Andrew Norman’s “A Trip to the Moon” proves popular with L.A. Phil audiences

A Trip to the Moon, the new children’s opera by composer and USC Thornton faculty member Andrew Norman (’02, MM ’04), was warmly reviewed in the Los Angeles Times following its U.S premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on March 2nd at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

The Times described the opera, which has seen significant revisions since its world premiere with the Berlin Philharmoniker Orchestra last year, as “delightfully entertaining,” with “a strong colorful score that trusts listeners young and old to go wherever it roams — even into avant-garde territory.”

Yuval Sharon’s production, under conductor Teddy Abrams, incorporated performances by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Hoover Street Elementary School Chorus and members of the L.A. Phil’s Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, in addition to vocal soloists. Following two public performances, A Trip to the Moon was presented for 7,000 local third, fourth, and fifth-grade students.