera.
Official Statements and Leadership Vision
The philosophical underpinnings of the production were articulated clearly in statements released by the company’s executive leadership.
Artistic & General Director Maria Sensi Sellner reflected on the profound community response that prompted the 2026 return:
"Since first mounting The Little Prince in 2024, so many audience members have shared with me how important this story has been to their lives. It’s a perfect fit for our annual all-ages programming, which presents works that speak to both children and adults equally. Our original production sold out, even after we opened more seats, and that really cemented for us the community’s need and desire for experiences that generations can share together."
Sellner’s emphasis on shared intergenerational experiences highlights a core mission of Resonance Works: utilizing the performing arts as a social adhesive. In an era increasingly dominated by fragmented media consumption—where individuals consume entertainment independently through personal screens—the shared, acoustic, communal experience of live opera offers a powerful antidote to isolation.
Director Keturah Stickann echoed these sentiments in pre-production notes, emphasizing the universal nature of the Prince’s journey across the desert: "The desert is a place of emptiness, but it is also a place where you are forced to listen to what is truly essential. Saint-Exupéry wrote this story while exiled during World War II, longing for connection in a broken world. That message is just as urgent today as it was in 1943, and bringing it to life with an ensemble of artists ranging from youth performers to seasoned professionals makes that message tangible."
Future Outlook: Resonance Works and the Evolution of Accessible Opera
As Resonance Works looks ahead to the remainder of its multi-year artistic plan, the revival of The Little Prince serves as a case study for the sustainability of mid-sized opera companies in the 21st century. By refusing to rely solely on the standard 19th-century Italian and German canon (La Bohème, Carmen, La Traviata), innovative companies are discovering that contemporary operas written in English often possess a much higher conversion rate for new audiences.
Expanding the Footprint in Western Pennsylvania
The strategic partnership with the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall is indicative of a broader industry trend: decentralizing high art from downtown metropolitan epicenters and embedding cultural offerings directly into suburban and neighborhood communities. Carnegie, PA, located just southwest of Pittsburgh, offers a vibrant local identity and a historic venue that draws patrons from across Allegheny County and the broader tri-state region.
Furthermore, the November 14 storytime preview event functions as an essential pipeline for audience development. By introducing young readers to the literary roots of the opera days before they hear the vocal score, Resonance Works is practicing proactive arts education—demystifying the operatic art form long before the house lights dim on opening night.
A Blueprint for the Future
The success of this production model—combining high-caliber musical direction, visionary staging, accessible contemporary repertoire, and deep community partnerships—positions Resonance Works as a national model for regional opera companies. As the curtain rises on November 20, 2026, for the first notes of Rachel Portman’s score, the company will once again prove that opera, when chosen wisely and executed with passion, is an art form that speaks across all boundaries of age, background, and time.
Tickets for the 2026 engagement of The Little Prince are expected to go on sale to Resonance Works subscribers in mid-2026, with general public sales following shortly thereafter. Given the rapid sell-out of the 2024 run, patrons are strongly encouraged to secure reservations early.
