PICKER Fantastic Mr Fox (Rose)
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Tobias Picker
Genre:
Opera
Label: BMOP Sound
Magazine Review Date: 11/2019
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 83
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 1065

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Fantastic Mr Fox |
Tobias Picker, Composer
Andrew Craig Brown, Farmer Boggis, Bass-baritone Andrey Nemzer, Agnes the Digger, Countertenor Boston Children's Opera Boston Modern Orchestra Project Edwin Vega, Farmer Bunce, Tenor Elizabeth Futral, Miss Hedgehog, Soprano Gabriel Presser, Farmer Bean, Baritone Gail Novak Mosites, Mavis the Tractor, Soprano Gil Rose, Conductor John Brancy, Mr Fox, Baritone John Dooley, Badger the Miner, Baritone Jonathan Blalock, Burrowing Mole, Tenor Krista River, Mrs Fox, Mezzo soprano Odyssey Opera Theo Lebow, Mr Porcupine, Tenor Tobias Picker, Composer Tynan Davis, Rita the Rat, Mezzo soprano |
Author: Pwyll ap Siôn
Premiered in 1998 and produced on several occasions since then, this recording is set to bring this engaging work to a wider audience. In fact, Picker insists in the booklet notes that Fantastic Mr Fox is not directed at children per se but is in fact a ‘family’ opera: like those animation films by Pixar, it operates on different levels for both children and adults. For the most part Fantastic Mr Fox succeeds.
The story itself, to a libretto by Donald Sturrock, is straightforward enough. Three farmers called Bunce, Boggis and Bean seek revenge on Mr Fox and his family for their constant pillaging of chickens, geese and cider. Gluttony drives Bunce and Boggis to hunt down Mr Fox while greed motivates Bean. Thwarted and frustrated by the clever fox’s tactics, Bean hires Agnes the Digger to root him out. While Agnes and Bean’s rapacious quest to hunt down Mr Fox only serves to pillage the countryside itself, Mr Fox et al take cover in a nearby forest before joining forces with other creaturely friends to enact their own sweet revenge on the three villainous miscreants.
It’s a story that operates on several levels. The animals display ‘human’ traits – love, care, compassion and consideration for one another – while the humans come across as being either plain stupid or cold and calculating. Picker’s colourful, direct neo tonal style works well in this respect. Themes are adapted to support the narrative rather than serving to illustrate character types. Perhaps inevitably, Picker’s melodic lines at times evoke Peter and the Wolf, although Stravinsky is the most obvious stylistic reference point – more middle-period neoclassical than the one heard in Renard. Boston Children’s Chorus do well to tackle some intricate high-vaulting lines, while Boston Modern Orchestra Project add vivid splashes of colour and rhythmic drive to the score. There are some truly tender moments, too, such as Mrs Fox’s caring aria in Act 1 scene 2, performed with depth and conviction by mezzo Krista River, or the love duet in Act 3 between Porcupine and Miss Hedgehog. In those moments it’s easy to forget that this is a fable and not true to life, and much of the credit has to go to the music itself.
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.

Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.