Hansel + Gretel Virtual School Tour Performance March 22—April 16, 2021 Across Alberta
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Hansel + Gretel Virtual School Tour performance March 22—April 16, 2021 across Alberta Presented by Calgary Opera and AECON 1 Land Acknowledgement Why do we begin by acknowledging the land? Inspired by the 94 recommended calls to action contained in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which we now know as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, land acknowledgements are a step in Canada’s reconciliation journey. They acknowledge and honour the original occupants of this place, in our case the province of Alberta, which we all call home. Land acknowledgements also help us rec- ognize and respect Indigenous peoples’ connection to the land and remind us all to take care of this beautiful home we share. Treaty 7 territory is the land where Calgary is now situated, but the area we call Alberta has Treaty 6, 7 and 8 territories within it. These other Treaty territories have their own land acknowledgements that reflect the First Nations peoples that originally and still live there. The agreements that these Treaty territories are based upon were written between the First Nations and the settlers that came to live on the land from other places in the world. Now we include a land acknowledgement to work toward reconciliation by acknowledg- ing those that were here first. 2 Welcome to our Show Thank you for joining us in our first ever Virtual School Tour performance of the classic opera Hansel + Gretel. While this school performance is based on a classic Western fairytale and opera, it has been updated for our modern times with current references and settings. The original Brothers Grimm fairytale contained some elements that have fallen out of the modern-day telling of this story, like the Sandman helping the children fall asleep when they’re lost and the dream the children have in which angels visit them. You will see ver- sions of these original elements in our production, and what better way to bring them to life than opera. Why did we choose Hansel + Gretel now, in these most unusual times? Hansel + Gretel deals with some frightening themes of stranger danger and temptation, also the idea that if something is too good to be true, it probably is, but from that difficulty emerges our two protagonists who use their intelligence to rescue themselves from danger and prove that good prevails over evil when one perseveres and holds onto hope. What better time for such a message? We wish we could come to each one of your schools and communities. It is a highlight of our year to perform our School Tour opera in person, seeing your excitement while you hear the singers. This year is different, but we are happy to be able to offer you this free performance that keeps us all safe and healthy during this time. It’s not the same as being together, but when we can come back together again in the theatres, halls and performance halls that are quiet right now, more students than ever will have experienced an opera pro- duction through this video and we will have new things to talk about. We look forward to connecting with you and your students and sincerely hope they enjoy this performance which took countless hours and people to assemble. Now, on to the show! Calgary Opera, our sponsor AECON and our Emerging Artist Ensemble singers present Hansel + Gretel. Until we meet again, Patricia Kesler Education and Community Engagement Manager Calgary Opera Calgary, Alberta 3 Table of Contents Hansel + Gretel Study Guide 2020-21 Land Acknowledgement 2 Welcome to our Show 3 Tell me about Opera: A Brief History of Opera 5 Tell me about Opera: Opera Voices 6 Tell me about Opera: Opera Terms 7 The Stories behind the Story: Composer and Librettist 8 The Stories behind the Story: The Brothers Grimm 9 Story, Characters, Performers: The Story aka The Synopsis 10 Story, Characters, Performers: Characters and Questions about the Characters 11 Story, Characters, Performers: Performers aka The Cast 12-13 Who’s Who at the Opera: Artistic and Production Crew 14 Who’s Who at the Opera: Costume Study 15-16-17 Class Exercises: Grades K-3 18-19 Class Exercises: Grades 4-6 20-21 Class Exercises: Grades 7-9 22-23 Listening: Listening Excerpts 24 References 25 A Note on Filming and Special Thanks 26 4 Tell me about opera A brief history of opera A brief history of opera The word opera is the plural form of the Latin word opus, which translates quite literally as ‘work.’ The use of the plural form indicates the many art forms that combine to create an operatic performance. Today we understand the word opera to mean a theatrically based musical piece in which the drama is expressed through singing and music, accompanied by an orchestra. Traditional view holds that the first opera developed as a result of discussions held in Florence in the 1570’s by a group of artists known as the Camerata. Their discussions led to the musical setting of Runuccini’s dra- ma, Dafne, by composer Jacopo Peri in 1597. The work of such early Italian masters as Giulio Caccini and Claudio Monteverdi led to the development of a through-composed musical piece composed of recitative (fast sing-speaking) sections which revealed the main storyline; followed by arias which provided the soloist an opportunity to develop the emotions of the character with slower musical vocal lines. The new art form was greeted enthusiastically by the public and quickly became a popular entertainment that often dealt with common people and the stories of the day. Opera has flourished throughout the world as way to express the full range of human emotions. Italians claim the art form as their own, with the bulk of famous opera composers being of Italian origin through to the 1900s. Puccini, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Leoncavallo developed the art form through clearly defined periods that produced opera buffa, opera seria, bel canto, and verismo. The Austrian Mozart also wrote operas in Italian and championed the singspiel (sing play), which combined the spoken word with mu- sic, a form also used by Beethoven in his only opera, Fidelio. Bizet (Carmen), Offenbach (Les Contes D’Hoff- mann), Gounod, Faust, and Meyerbeer (Les Huguenots) led the adaptation by the French which ranged from the opera comique to the grand full-scale tragedie lyrique. German composers von Weber (Der Fresichutz), Richard Strauss (Ariadne auf Naxos), and Wagner (Der Ring des Nibelungen) developed diverse forms such as singspiel to through-composed spectacles. The English ballad opera, Spanish zarzuela and Viennese operetta styles all helped to establish opera as a form of entertainment, which continues to enjoy great popularity throughout the world. With the beginning of the 20th century, composers in America diverged from European traditions in order to focus on their own roots while exploring and developing the vast body of the country’s folk music and leg- ends. Composers such as Douglas Moore, Carlisle Floyd, Scott Joplin and more recently Jake Heggie have all crafted operas that have been presented throughout the world to great success. In Canada, composer John Estacio and librettist John Murrell were commissioned by Calgary Opera to produce Filumena, based on a true Canadian story of the last woman to be hanged in Alberta - which premiered in 2003 in Calgary to great success, and is one of the most produced Canadian grand-operas in the world. 5 Tell me about opera Opera Voice Types + Terms Voice Types The Main Voice Types in Opera are: SOPRANO The highest voice of all MEZZO-SOPRANO Voice type between Soprano and Contralto CONTRALTO Usually the lowest female voice TENOR Usually the highest male voice COUNTER TENOR Higher than a tenor, but a less common voice type, although becoming more common and popular BARITONE Voice between Tenor and Bass BASS The lowest voice of them all Breaking down the voice types: COLORATURA Typically a voice with a very high range with the ability to sing complicated passages with great agility DRAMATIC A heavy, powerful voice with a steely timbre capable of great range and emotion LYRIC An average size voice, but capable of singing long beautiful phrases. HELDEN A German term referring to a powerful voice capable of singing very demanding roles FALSETTO The upper part of a voice, more often used in reference to male voices SPINTO A somewhat more powerful voice than that of a true lyric. Educators: To watch a short but descriptive video on operatic voice types explained, go to the Royal Opera House London (ROH) YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/hLfvkwTnJVM Opera Terms ACT: A portion of an opera designated by the composer, which has a dramatic structure of its own, not unlike a chapter in a novel ARIA: Italian for an ‘air’ or ‘song’. The big number where the singer expresses feelings and shows off the voice 6 Tell me about opera Grades 4-6 Opera Terms Continued BEL CANTO: Italian for “beautiful singing”, refers to a style of opera that developed in Italy and was characterized by a small but dynamic vocal range requiring much vocal control BUFFA/O: From the Italian for ‘buffoon.’ A singer of comic roles (basso-buffo) or a comic opera (opera- buffa) BRAVO: Literally, a form of applause when shouted by members of the audience at the end of an espe- cially pleasing performance. Strictly speaking, “bravo” is for a single man, “brava” for a wom- an, and “bravi” for a group of performers CHORUS: A group of singers, singing together, who portray peripheral characters who usually comment on the action and help to support the storyline DUET: An extended musical passage performed by two singers.