"some sort of masterpiece” – New York Times
Opera Holland Park stages the UK premiere of Little Women by Mark Adamo on July 22, that has become a modern classic in the USA with over 70 performances to date.
Adamo has adapted Louisa May Alcott’s evergreen coming-of-age novel, set around the time of the Civil War. Independent and ambitious Jo, her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy, their devoted mother, boy-next-door Laurie and studious Friedrich Bhaer are brought to life in music of open-hearted immediacy.
Premiered in 1998 and based on Louisa May Alcott's novel, Adamo's "essential" opera (his first) is embraced by opera producers of all levels: professional, young artist, and student. The appeal to performers and audiences alike is often attributed to Adamo's skillful and brilliant distillation of the novel into a two-hour opera in which "its mastery is pervasive and its sophistication unobtrusive" and "the moment is always well served" (Pittsburgh Tribune).
