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Omaha Opera Presents Tobias Picker's Fantastic Mr. Fox

Jun. 30, 2025

On June 5-8, Omaha Opera presented Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, an operatic adaptation of the original 1970 children’s novel by British writer Roald Dahl for theatergoers of all ages. Tobias Picker composed the opera, set to a libretto by Donald Sturrock, after being commissioned by the Roald Dahl Foundation, with the premiere taking place nearly thirty years ago on December 9th, 1998, at the Los Angeles Opera House. Omaha Opera's production was directed by Alison Moritz and conducted by Gil Rose whose recording of Fantastic Mr. Fox with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) won the 2020 GRAMMY® for Best Opera Performance.

A modern fable, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a story about good vs. evil, animal vs. human, and nature vs. technology. With the help of the other creatures of the forest, Mr. Fox must outwit his enemies to keep his family safe. Mr. Fox finds that he may have stolen one hen too many from the henhouse, as the meanest farmers anywhere — Boggis, Bunce, and Bean (one fat, one short, one lean) — conspire to rid their lands of the Fox family once and for all. The Foxes are able to evade capture with the help of some woodland friends, leaving the farmers laying in wait while the animals help themselves to the fruit of the farmers’ lands. Having had their revenge, the animals return for a sumptuous feast far from danger in the Foxes‘ new home, while the farmers continue to wait in the rain.


BMOP presents Fantastic Mr. Fox

To learn more about Tobias Picker, please visit schott-music.com.

Tobias Picker
Fantastic Mr. Fox (1998)
opera in three acts (chamber version for 7 players)
libretto by Donald Sturrock
based on the book by Roald Dahl
arranged by Francesco Cilluffo (2010)
German version by Frank Wenzel
Fantastic Mr. Fox · baritone - Mrs. Fox · mezzo-soprano - Bennie, Lennie, Jennie & Pennie Foxcub · children - Farmer Boggis · bass - Farmer Bunce · tenor - Farmer Bean · bass-baritone - Mavis the Tractor · soprano - Agnes the Digger · mezzo-soprano - Miss Hedgehog · soprano - Badger the Miner · baritone - Burrowing Mole · tenor - Rita the Rat · mezzo-soprano - Porcupine · tenor - Chorus of Trees · Children - Various Geese and Chickens
0.0.1(bcl).1-0.0.0.0-perc(b.d, tempbl,cym, s.d, gong, tom-t, xyl, ratchet)-pno-vn.va.vc
80'

Fantastic Mr. Fox is also available in versions for full orchestra and chamber orchestra

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