Chicago Opera Theater - Education: Opera for All

Show time at McKinley Park

McKinley Park finished up their year with two great productions of their mini-version of "A Flowering Tree". The students were thrilled to get into their costumes, work with the props and see the production come together with the lovely set pieces. We had a fun time working with our pianist Marta Johnson and guitarist, Mr. Hernandez, who is on staff at McKinley Park. The singers boosted their sound when the second-grade violinists accompianied them for their songs.

Our first performance was during the school day on April 23rd which allowed all the students to see the opera. Then we had a nice turn out from the families for the afternoon performance on same day. The performers kept their energy high and finished with a great show! I am so greatful for everyones extra efforts for performance week and am so proud of the McKinley Park students for all their hard work and good attitudes that helped make it a success!

 

 

Pirates, Pirates and a special guest

AJ our Teaching Fellow and Director at COT's Opera Theater Workshop for Teens program reports:

Opera Theater Workshop for Teens has had a very busy schedule this semester.  Besides learning good vocal technique, stage deportment, music theory, movement, they are learning the famous operetta Pirates of Penzance  which will be performed for the public (for free) at the Storefront Theater of Gallery 37 (66 E. Randolph) on April 15th and 16th.

I know the words 'operetta' and 'Chicago Opera Theater' tend to not go in the same sentence, but in choosing repertoire for young voices, one has to make sure it is vocally attainable piece.  So in our Opera for All mission we chose this piece.  But in keeping with COT's ability to deliver opera less ordinary this piece will be performed in the round - with a few surprises!

It's an interesting process to stage an opera with audiences on both sides.  The students have been very good about this.  They have inadvertently learned a little of the physics of acoustics and sound and have become very conscious about how they need to stand in order to be heard.

And they're having a lot of fun.  Swords, funny hats, billy clubs, water silk, pirate boots...who wouldn't have a good time? 

There have also been some other highlights. First Lady Maggie Daley brought internationally renown mezzo-soprano, Michelle DeYoung, to talk with the students and to give a small master class. Seniors Daniel Berry and Caroline Wattelle sang for Ms. DeYoung.  She was very candid and frank about the career, it's highs and lows.  The students were very blown away that she had not been home for more than three weeks since Christmas, but also that she had sung in most of the major houses in the world.

Mrs. Daley with ASM students listening to Michelle DeYoung give students and insiders view into the opera world

Chicago Opera Theater Workshop for Teens students with Miss DeYoung.

On Saturday, we are taking the students to see the live "Met at the Movies" simulcast of La boheme.  That is bound to be a highlight of the semester.  On May 3rd, our final event will be attending COT's new production of Don Giovanni.  Felicity Jackson came to our class and showed the students the set and costumes plans for the production and they are VERY excited.

All in all, it's been a full semester...it always is at Opera Theater Workshop for Teens.

Taking shape

Kara, the Director of Education at COT, made a visit to Means of Production to see the completed set for the final production of our student version of A Flowering Tree.

Kingsley, of Means of Production, has worked with COT most recently on Beatrice & Benedict and we were pleased to collaborate with them for Opera for All. They've designed and built our set with three scene drops - Kumudha's shack, the Prince's palace and the orchard - as well as some acting cubes.

Sketch of the acting cubes which will be used as furniture.

And then the process of painting the cubes...

As for the orchard, here's a shot of Hang painting the canvas. You'll have to wait until the performance to see the final product.

Creative Juices Flowing at McKinley Park

This month provided exciting opportunities for the students at McKinley Park as they worked as a team aligning new words to music that correspond to fit our opera A Flowering Tree. The fourth graders created a portion of the libretto while setting text to Wanger's Bridal Chorus. The result: "Here comes the bride all dressed in red. She is so pretty in her beautiful sari. Here comes the prince ready to kiss the bride! Kumudha and the prince both share a smile." The fifth graders worked on setting words to Humperdinck's dancing duet for Hansel and Gretel. This song is inserted into the story-line preceding the process of Kumudha transforming herself into a flowering tree. The students therefore established the events, order, and process of the transformation scene. Then the fifth graders attempted to align the words as I played phrases of the music.

The students were all proud of their combined creation and already have these two songs memorized for the opera production which is April 23rd!

Theory into practice

It’s been an exciting and insightful process working with the students at Clinton Elementary.  Clinton Elementary is located in the Devon neighborhood of West Rogers Park.  If you are not familiar with this neighborhood, it is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Chicago.  In my two classes alone we have students from almost every corner of the globe: India, Africa, Eastern Europe, Iraq, South America, Thailand, Vietnam as well as students that are native to the United States.  The students from India are especially excited about this project because they get to explore as well as ‘show off’ their culture in ways they’ve never gotten to before.  Our trip to the Indo-American center was a very successful field trip especially since it was in their ‘hood’.  One of our classrooms is the ESL classroom. Most of the students in this class have never gone into any of the shops on Devon even though it's right around the corner.  It was a wonderful discovery process for them of their own neighborhood.

In January, Marissa from Heaven Meets Earth Yoga studio, came and gave a yoga demonstration, which the kids absolutely loved.  They are very excited to incorporate the moves they learned to Kumudha’s transformation.  We have been doing a lot of work with yoga and movement in our production, and the students are really enjoying it.

On February 22, the Young Artists from COT came to give a presentation for the classes, which were very well received.  Prior to the class, the students were taught about different voice types.  They got to hear recordings of great singers like: Placido Domingo, Marian Anderson, April Millo but also compared to modern singers so they were able to define Julie Andrews as a soprano and Justin Timberlake as a tenor by the end of class.  I wasn’t in attendance for the Young Artists, but I know it was a success when one male student asked me how hard it was to become a baritone.

(Young Artist Michael Brown and Kari Sorenson teach students how to engage their singing muscles)

The final stage is the show.  They are now learning basic stage craft: Where is stage right, stage left, center stage, what does it mean to ‘cross’, what does it mean to go ‘upstage’.  Some students are very excited and interested in working backstage so they are learning what a stage manager does, what a director does, what a conductor does, and what a singer/actor does in this process.  All of my students have roles in the show at one performance (we will have 2 performances.) We have learned many choruses and songs and now we are now putting them together.  Hopefully it will result in a very meaningful experience for the students of Dewitt Clinton Elementary.

Behind the scenes at South Loop Elementary

Opera for All at the South Loop School is in full effect! At this point in the semester, students have really delved into opera. Students have read A Flowering Tree, learned about music and singing, learned about acting and movement and have even heard real live opera singers from COT’s Young Artist Program.

(Student's jaw dropping response upon hearing one of our Young Artists sing live)

Students at the South Loop School are really starting to understand just how much goes into producing an opera. They have all auditioned for parts in the school’s production of A Flowering Tree. As they prepare each have learned how to project and get their point across to an audience. The students have learned what is important to focus on when telling stories (or acting on stage) and how behind the scenes jobs are equally as important as the jobs of the actors. Older students have started to mentor the younger students and help them along with reading, acting and singing.

The next stages at the South Loop School will have students in the rehearsal process where they will learn more about music and opera but will also learn about teamwork, rehearsal etiquette and the interdisciplinary aspects of putting together a production. In just two months South Loop's students will produce their very own show and view COT’s professional production as well.

Progress!

With music, whether it be singing or playing an instrument, it takes time. You can't cram. It's the slow, steady practice that yields results. I just got an ecstatic call from our Teaching Fellow who teaches violin. Our second grade students at McKinley Park just turned a corner and successfully played their first entire piece. What a thrilling accomplishment! 

Triumphant rehearsals

Our new pianist, coach and music director, Marta, of our Opera Theater Workshop for Teens reports how the spring session is going.

The apprentices for Chicago Opera Theater and After School Matters joint opera program have begun digging into the music of Pirates of Penzance.  While it is tedious at times to learn the notes, once they get the meaning of the piece they jump right in and have fun with it.

For example, the music for “We triumph now” is a bit slow and serious. The kids were bored with it, not happy to spend a lot of time working on all the parts. But once we added some physicality, the song took on a life of its own.  We began to dramatize, splitting up into winners and losers, with the winners gloating and brandishing their weapons while the losers cowered in fear.  With the added animation, the slow tempo suddenly worked.  Everyone responded with an enthusiasm that can’t be achieved through my begging and pleading while they sit in their chairs. These young adults all clearly love music and  drama, and take to it easily. And they never waste an opportunity to be silly and creative in front of and with their peers, so they especially love the improv games AJ brings in – freeze, soap opera, and car ride.

Freeze begins with one person starting a silent scene. As soon as it becomes clear what he or she is doing, someone else can jump in and add to the scene, but doing something different.  Their choices range from fashion shows to dance clubs to a basketball game.  My favorite scene was when one young man started the scene as a snake in the jungle, crawling around on the floor, popping his head up every now and then, looking around. Soon a photographer joined the action, and then a hunter, and along came a vicious local, beating him over the head repeatedly until the snake was no more.  We do physical and vocal warm-ups every day, with a bit of yoga thrown in on Saturdays. Soon we will begin our staging rehearsals, and I know these young men and women will enjoy the process of building characters and playing on stage built around the fun music of Gilbert and Sullivan.

A Flowering Tree Costume Designs

Measurements are coming in and cast lists are being finalized for the spring student productions of A Flowering Tree based upon Ramanujan's translation of the original tale and Adams' opera.

Here is a sneak peek at the beautiful costumes as designed by our wonderful costume designer and seamstress Morgan Flahive-Foro.

See all the costume sketches>>

Overture for the Ghost of McKinley Park

The children at McKinley Park have already learned three of the songs on their violins that we are preparing for the opera. We composed an overture made from scales and "ba-na-na ice-cream" rhythm on an assigned note. In addition, we practiced simple arrangements on the Mexican song "De Colores" and the children's chorus from the opera "Carmen." In an ethnically proud school, such as McKinley Park Elementary, where English is a second language for many of the Hispanic children, most students knew "De Colores." They said, it was a nursery song, and performed it for me.

I look at my students as individuals, and I frequently forget that they are very young, only in the 2nd grade. They are still prone to behave in most childilke ways. For example, the third floor, where we have our violin class, is a lonely, dark place; many of the children believe that it is haunted and do not dare to leave our room on their own. During the times we tune the violins and put rosin on the bow, they share stories of the brooding ghosts in the restrooms.