There will be a special guest at the University of Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble's performances of Mark Adamo's "Little Women" this week: the composer.

Adamo's visit from New York was intended as a surprise for Robert Breault, director of the U.'s opera program. The students took up a collection and e-mailed Adamo, who agreed to attend both performances and two of the dress rehearsals, as well as to give a master class Friday afternoon and work with the Utah Opera Young Artists.

Utah Opera artistic director Christopher McBeth, a friend of Adamo's who worked on the original 1998 production of "Little Women" at Houston Grand Opera, contributed the cost of the composer's hotel stay and sent his company's head coach, Carol Anderson, to work with the students.

Costumes -- created for this production -- are rented from Utah Opera. Stephanie Sundine, who has staged several productions at Utah Opera, is stage director; the U.'s Robert Baldwin is conductor. Jeffrey Price is music director, Randy Rasmussen designed the sets and Barb Sturgis is production manager.

Breault, who learned of the surprise last month, said the level of collaboration with the professional company is unprecedented for his students. "I feel as if this is a real turning point for the Lyric Opera Ensemble," he said.

"The conflict of 'Little Women' is Jo versus the passage of time," Adamo wrote in the original production notes. "Realize this about Jo: Alone among adolescent protagonists in classic American fiction (Tom Sawyer, Holden Caulfield, Portnoy), she's happy where she is. ... Jo knows adulthood will only graduate her from her perfect home."

Catherine Reese Newton