Music by Tobias Picker
Text adapted by Donald Sturrock

Nine sold out perfomances, and audiences of over 25,000 testify to the success of the premiere production of this exciting new work, which debuted at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles in December 1998. Gerald Finley scored a personal triumph in the title role, while critics praised the inventive and witty stage and costume designs of Gerald Scarfe and the direction of Donald Sturrock.

The story of the battle between a family of foxes and a trio of devious farmers was the catalyst for a sophisticated, tuneful, witty and sometimes downright scary score from composer Tobias Picker which, as the Wall Street Journal described it, "captured Dahl's spirit in a musical language that challenged, entertained and never pandered, skillfully balancing dark and light....with Picker's lyric gift and dramatic sense, the opera was a captivating and witty entertainment."

BBC Music Magazine praised the accessibility of the work which was "immediately appealing, and gave new audiences an easy climb over opera's building blocks of arias, duets and ensembles. Fantastic Mr Fox pleased its audiences and deserves to be widely performed."