Virtual Field Trip: First Stop

:: Think back to a time when you were trying something new and scary. Did you
ever dread doing something that later turned out to be interesting and fun? ::

:: New York City Opera ::

Opera isn’t all about fat ladies in blonde braids bellowing in German for the entertainment of society folks. The New York City Opera dispels some of the myths about opera in an article called “First time? Don't Freak Out. Opera Isn’t That Scary.”

And it isn’t. All sorts of people love opera. That includes Maya Angelou, poet laureate of the United States, as you’ll see on your Third Stop of this Virtual Field Trip.

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Hannah and Jason

:: Kids Op ::

Still think opera’s only for blue-haired old ladies?
Well, kids as young as 10 years old are performing in
operas made especially for children.

Kids Op is a Canadian opera company that creates new operas in which children 10 to 16 can join adults in performing.

The Raven King is their most successful opera so far; listen to a duet from this opera here. PBS features their opera, Jason and Hanna, an update of the Romeo and Juliet story set in the war-torn Balkans.

:: For more on kid-friendly opera, check out the Boston Children's Opera, which
features singers in grades 2 through 9 ::

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-----------------------------7d71283554401d6 Content-Disposition: form-data; name="userfile"; filename="C:\Documents and Settings\Compaq_Owner\My Documents\Teaching\Bellarmine\EDUC 616\EDUC 616 Website\3rdstop.html" Content-Type: text/html Virtual Field Trip: Third Stop

:: Check out the plot of Porgy and Bess. How does it resemble other sad love
stories you’ve seen on TV or at the movies? ::

:: Porgy and Bess: An American Voice ::

Operas can be about regular people, like you and me. One of the greatest American operas, Porgy and Bess, is about a poor African-American man who’s head over heels in love with a fickle woman.

And opera can be for regular people. Listen to what poet Maya Angelou has to say about touring Europe while she was in Porgy and Bess. (The sound file is halfway down the page.) Ms. Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, played the part of Ruby in George Gershwin’s masterpiece.

Porgy and Bess was nearly a musical comedy. Listen to baritone Bryn Terfel sing “I Got Plenty o'’
Nuttin’,” Porgy’s joyous declaration that Bess is all he needs. You'll be glad it’s an opera, instead.

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:: The Kentucky Opera ::

Now you know how wonderful opera is. How can you
see more of it?

Opera isn’t just for New York, Boston, San Francisco,
and other big cities. Louisville has its own opera
company, the Kentucky Opera. In addition to the
opera’s own site, KET has a virtual field trip
to the Kentucky Opera.

You can hear what the various voices (e.g., bass, tenor, soprano) sound at Opera Basics on PBS’s Great Performances site.

:: Check out Arizona Opera’s really nice review of opera terms in kid-friendly language. You’ll may need these for your assignment and for later, as well. ::

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