For many children in rural communities opera is something they will never have the opportunity to experience. The School of Music’s Opera RoadShow is changing that. Opera RoadShow is the educational outreach component of Memorial University’s Opera Workshop. Our goal is to present opera in an engaging way with the hope of bringing this wonderful art form to young people across Newfoundland and Labrador.

By making opera accessible to students, we help them to see it as a living art form that incorporates a myriad of artistic and technical disciplines.

Three years ago, Memorial University’s Opera Workshop identified a need for a touring ensemble that would present young students with an introduction to live opera-theatre. In response to this need, the Opera RoadShow was created.

• Touring performances of this kind are a rarity in the Atlantic Provinces especially in areas where geographic location contributes to restricted access • For many young audience members, a RoadShow performance is their first live- theatrical production and certainly their first experience with opera • The operas are fully staged and costumed and each work is selected to meet the needs of the specific age group while promoting discussion and learning

For the past three years, music students have traveled to schools in and around Newfoundland introducing thousands of young people to the joys of live performance through opera.

• Talented young performers at the School of Music get the opportunity to work together in an extended performance situation to enhance not only their present artistic life but also their future work with audiences throughout Canada.

• Teaching guides are made available to schools prior to the presentations. These resources are designed to enhance educational outcomes and each student’s enjoyment of the performance.

• A pre-performance discussion is given at each school and there is an opportunity for questions with the artists at the end of each program.

“I loved your opera. I wish I could be in one some day.” -Tasha, Grade 4

THE OPERA ROADSHOW PAST SUCCESS

“I loved the opera very much. It was the first opera I ever saw so it was really very special to me. I think opera is really, really exciting. Thanks for visiting our school.” -Heather, Grade 4 A commitment was made to make opera available to an increased number of students across Newfoundland and Labrador. Over the past three years there have been tours to some of the most rural communities in the province.

• In 2004 the first cross- Newfoundland Opera RoadShow tour was held. • 6000 students in schools from Griquet on the Northwest coast to Burin in the Southeast had the opportunity to see The Three Little Pigs, an opera which used the music of Mozart to tell the familiar story in 2004. • The 2005 tour featured Little Red’s Most Unusual Day and was the contemporary retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set to the music of Rossini and Offenbach. • The tour traveled through the St. John’s and Carbonear areas, Bonavista Peninsula, Central Newfoundland and The Avalon Peninsula. • Over 5000 students were given the opportunity to see these live performances. • In 2006, The Vinland Traveler was the first opera commission based on Newfoundland’s own history to be performed in this province and the first opera tour to travel to schools in coastal communities in Labrador. The tour reached students from Nain to Sheshatshiu and St. Anthony to Grandy’s River.

In an open and fun fashion, the Opera Roadshow has helped young people embrace the Arts with great zeal. It is important to note the growth of cultural awareness that can be gained by both the touring ensemble and the young audiences they encounter. Elementary and university age students discover a shared cultural understanding that bypasses any dissimilarities of location.

2007 OPERA ROADSHOW UPCOMING TOUR

“I really liked your performance. Are you practicing for any other operas? Can you come to our school again soon?” -Gillian, Grade 3

This spring our first bilingual opera production will be performed. For the production of Cinderella en route we will send an ensemble of young professionals to french immersion programs throughout Eastern Newfoundland and the Maritime provinces.

For three weeks, the 2007 tour will perform for elementary-age audiences in Newfoundland and then travel to the Maritimes to sing for select schools in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

The forty-five minute production is written for five voices and piano and draws from Rossini’s Cenerentola and Massenet’s Cendrillon to create an opera for young audiences that uses both English and French texts.

This year, our pre-performance discussion and post- performance question and answer period will be conducted in French by one of our cast members. These interactive exchanges are beneficial in strengthening communication skills and are made all the more valuable by the bilingual format

In addition to the educational outcomes listed above, the unique nature of this musical work provides the following possibilities for learning:

• Exploration of Language through sung and spoken text

• Experiential learning through interactive fairy tale and story-telling

• Exploration of Musical Styles

• Exploration of Design and Movement

• Exploration of Singing as communicative Art form.