ANNA ZIEMNICKI: "Being in an opera is totally fabulous, and to be in a world premiere is even better! I love doing The Little Prince, because the cast a crew are wonderful. The adults in the cast are really nice to the children's chorus. I'm really glad I got the chance to be in this opera- it's a blast!"

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ELLE VELIE: "The Little Prince is a very important opera. It made me look at life differently. It made me especially realize the importance of friendship. The practices and performances were a wonderful experience"

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EVAN HENKE: I feel honored to have been chosen to participate in the production of "The Little Prince". I particularly enjoyed meeting and making friends with Nate and all the other children in the Opera. The entire cast and staff were wonderful and made me feel that I belonged in their midst. Everyone was perfect for his or her part. It was an experience of a lifetime and one which I will never forget. As a result of my first professional experience in "The Little Prince", I am looking forward to the privilege of auditioning for a part in "The Magic Flute."

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JOAN SCHEIRMAN: Being in THE LITTLE PRINCE is a lot of fun for me. I enjoy it very much. It's really great to see the final product of all that rehersing that we did. It was hard work, but it was worth it! I've met a lotof new friends, and had the time of my life doing this opera. I'll remember it for the rest of my life.

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JOHN PRESTON: "All of us in the Children’s Chorus have become very good friends. Each person has a good sense of humor, and we have formed many inside jokes. Zach, a.k.a. Mr. Random, jokes around a lot, but more often than not, his jokes crash and burn (sorry for being blunt). He recovers quickly and easily with one simple phrase: "jus’ playin’." Now, everyone uses this phrase jokingly against Zach. People go out of their way to use the "phrase". He and I also had to use some problem-solving techniques during the third show. We are supposed to open a window, but there was no handle to open it with. We had to (very quietly) call down to the crew that we did not have a handle. Unfortunately, the crew member misunderstood what we were saying, so he closed another door. This took some time, but finally we communicated with him and received a handle for our door. By the time the handle had arrived, we were already late for our entrance. We tried cramming into the window next to us, but we were unsuccessful. We had no idea what else to do, so we just opened the window and started singing. This was probably not the best solution, but we didn’t think of anything else on the spot. Because this opera was created from a book, most of the Chorus members bought the book to have everyone sign. To me, signing a book is very awkward because they will have the book to look at for a very long time. I take the safe route and write "It was fun." Then I sign my name. For some reason, everyone seems to think that it’s funny. I don’t understand their reasoning, and they will still not stop giving me grief about it. There are plenty more inside jokes that I could talk about, but I feel that I am rambling on about nothing (and that I am way beyond my word limit), so this is the end. It was fun."

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KATHLEEN MCCLURE: "The principals in our cast are absolutely fabulous people. They don't act like grown-ups at all. They understand children. They are kind, and never think they are "serious". They understand what this opera is all about. When this opera ends, I'm going to miss them. I'm going to miss their smiles, and their hugs. I'm going to miss the way they understand us. And when this opera ends, I'm not going to miss grown-ups, because I never met any in the cast. They're all really children, they've just grown very tall. I love the Opera. I love seeing all the pretty rose ladies in costume, and I love hearing massive trucks pulling into the loading dock. I love the distant smell of Altoids, Lifesavers, and breath mints in the dressing room. I love all the laughter. I love the thrill you get when you're in the wings before the show, and you hear a theater full of people applauding the conductor. I love the shiver you get up your spine when you walk on stage and see the huge crowd. I love lying down on the the soft, carpeted sand dunes. I love watching DVDs in the boys' dressing room, and I love hearing Mrs. Prescott saying "Five minutes to places please, Five minutes to places!" I love holding hands with my friends and giggling at inside jokes. I love the people,the sights, the sounds, and the whole essence of it. I love all the things going on around me. I love the way everyone is working so hard, just because they love what they do. I love hurrying into the quick change booth and making sure my rose petals are just so. I love getting cues, and I love wearing baobab gloves. I love going through security and signing my name on the "Childrens Chorus" sheet. I love getting sweets and candy form the grown-ups. I love hearing Denni say "Jolly Good!" and grinning her friendly smile at us. I love hugging everyone goodbye at the end of the looooong rehearsal. I love the cold smooth metal of our star torches, and I love the bumpy wood sticks with the cranes on top. I love the blinding lights onstage. I love popping Butter Lovers popcorn in the microwave on the sixth floor during break. And then I love how Chesca laughs when we come back in and hearing her complain "It smells like a movie theater in here!" I love having to change staging over and over again. I love all the love the people working on this opera have for each other. I love everything, anything you could ever imagine, every single thing about the Opera. This was one of the most FANTASTIC experiences of a LIFETIME! It's been breathtaking, every step of the way. Rachel is soooooooooooo talented! I don't think I am the only one who has heard some of the music to this opera and felt like I was going to cry, because it was so beautiful. Some parts, though, wanted to make me laugh. But another part made me throw my arms around the person next to me and give 'em a biiiiiiiiig squeeze! We're all so close. It's like having a whole other set of cousins and sisters and brothers and aunts and uncles. Our cast is just one big, happy family. I love it! ^_^ I remember, once, there was this huge piece of gum on the stick holding up my crane. It was sooo digusting, and now, whenever I go get my props, I check for gum, just in case. You never know. ;) This was so fun!"

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LISA AHMED: "The Little Prince is my very first opera, and my performance debut has been an extremely exciting adventure. I have made so many new friends, who have been just great to work with. We have worked really hard, but it all pays off when we are on the stage and hear the roaring applause of the audience. Not only has The Little Prince been fun, it has also taught me a lot about life: Everyone is special in their own way for who they are, and that death may not be the end but the beginning of something new."

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LIZZY KAUFMAN: "The Little Prince experience was fantastic! I had lots of fun and there were many exciting moments! The funniest place in the opera is definitely when the hunters come out hunting the fox, and Josh sings that really low note saying "fox......"! Every he does that, the Children's Chorus gets the giggles!!! It has been, by far, one of the most thrilling experiences of my Houston Grand Opera career!"

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LUCAS POSTOLOS: "I like working with all the nice people in the opera like Teddy and Nate."
"I really love the sand dunes and looking out the windows of the portals."
"The music... I love it and the cranes."
"watching Cesca, Denni, and Rachel Portman"
"Mrs. Reeves and Kim Prescott ... I love having them as teachers."

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MEREDITH GAMBLE: "Opera is great! Its fun, and it is a fabulous experience. I think everyone would love to see, or be in the opera! The Little Prince is my first opera, and I think it is the best opera ever written!"

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REBECCA MERSINGER: "This production, being the first one I have ever worked on, is such and experience and a thrill. The costumes are wonderfully cool to wear and extremely comfortable. The principals and everyone else for that matter are very nice and sing their parts well. The stagehands are great too. The props are easy to use and wonderfully designed although some of the poor birds have been run in to a few "windows". Everyone has been great, and the opera, in its entirety, is such a wonderful thing, the music, the words, everything, is so wonderful I will not forget this experience for years to come."

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RITA OUTTRIM: "My opera experience was wonderful! Working on a world premiere was such an honor! Just knowing that people had never seen this, and it had never been done before was an awesome feeling. All of the cast memebers were wonderful and are all very nice! As well as the crew! Everyone was so nice! I have had so much fun working on this opera! It will definatly be an experience I will never forget! I feel so lucky to have got the chance to work will all the talented people who have made this opera come to life! It has been awesome!!"

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Scroll down for pictures of the Little Prince Children's Chorus - HGO Production

John Preston as the Prince


G(R-L) Gabi Chennisi, Anne Johnson, Anna Ziemnicki,A

The Roses make their escape after Act II for a costume change

A little chess in between acts
(L-R) Jeffrey Allison, John Preston, Lucas Postolos

Lisa Ahmed before warming up

Gabi Chennisi & Stephanie StylesSte

Gabi Chennisi & Lizzie Kaufman

(L-R) Gabi Chennisi, Jon Kolbet, Nathanial Irvin