An innocent boy, son to a family of goatherders, is found to be heir to the kingdom. Riches and luxury are laid at his feet, but at what cost to others?

Throughout the fall, composer Martin Hennessy and librettist Tom Rowan are creating an operatic adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s short story, The Young King, for the first year artists of the Maryland Opera Studio. Although the story takes place in a far-off kingdom in a fictional land, it tells a parable of human rights, social and economic justice that is directly relevant to the issues of wealth and income inequality in our country today. 

Hennessy and Rowan are recipients of the Opera Composition Contest, a partnership between the Maryland Opera Studio and the Artist Partner Program of The Clarice that supports the creation of new opera work. This performance is a preview of the completed work, which will premiere in February 2017.