Name_______________________________  Block __________       Date ____________

 

Virtual Field Trip Passport

 

Directions: You will be leaving the safe confines of the known to the unknown wilds of opera. Just as when you travel outside of the United States, which you know well, into a foreign country, it helps to have a map. This will act as you map.

            When you travel, you get your passport stamped. You get this passport “stamped” after each stop by filling out the questions. There are no wrong answers for most of them.

 

Stop 1

 

1. The New York City Opera lists seven myths about opera. A myth is something that’s false even though lots of people believe it. Name some of the myths about opera that you believed. (One more myth they don’t deal with is that, in Louisville at least, operas usually won’t be in some foreign language; they’re usually translated into English.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Do you know more opera music than you thought? Are there any of the myths listed by the New York City Opera that you no longer believe. (Be honest.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop 2

 

1. If you were composing an opera for children, what sorts of story lines would you write?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Maurice Sendak’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are has been turned into an opera. Can you think of another children’s book that would make a good opera?

 

 

 

 

Stop 3

 

1. Was Bryn Terfel’s singing of “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” from Porgy and Bess what you expected for an opera? How was it the same or different then you thought?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Bryn Terfel is from Wales, and English is not his first language. Could you tell?

 

 

 

 

 

Stop 4

 

1. Would you be interested in a real-life field trip to Kentucky Opera to see a light opera — that is, one that’s funny and modern and in English?

 

2. Wait! Ms. Rovira will be demonstrating the voices using the projector. You will be putting the voices in order from highest to lowest, with 1 being the highest and 6 being the lowest. (O.K. There might be some wrong answers here.)
1. _____ Baritone
2. _____ Soprano
3. _____ Tenor
4. _____ Contralto
5. _____ Bass
6. _____ Mezzo-Soprano