Operas for children
Other operas specifically written with children in mind:
Pollicino (Tom Thumb) - Hans Werner Henze
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Noye's Fludde - Benjamin Britten
L'enfant et les sortilèges (The child and the spells) - Maurice Ravel
The Cunning Little Vixen (Príhody Lišky Bystroušky) - Leoš Janáček
Information about the opera The Cunning Little Vixen by Leoš Janáček, and the best recordings available on CD or DVD, or for download.
Inspired by a newspaper cartoon strip 'Bystrouška' (Vixen) in a popular Brno newspaper in the 1920s.
Recommended recordings on CD
Mackerras/Popp/Jedlicka (Decca 417 129-2)
Excellent singing and superb recorded sound, and winner of a 1983 Gramophone award.
Vienna State Opera Chorus, Bratislava Children's Choir, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, 1981.
Cast: Lucia Popp (Vixen), Dalibor Jedlicka (Forester), Eva Randová (Fox), Eva Zikmundová (Forester's wife).
Decca 417 129-2
Recommended recordings on DVD
Jurowski/Crowe/Leiferkus (Opus Arte OA 1101 D)
Recorded at Glyndebourne in 2012, a magical production that successfully contrasts the animal and human worlds. Lucy Crowe is outstanding in the title role, and the orchestra and filming are excellent.
Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, 2012.
Cast: Lucy Crowe (Vixen), Sergei Leiferkus (Forester), Emma Bell (Fox), Jean Rigby (Forester's wife).
Opus Arte OA 1101 D
Nagano (Opus Arte OA 0871 D)
A cartoon version by innovative animator Geoff Dunbar.
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, European Opera Centre, conducted by Kent Nagano.
Opus Arte OA 0871 D