Teacher Resource Guide ! Dear Educators,

Welcome! Thank you so much for choosing us to be a part of your school year! We are certain that you will find our program, The Billy Goats Gruff, to be engaging and fulfilling for everyone who sees it! Within this guide we have included a wide range of materials and activities: from general opera studies, to our featured composers, and the great fairy tale story of The Billy Goats Gruff.

Please feel free to adapt and use any of the suggestions for your classroom discussions and activities. We encourage you to take advantage of our photocopy-friendly format and generate copies for students or other colleagues. We would also like to encourage you to fill out and return both the teacher and student evaluations. Student evaluations can come in a variety of forms: artwork, classroom projects, letters, writing samples, etc. Your input is very important to us as we continue to implement arts education in the schools.

In addition to the tour of The Billy Goats Gruff at the Florentine Opera this season, we encourage you to look into our other education and community engagement programs. Please visit www.florentineopera.org for more information on GET OPERA, Opera Inside Out, Talk Opera and the Young Singing Actor Intensive!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding the performance, the study guide, or the Florentine Opera.

Thanks again and we look forward to seeing you this year!

Pablo Siqueiros Education & Community Engagement Manager

FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR William Florescu… While many people in the Milwaukee area enjoy the Florentine Opera’s mainstage offerings, our education and outreach programs are an additional essential element of the work done at the Company. Florentine Opera General Director William Florescu strongly believes in the power of opera to teach and inspire students, noting: “We are dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the performing arts, and providing them the opportunity for self-expression that will ultimately help to develop valuable and effective communication and leadership skills. This commitment provides a strong foundation for the reason for our being—bringing this all- encompassing art form to our community—in the past, in the present, and into the future.” The Billy Goats Gruff 2016/2017

Teacher Evaluation Form

The Florentine Opera Company is dedicated to bringing the enjoyment and appreciation of the opera to all audiences and has a particular interest in introducing young audiences to this rich medium.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to share your feedback. Your comments will help in further developing our programs and educational materials.

School name: Performance Date:

Your name: Position:

Today’s Date:

Tell us about your opera background (check one): Very knowledgeable: ___ Moderate: ___ This was my first experience: ___

How much classroom preparation time did you spend before the performance?

Did you find the teaching materials helpful in planning lessons and activities?

Please describe the activities that were planned around the program:

Your recommendations for future teaching packets/materials:

Tell us how the students felt about the performance:

Please rate the performance length: Just right ___ Too short ___ Too long ___

What was your favorite aspect of the performance?

What was your least favorite aspect?

Would you recommend this program to other educators? Why or why not?

Have you attended or seen any of the Florentine Opera Company’s other educational programs/productions? If so, which one(s)?

Have you attended or seen any other arts groups’ educational programs/productions? If so, which one(s)?

Additional comments:

May we call you to discuss The Billy Goats Gruff and this evaluation further? Telephone number: Best time to call:

Please return this form to: Florentine Opera Company/Attn: Pablo Siqueiros 930 E. Burleigh St, Lower Level Milwaukee, WI 53212

FOR THE STUDENTS:

KIDS, YOUR OPINION, PLEASE…

Circle the face that best describes how you feel:

1) I enjoyed learning about opera. ☺ " #

2) I enjoyed the show. ☺ " #

3) I would like to see another opera. ☺ " #

Draw a picture of what you liked most about the opera:

Note to Teachers Table of Contents 1 Florentine Opera Company Education Mission 2 About this Study Guide 3 New to Opera? 4 What Is Opera? 5 Who Makes It All Happen? 12 Operatic Voices 16 Operatic Singing 21 Glossary of Opera Terms 27 The Conductor’s Score 31 The Vocal Score 33 The Story of The Billy Goats Gruff 34 Meet the Librettist/Arranger: John Davies 36 Meet the Composers: Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini 37 Opera Etiquette 39 Before the Opera 40 Last Minute Thoughts 41 You’re Never Too Old for a Fairy Tale 42 Post-Opera Activities 45 Music Theatre Visual Art Language Arts Social Studies Math, Science, & Technology

Appendix After the Performance A Additional Information and Resources B

1 FLORENTINE OPERA COMPANY EDUCATION MISSION

The mission of the Florentine Opera Company Education Department is to make opera more inviting and accessible to communities in Milwaukee and throughout the state of Wisconsin by:

1. Educating students and the community about opera and career opportunities within the opera. 2. Providing opera introduction and continuing education events for adults. 3. Providing opportunities for young artists.

The Florentine Opera Education Department’s strategic plan includes four goals:

1. Establishing new forms of partnerships 2. Supplementing arts education at every level 3. Improving the quality and quantity of teaching artists 4. Involving new audiences by developing new, non-traditional venues

“The music makes me feel happy, and it made me go to my home and sing to my grandma.” – student at Greenfield Bilingual School

“I learned that it takes a lot of work to be in the opera.” – student at Lancaster Elementary

“With my lifestyle and the way I was brought up, I would have never been naturally introduced to the opera. I can replace movies with the opera, I can relax at the opera, I can get away from the world at the opera.” – student at West Bend High School

“I love the performance for ‘The Three Little Pigs’ opera performance. It was a good show for the children in the school.” – student at 53rd Street School

“They made me laugh through the whole show. I think they should come again so we can see another show. All the kids were enjoying it.” – student at Honey Creek School

“I really liked the play. My stomach started to hurt because the play was so funny. I thought that the singing was awesome and that the whole performance was wonderful!” – student at Honey Creek School

2 We acknowledge the Nashville Opera’s Education Department for sharing portions of their study guide with the Florentine Opera. For more information about the Nashville Opera and their education programs, visit http://www.nashvilleopera.org/html/Education.php.

Each section of this guide was created to supplement your curriculum, and also to aid opera newcomers in understanding the art of opera more fully. Many sections (such as The History of Opera) are geared specifically towards teachers. You are welcome to take this information and reframe it in whatever way you think would best suit your class. With the information and activities provided in this guide, we hope to help you create a more meaningful experience for your students.

Our objectives with this study guide and performance are… $ To introduce students to the fundamental components of opera. $ To give students a very brief historical perspective of opera’s development. $ To introduce some basic terminology. $ To encourage multidisciplinary studies across many subject areas. $ To educate as well as entertain.

We achieve these objectives by… $ Presenting opera as fun, entertaining, and culturally significant. $ Providing you with background information on this year’s production as well as some basics about opera and its history. $ Connecting opera to your music and general classroom curriculum with suggested pre and post-opera activities.

Why opera education? $ Our in-school programs present material through visual, aural, and action methods, thus reaching out to many different types of learners. $ Exposure to opera as a multidisciplinary art helps students develop intelligence in a variety of areas, including abstract thinking and problem solving. $ Opera provides opportunities for self-expression through a variety of forms, which in turn leads to the development of valuable communication skills, self- discipline, perseverance, and leadership. $ Opera combines drama, poetry, instrumental music, singing, scenery, costumes, lighting, and many wonderful special effects. Such collaboration is important for students to witness, as it helps to encourage them to develop a broadened, multidisciplinary perspective.

3 Why Being an Opera Novice Helps You Enjoy Opera

We firmly believe that newcomers have a great advantage over many opera fanatics worldwide. The composers of the great operas knew what they were doing – they created potent musical dramas aimed straight for the heart. Many opera buffs forget that in opera, intellect should take a backseat to emotion. More than many other art forms, opera is meant to appeal directly to the senses. To fully appreciate an opera, all you need are eyes, ears, and a soul. Let us help you activate your senses!

The Popular-versus-Classical Myth

Until very recently (at least in geological terms), going to an opera was like going to a movie. People went to an opera as you might go to a rock concert: to have fun! They went to see their favorite stars and hear their favorite tunes. They wore casual clothes; they brought along food and drinks; they even cheered (or booed, or threw flowers or tomatoes) during the show if the spirit moved them. Classical music back then was pop music.

In fact, when Verdi wrote Otello, the crowd went crazy, calling him back to the stage over and over again with standing ovations, finally carrying him all the way home on their shoulders, and then serenading him under his window. Opera is just as entertaining as it ever was. But these days, it has become much less familiar.

~adapted from Opera for Dummies

4 Before defining opera, ask your students to share their ideas about what opera could be. Write “opera” on the board and list their answers beneath it.

What is opera?

An opera is simply a play in which people sing. In most operas, all the words are sung, and none are spoken. There are other types of operas, however, in which there is as much speaking as singing.

If an opera is just a play, then why do people sing?

The theater has been around for hundreds of years. People were being entertained by plays long before television and radio were even invented. Music was added to enhance the feelings that were being portrayed on the stage. Singing is a very special form of music because the instrument (like our feelings) comes from inside. Our voice is a part of us which expresses how we feel, whether we sing, talk, shout, laugh, cry, moan, growl, whisper, gasp, hiss, etc. It is the actor’s job to express such feelings, and singing is a perfect way of doing just that. Naturally, singing was used very early in the history of the theater; however, opera as we know it is only about 400 years old. Opera powerfully combines drama of the theater with music – vocal and instrumental – to create the lasting art form that is enjoyed throughout the world today.

From opera to musical theater, to music videos and everything in between – the length of musical performances is considerably shorter today than it was in the past. How is this a reflection of society today compared to hundreds of years ago? Is it harder for us today to sit through a three- hour-long opera than it was for people back in the 1800s? Why or why not?

5 What Are the Elements that Make Up an Opera?

A score is the blueprint to an opera. It consists of the words, music, stage directions, and often performance notes for the entire show. An opera score is often divided into sections. It begins with the overture, followed by one to five acts (large sections of acting and singing), and one or more intermissions. Each act may be divided into scenes. The scenes are made up of recitatives, arias, duets, larger ensembles, and choruses. You can find all of these terms in the Glossary of Opera and Musical Terms on page 25 of this guide.

A trio from the Florentine Opera’s production of Puccini’s Turandot, November 2011 Photo Credit: courtesy of Kathy Wittman

What Are Some Different Styles of Opera?

Bel Canto This Italian phrase means “beautiful singing.” Bel canto operas grew from a style of singing emphasizing long phrases, breath control, a light upper register, flexibility in singing both loudly and softly, and a “sweet” timbre (tone color). Because the voice is considered the most expressive element of bel canto singing, the words are often secondary. Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, and Gioacchino Rossini were prominent bel canto composers. Soprano Renée Fleming and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli are two contemporary singers who are renowned for their incredible bel canto technique.

6 Grand Opéra This is a style of opera that originated in France and is characterized by its magnificence. It is performed with elaborate sets and costumes, and many people are needed to make it happen. Grand opéra always involves royalty, heroism, an elaborate ballet scene, and is often quite long. Composer Jules Massenet wrote opera in this style.

Opera Seria This Italian phrase means “serious opera” and refers to the noble, dramatic, and serious qualities of Italian opera that dominated Europe in the mid-1700s. These stories are often tragic, and typically involve heroes and kings or ancient myths and gods. Some of Mozart’s operas are in this style.

Opera Buffa This style of opera, meaning “comic opera,” is the counterpart of opera seria, and is always sung in Italian. The characters that supply the jokes represent the working class, such as maids, peasants, or servants. These operas usually end with a happy lesson and with the antagonist defeated. Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni and Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) fall under this category of opera.

Singspiel Singspiel evolved in German-speaking countries out of the comic opera tradition. It includes elements of comic opera (funny lower-class characters), spoken dialogue interjected among the sung phrases, and often includes an exotic or fanciful theme. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) is an example of this style.

Music Drama This is a style of opera that is created by a single artist who writes both the text and the music – as opposed to having a composer and a librettist working together – in order to advance the drama. Composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) defined this style.

7 A Brief Overview of Opera History

“Opera is where a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings.” -Ed Gardner

Opera is more than just large women singing loudly; it is the complete collaboration of music, drama, art, and poetry. Opera has been around for more than 400 years and can be broken down into the following musical periods:

$ Baroque Period (1600-1725) $ Classical Period (1725-1820) $ Romantic Period (1820-1900) % Italian Romantic Opera % German Romantic Opera % French Romantic Opera $ Modern American Opera (1900-present)

Baroque Period (1600-1725) In the early 17th century, a group of men called the Florentine Camerata began meeting to discuss music and the arts. By linking existing musical pieces together with sung recitation, they laid the groundwork for what we now know as modern Western opera. By the 1630s, opera was being performed all over Europe. Many countries, like Germany, were enjoying Italian operas while other countries, like France, began to experiment with their own variations of opera. By the eighteenth century, the model of opera seria was firmly established. The plots usually centered on mythological stories. The chorus was saved for the end of the opera where it added to the festivities of the inevitable happy ending, and the solo singer became glorified. The standard aria during this time was composed in a strict A-B-A form called da capo, literally meaning “from the head.” The first A section is sung in a straightforward manner, exactly as written; it is followed by a short B section that has a different melody, contrasting tempo, and is written in a different key. The aria ends with a restatement of the A section (same melody, same words), but this time the singer would add ornamentations to appropriate places throughout the vocal line.

*Recording example: Handel’s Giulio Cesare (RCA 1990 with Beverly Sills) 8 Classical Period (1725-1820) By the eighteenth century, the rigidity of the opera seria model and da capo form were losing popularity since they limited the dramatic capabilities of music. Increasingly less emphasis was placed on the singer, and the spotlight moved toward the drama. Comic operas, or opera buffa as they were called in Italy, became very popular throughout Europe. The most important figure in the Classical Period of opera was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote many successful operas in both the opera seria and opera buffa styles. Many of the libretti (the text of an opera usually written by someone other than the composer) he chose reflected the new ideas that were circulating throughout Europe at that time.

Recording Examples: *Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (EMI 1990 with Giuseppe Taddei & Anna Moffo) *Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Angel Records 2000 with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf) *Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Angel Records 2000 with Lucia Popp)

Romantic Period (1820-1900) In the nineteenth century’s Romantic Period, opera suddenly fell into categories defined by the nationality of the composer. Every major country in Europe made its own unique contributions to the art form.

Italian Romantic Opera Italian opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi broke down the walls between recitative and arias and tried to achieve a continuity that added to the drama of the piece. In the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, there was a strong trend toward realism in opera. This was called verismo. The plot of a verismo opera generally follows common people dealing with familiar situations.

Recording Examples: *Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Decca 1989 with Cecilia Bartoli) *Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (Decca 1985 with Joan Sutherland) *Verdi’s La Traviata (Deutch Grammaphon 1990 with Placido Domingo) *Verdi’s Rigoletto (Decca 1995 with Luciano Pavarotti & Joan Sutherland) *Puccini’s La bohème (Decca 1990 with Mirella Freni & Luciano Pavarotti) *Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (EMI Classics 1997 with Maria Callas)

9 W hat is Opera? (cont.)

German Romantic German opera during this period can be broken down into two categories: German Romantic Opera and Richard Wagner’s music dramas. German Romantic Operas were quite similar to Italian opera but differed in plot material. They drew more upon supernatural and medieval tales (rather than the verismo topics the Italians chose) and also employed more folk tunes. In the second half of the nineteenth century Wagner created the concept of Gesammkunstwerk [guh-zahm-koontz-vairk], which means “total artwork.” He believed that opera should be a fusion of stagecraft, visual arts, literature, and music. He did almost everything related to production himself: composed the music, wrote the libretto, and designed the costumes and scenery. In Wagner’s dramas there were almost no distinctions between arias and recitative; instead of showcasing the voice, he treated it like any other instrument. He also increased the size of the orchestra and even developed a new instrument he called the Wagner Tuba, which had a rich, mellow tone. Only very large voices can be heard over his expanded orchestra.

Recording Examples: *Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (EMI Classics 2001 with Dietrich Fiescher-Dieskau) *Wagner’s The Ring Cycle (Decca 1997 conducted by Georg Solti) *Strauss’ Salome (Decca 1990 with Brigit Nilsson) *Humperdink’s Hansel und Gretel (RCA 1999 with Anna Moffo & Christa Ludwig)

French Romantic Opera French opera was typically visually spectacular, and usually included a ballet somewhere in the second or third act. In the Romantic Period, three types of French opera were prominent: $ Opéra comique – usually comical, used spoken dialogue instead of recitative. $ Grand opéra – popular in the second part of the nineteenth century when composer Giacomo Meyerbeer came onto the scene. Grand opéra was built around grandiose plots and used a large chorus and elaborate sets. $ Drama lyrique – a combination of opéra comique and grand opéra.

Recording Examples: *Gounod’s Faust (EMI Classics 1990 with Placido Domingo & Mirella Freni) *Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (EMI Classics 1994 with Franco Corelli) *Bizet’s Carmen (EMI Classics 1997 with Maria Callas & Nicolai Gedda)

10 Modern American (1900-Present) Despite the dominance of Italian, French, and German opera within today’s popular repertoire, not all opera comes from the other side of the globe. American composers have been writing operas based on familiar themes for over a century. In the earliest years of American history, English settlers brought with them the Ballad Opera – a short, comic play with musical numbers interspersed throughout. These songs were basically original text set to popular tunes. In 1825, the first opera performed entirely in its original language was produce at the Park Theater in New York. Over the next 50 years, many traveling companies took opera all over the country, and in 1883 the Metropolitan Opera Company opened its doors. Today, The Met is recognized internationally for its high-quality productions and daring artistic ventures; several new American operas have been commissioned by The Met in the past century, giving composers exposure and prominence among the European masters. American composers have made many important contributions to opera. George Gershwin was the first to incorporate jazz into opera with his Porgy and Bess. Composers like Gian Carlo Menotti and Carlisle Floyd have continued to write popular works that have a distinctly American sound. New operas are often based on American history (John Adams’ Nixon in China) or American literature (Floyd’s Of Mice and Men), offering familiar plots for new audiences.

Recording Examples: *Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors (RCA 1990) *Menotti’s The Medium (Cedille 1999 with Patrice Michaels & Joyce Castle) *Floyd’s Susannah (Virgin Classics 1994 with Cheryl Studer & Samuel Ramey) *Floyd’s Of Mice and Men (Albany Records 2004 conducted by Patrick Summers) *Copland’s The Tender Land (Virgin Records 1992 conducted by Philip Brunelle)

11 The Creators

A composer who writes music and a librettist who writes the words create opera. Most Western operas are composed in European languages – mainly Italian, German, French, Russian, and English.

The Composer

The composer has a historically important role in Western culture. Both the nobility and the Church respected musicians, and thus provided for the care and livelihood of artists throughout the latter part of the 18th century. Although artists benefited from the personal security of the patronage system, most did not have the freedom to choose the subject or style of their compositions. It was not until the end of the 1700s that the patronage system declined. The rise of the consumer class allowed composers to write music that could be published and sold to the public. The result was an explosion of creativity, in both style and subject, throughout Europe.

The Librettist

The librettist creates or adapts a story so that it can be sung. The stories adapted for opera were usually taken from historical events, myths, poems, or plays. Composers often had favorite librettists with whom they worked regularly. Perhaps the most well- known librettist is Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838) who collaborated with Mozart on three of his most popular operas: The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte.

The Interpreters

Once an opera is created, a team of artists begins the process of transforming the words and music into a visual spectacle. These artists are called directors and designers. Their role is essential in interpreting the intentions of the composer and librettist.

12 The Directors and Designers

The directors and designers develop an opera’s visual concept by first identifying the key themes. Next, they engage in extensive research on the historical context of the work, including the clothing of the period and the culture of the society. Sometimes directors and designers choose to stay true to the history and setting of the work. Other times they elect to change the location or historical period of an opera. Either way, they are required to make countless decisions about everything from costumes to sets to the action on the stage.

The Florentine Opera’s main stage productions take place in Uihlein Hall, at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Milwaukee. Uihlein Hall was renovated in 1997 and can seat about 2,200.

What is the Artistic Team?

$ The Artistic Team is the group of people who work together to make the opera performance happen. $ The Stage Director is responsible for the action on the stage. This is accomplished by working with the singers for weeks before the performances, directing their movements and developing their individual characters. $ The Music Director, also known as the conductor, interprets the music of the opera and rehearses it with the singers and the orchestra. During rehearsal the music is shaped to express different moods of the opera. For example, the

13 conductor decides how fast or slow (tempo) and how loudly and softly (dynamics) the music is played. $ The Set Designer designs the scenery for the opera. $ The Lighting Designer manipulates the lights to create effects that help set the mood and complement the action on stage. $ The Costume Designer creates the clothes that the singers will wear on stage. $ The Choreographer is responsible for creating and directing any dancing that takes place in the opera.

What happens below the stage?

The orchestra is a group of instrumentalists who accompany the singers. The orchestra performs in a pit, the sunken area in front of the stage.

What happens behind the scenes?

While all the action is happening on stage, some very important people are orchestrating all the action backstage. They are the production crew, and this is what they do:

The Stage Manager leads the crew and directs all the action that happens backstage. Stage Managers direct scene changes, artists’ entrances and exits, sound/light changes, curtain movement, and all other activities that make the production run smoothly. Their job requires great leadership and quick decision-making. A crew of stagehands works in collaboration with the Stage Manager. They move scenery and set props (short for “properties”), which are objects used in the scene. The Props Supervisor makes sure that all the props are placed appropriately and are available when the singers need them. The Wardrobe Supervisor oversees the costumes and attends to last minute fittings and repairs. Dressers, who help with fast costume changes, may assist the Wardrobe Supervisor. The Makeup Artist assists singers with dramatic stage makeup that must be applied in order for their features to be seen from the back of the theater.Not all crewmembers work backstage.

14 The Sound Engineer, working from a booth in the rear of the theater, operates the orchestra’s microphones and adjusts the sound. The Master Electrician, also working in a booth in the rear of the theater, directs the positioning of the lights and then operates the lights during a show. Both need to be in the audience to hear and see what is happening on stage. The rehearsal pianist accompanies the artists as they rehearse the opera before they rehearse with the full orchestra. This job also entails serving as a coach, assisting the artists with language and musical preparation.

In the center of this photograph of Uihlein Hall is the sound booth, located in the rear of the theatre.

As we can see, the production of a fully staged professional opera requires the commitment of many people willing and able to work together.

An ensemble from the Florentine Opera’s production of Venus and Adonis, May 2010. Photo Credit: Richard Brodzeller

15

Women

Soprano A soprano is the highest female voice, with a range similar to a violin. In opera, the soprano most often plays the young girl or the heroine (sometimes called the Prima Donna), since a high bright voice traditionally suggests femininity, virtue, and innocence. The normal range of a soprano is two octaves up from middle C, sometimes with extra top notes. Most women are sopranos. Soprano Rena Harms as Líu in the Florentine Opera’s November 2011 production of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot. Photo credit: Kathy Wittman

Mezzo-Soprano Also called a mezzo, the Italian word for middle, this is the middle female voice, similar to an oboe in range. A mezzo’s sound is often darker and warmer than a soprano’s. In opera, composers generally use a mezzo to portray older women, villainesses, seductive heroines, and sometimes even young boys (like Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel). This portrayal of young boys is a special operatic convention, called a “trouser role” or a “pants role.” The mezzo’s normal range is from the “A” below middle C to the “A” two octaves above it. Famous examples: Joyce DiDonato, Marilyn Horne

Contralto This is the lowest female voice, similar in range to a clarinet. Contraltos usually sing the roles of older females or special character parts such as witches and old gypsies. The range is two octaves from F below middle C to the top line of the treble clef. A true contralto is very rare – some believe they don’t exist at all! Famous examles: Stephanie Blythe, Marian Anderson 16 Men

Counter-tenor This is the highest male voice, which was mainly used in very early opera and oratorio (a genre of classical vocal music similar to opera but generally based on a religious topic and accompanied by a choir). The voice of a countertenor sounds very much like a mezzo-soprano’s voice and they often sing the same repertoire. Like the contralto, true countertenors are very rare.

Tenor The tenor is usually the highest male voice in an opera. It is similar to a trumpet in range, tone, color, and acoustical ring. The tenor typically plays the hero or love interest in an opera. His voice ranges from the C below middle C to the C above.

Baritone The middle male voice, close to a French horn in range and tone color, is the baritone. In opera buffa (comedic opera), the baritone is often the ringleader of the comedy, but in opera seria (serious or tragic opera), he is usually the villain. The range is from the G that is an octave and a half below middle C to the G above middle C.

Baritone Mark Delavan in the Florentine Opera’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, May 2003. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Richard Brodzeller

Bass The lowest male voice, it is similar to a trombone or bassoon in range and color. Low voices usually suggest age and wisdom in serious opera. In comic opera they are generally used for old characters that are foolish or laughable. The range is roughly two or two and a half octaves down from the F above middle C.

17 Discovering your voice type is not as simple as having green or blue eyes. Singers often float between these categories, and some never really know where they fit. Sometimes, a female singer starts out her training as a soprano and ends up singing mezzo roles a few years into her studies. Baritones with good high notes are often mistaken for tenors. Singing the wrong repertoire can lead to all sorts of vocal problems and can even shorten or end a singer’s career. That’s why it is very important for singers to have a good, trustworthy teacher and to be selective in the jobs that they choose.

Voice Types Based on Size and Quality

Voices are also categorized according to size and quality of voice. There are small, medium, medium-large, and large voices in opera. The quality of a voice can be defined using the following terms:

Soubrette Soubrette describes a soprano of very light vocal weight, comparatively small range, and the looks and disposition of a young girl. Soubrette roles are often flirtatious and witty, and outsmart the rich and powerful by the end of the opera. Many soubrette roles have names that end in –ina: Despina (Mozart’s Così fan tutte), Adina (Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love), and Zerlina (Mozart’s Don Giovanni) are all soubrettes.

Character A singer with an exceedingly unique and rarely beautiful sound (and often the looks to match) can make a fine living singing character roles. While they don’t get the fattest paycheck, they do tend to get all the laughs. This classification is reserved for the lower voices (mezzo, tenor, baritone, and bass). Examples are the Witch (Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel) and the stuttering lawyer, Don Curzio (Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro).

Coloratura Female singers described as coloraturas have great vocal agility, stunning high notes, and the ability to sing complicated vocal ornamentation. The Queen of the Night (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) is a coloratura soprano. Rosina (Rossini’s The Barber of Seville) is a coloratura mezzo. 18 Lyric The word lyric generally describes a singer who specializes in long phrases and a beautiful tone. If you don’t claim the distinction of coloratura, dramatic, character, or helden-, then you probably call yourself lyric. To break it down further, there are light- lyric, full-lyric, and just plain old lyric titles that can precede the general voice type of soprano, tenor, and so on. For a more detailed description, read on… if this is enough for you, our feelings won’t be hurt if you skip down to “dramatic.”

“Lyric” can mean a variety of different things, depending on who you talk to. While there are no hard and fast rules, there are a few widely accepted distinctions, which are outlined below.

$ A light-lyric soprano like Pamina (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) should have a bigger voice than a soubrette but still possess a youthful quality. A full- lyric soprano has a more mature sound and can be heard over a bigger orchestra. Think Mimì (Puccini’s La Bohème). Full-lyric sopranos are typically the highest paid of all the voice types.

Robin Follman as Mimì in the Florentine Opera’s April 2005 production of La Bohème. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Richard Brodzeller

$ A light-lyric mezzo is the equivalent of the soubrette and generally plays young boys like Hansel (Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel). In this case, the long phrases mentioned above are traded for agility and charm. A plain old lyric mezzo (no “full” distinction here) is usually an old woman or a temptress of some sort – Bizet’s Carmen is the quintessential lyric mezzo. $ Most tenors fall into the lyric category and don’t call themselves light or full. However, some specific operatic roles for tenors are separated further (though not necessarily the singers themselves). Tamino (Mozart’s The Magic Flute) must be sung by a youthful tenor with a light voice, thus earning the distinction of a light-lyric tenor role. Puccini’s Cavradossi (Tosca) is decidedly heavier than young Tamino but is still considered a lyric tenor by most people. $ Light baritones fall into the lyric pot. If they are really loud, that brings us to…

19 Dramatic Dramatic describes the heaviest voices in any category except for bass. Dramatic singers are capable of sustained declamation and a great deal of power, even over the largest orchestra of about 80 instruments. The title role in Puccini’s Turandot is sung by a dramatic soprano. Most of Verdi’s lead characters require a dramatic voice (e.g. Otello). It can be dangerous to stand too close to one of these singers.

Helden A German prefix meaning “heroic,” this term is applied to a large voice capable of performing the most demanding roles, usually used in reference to roles written by Richard Wagner. Brünnhilde (the character most often associated with braids and a horned helmet) is a helden-soprano role.

A list of famous opera singers of each voice type as well as some of their most celebrated recordings can be found in the section entitled Additional Information and Resources for Teachers, at the end of the guide.

20 Every culture in the world makes music. We can often recognize the origin of a song by its musical elements. For example, Eastern cultures like China and Japan base their compositions on the pentatonic scale (which is roughly represented by the black keys on the piano). Indian musicians (from India) use instruments like the sitar and the tabla, which have very distinct sounds. In the same way, each culture has developed its own style of singing.

Characteristics of a “Trained” Voice Singing in Europe and America is now generally divided into two categories: classical and popular. What most people think of as operatic or classical singing developed in Europe hundreds of years ago. This style flourished during the seventeenth century, as opera became a popular form of entertainment and operatic music increased in complexity. The most recognizable characteristics of a classically trained voice are: $ an extensive range (the ability to sing both high and low) $ varying degrees of volume (loud and soft) $ resonance in the chest and sinus cavities (produces a “hooty,” “full,” or “round” sound) $ an ability to project or fill a large space without amplification.

Training Very few people are born with the capability to sing this way. Classical singers take voice lessons about once a week and practice every day for many years in order to develop a beautiful operatic sound. In fact, most trained voices are not “mature” enough to perform leading roles on a big stage until they’re at least 28 years old. Compare that with the most popular singers on the radio today – Mylie Cyrus was 14 when her first album was released!

Two Tiny Muscles Science tells us that all sound is made by two things vibrating together. The same concept applies when we talk or sing. The sounds we make are really just the vibration of two little muscles called the vocal chords. The vocal chords are held in the larynx, which is sometimes called the voice box or (in boys) the Adam’s Apple. These two little muscles vary in length, but are typically between one and two inches long.

21 When you want to say something, your brain tells your vocal chords to pull together until they’re touching lightly. Then, air pushes through them, and the vocal chords begin to vibrate, creating a sound. The pitches you sing are dependent on the speed at which the chords vibrate. A faster vibration creates a higher pitch. The length of the chords also affects the pitch of the voice. Longer chords equal a lower voice.

The rest of the body The vocal chords are only a small component of a larger machine that creates a beautiful singing voice. That machine is the entire body, from the tip of the toes to the top of the head. In order to sing with ease, every muscle needs to be relaxed – but not lazy! If even one muscle is tense, it can throw off the entire machine, which is immediately obvious in a singer’s vocal quality.

Breathing/Support In order to sing long phrases with a lot of volume and a good tone, singers must breathe in a specific manner, making use of the whole torso area (lungs, ribs, diaphragm, and viscera). As they breathe in, each part of this network does its job: the lungs fill up, which forces the ribs to expand and the diaphragm (a flat muscle below the lungs) moves down. As the diaphragm descends, the viscera (stomach, intestines, and other organs) are forced down and out. Singers describe this feeling as “fatness in the low stomach” or “filling an inner-tube” around their waist.

Expelling the air, or singing, is essentially a slow and controlled movement of those muscles. If all of the air escapes from the lungs quickly, the tone of the voice will sound breathy and will lack intensity. Successful opera singers must be able to isolate the diaphragm and ribs, controlling the rate at which they return to their original positions. This allows for a consistent stream of air that travels from the lungs, through the larynx, and out of the mouth.

22 Resonance One of the most obvious characteristics of an operatic voice is a full, resonant tone. Singers achieve this by lifting their “soft palate.” This is a part of the mouth that most people don’t ever think about. It can be difficult to isolate if you don’t obsess over it like most singers do. Here are some simple exercises to feel where it is and hear the resonance in your voice when you lift it: $ Start to yawn. Feel that lifting sensation in the back of your mouth? That’s the soft palate going up. $ Slide your tongue along the roof of your mouth, from your teeth back toward your throat. You should feel your tongue go up, then down (that’s your hard palate), then back up again. That soft, fleshy area at the very back is your soft palate. $ Say the word “who” as you would say it in normal conversation. Now, say “hoooo” like a hoot owl. Can you hear the difference?

Lifting the soft palate is the foundation for the resonance in a singer’s voice. With a lot of practice, a singer can lift his or her palate as soon as they begin to sing, without even thinking about it.

Vibrato Proper breathing and full resonance are essential for producing a clear vocal tone with an even “vibrato” (the Italian word meaning “to vibrate”). Vibrato can be described as a “wiggle” in the voice, or technically, a consistent variation in the pitch of a tone. While many pop singers try to remove this element of singing for the sake of style, vibrato in an opera singer’s voice is a must – it increases the warmth and resonance of the tone and also allows for accurate tuning.

23 Registers of the Voice

Head Voice Without getting too technical, the head voice is the higher register, which is achieved by tapping into the resonance in the sinus cavities. It’s called the head voice because you literally feel like your voice is coming out of your head rather than your throat or chest.

Chest Voice This is where the natural speaking voice falls. If you put your hand on your chest and yell “Hey!” you can feel that this register resonates in the chest rather than the head. Broadway and pop singers like Christina Aguilera use it almost exclusively, but female opera singers generally avoid it unless they’re singing really low notes. Even then, it must have the same fullness as the head voice. Men sing mostly in this voice.

Falsetto This register applies to male voices only. Falsetto happens when the vocal chords do not vibrate fully, which creates a high, feminine sound. Male characters frequently use this register when they are imitating females.

A Comparison: Trained vs. Untrained

Since we’ve already covered the characteristics of a trained voice, it may be interesting to see how they differ from those of an untrained voice. Singers of pop music, rock and roll, R&B, folk, and country are often referred to as “commercial.” While their styles vary considerably, the way they use their voices seems to be relatively consistent.

Training Commercial singers don’t always train like classical singers do. While there are schools like Belmont University who offer degrees in Commercial Voice, many of the most successful non-classical singers of today are known more for their unique style, natural talent, and personality than for their technical mastery of the voice.

24 Breathing/Support Unlike classical singers, commercial singers usually breathe just as they would when they’re speaking normally. A long phrase might warrant a big breath, but studying the placement and movement of one’s internal organs is not usually something that is done by pop singers.

Resonance Most commercial singers are just not concerned with creating a resonant tone. In fact, a pop song sung with a lot of resonance would probably sound pretty silly to most people.

Projection/Volume Essentially all commercial singers depend upon microphones to be heard in a large performance space. This enables the singers to deliver their message in either a loud, dramatic style, or in an intimate, conversational style, with little physical effort. Opera singers, however, depend on the acoustics of the performance space and their ability to project their voices naturally to be heard. Microphones are almost never used in operatic performances.

Operatic Singing Commercial Singing Years of vocal training required No intense vocal training necessary Breathing is controlled through Breathing is the same as in placement and movement of everyday speech internal organs Resonant tone is achieved by Resonant tone is generally not raising the soft palate desired The voice is generally not amplified, Microphones are almost always so the singer must project naturally used to amplify the voice

25 CHECKLIST: A good opera singer must have…

Volume Opera singers train their voices to be heard in large theaters, such as the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, without using microphones. Singers train for years to be able to sing loudly enough to be heard over other soloists, a chorus, and a large orchestra of about 70 instruments. How loudly can an opera singer sing? When a jet takes off, the sound reaches 110-120 decibels, the human threshold level of pain. A powerful opera singer, singing very close to another person’s ear, could reach up to 110 decibels.

Stamina Opera requires the ability to sing for two to three hours or even longer. Opera singers rarely perform on consecutive evenings because they are so physically exhausted by the performances.

Range Operatic music, as written, requires singers to have a large range – to be able to sing very low notes as well as extremely high notes.

Acting ability Opera singers don’t just stand on stage and sing; they must be able to act, as well. Just like actors in a play, the singers must make the audience believe in their characters. For example, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel would not be as effective (or scary!) if the singer could not act well.

The right “look” Just like an actor in a movie, it is important for an opera singer to look the part of the character he or she is portraying. For example, a woman in her 20s might be cast as a male (in what is called a “pants role”), but she should look very young so the audience can believe that she’s a young boy.

Familiarity with different languages Since opera was developed in Europe, most operas are written in languages other than English. A singer must be familiar with the pronunciation of foreign languages as well as the meaning of each word that they sing. It is not unusual for an American singer to perform in Italian, French, German, or even Russian. 26 A capella Without accompaniment Alto A low female voice Aria A solo vocal song that presents emotions; a showpiece for the singer, usually with rich orchestra accompaniment Audition When a singer or actor tries out for a director, hoping to be cast in a show; usually involves singing 2 or 3 contrasting arias and possibly a monologue Baritone A low male voice Bass The lowest male voice Beat The underlying pulse of a song; what you would clap along with at a concert Bel Canto “Beautiful singing;” an Italian style of singing Blocking Where the singers stand and move during a scene; singers are given their blocking by the director, and have to memorize it along with their music Bravo! A word that audience members shout when they like a performance – it means “well done” or “great job”

Cadence A closing statement at the end of a musical phrase; an open cadence sounds like a resting point or a thought that is incomplete; a closed cadence sounds like a stopping point or the end of a song/section Cadenza A passage usually near the end of a piece; the singer performs “flashy” difficult music while the orchestra waits Choreographer The person who creates the dance routines and special movement in the show Chorus A group of singers who sing and act en masse, not as soloists Chorus master The leader of the chorus Composer The person who writes music to go with the words so that the story can be sung

27 Comprimario A secondary role in an opera, usually the maid, servant, messenger or confidante of one of the leading characters; often provides comic relief Conductor The person who leads and coordinates a musical ensemble Contralto An extremely low female voice that almost sounds like a male voice Costume The clothing the singers wear so that they look like the character they are portraying Countertenor An extremely high male voice that almost sounds like a female voice Critic One who describes and analyzes artistic works and performances, also judging their merits and faults Director The person who “stages” the opera or show by telling the singers what to do, where to stand, etc. when they are performing, so that it looks real. This may include staging fights or making up dances, although the director occasionally has a choreographer to help with the dancing Downstage The position on a stage nearest to the audience; because the “raked stage” prevalent in early opera houses was slanted, the closer a singer came to the audience, the lower the stage was to the ground Duet A musical piece for two instruments or voices Ensemble A group singing or playing together; a piece that a group sings or plays together Entr’acte A piece of music between the acts of an opera; usually signals the beginning of the next act Finale The end, usually a grand scene involving as many members of the cast as possible Grand opera The most elaborate and formal presentation of opera, signified by size and grandeur in cast, orchestra, and sets Harmony Several notes played and/or sung together, to create a richer sound Interval The distance between two pitches

Legato A smooth manner of playing or singing with no perceptible breaks between notes

28 Leitmotiv A melodic theme used throughout an opera to identify a character or idea (love, hate, jealousy, etc.); German opera composer Richard Wagner developed this concept in the late 19th century Libretto Italian word for “little book”; the printed text of the opera Melody The tune Meter The grouping of beats in a piece of music into groups of 2 (duple meter) or 3 (triple meter); meter is sometimes irregular or mixed between groups of 2 and 3 Mezzo-soprano A medium-to-low female voice Monologue A long speech given by a single actor in the context of a play; the operatic equivalent is the aria Note A sound with a specific pitch; eight notes played in a row with a specific pattern of intervals make up a scale Opera buffa Italian comic opera (opéra comique in French) Opera seria Opera that is serious in nature

A gripping scene from the Florentine Opera’s November 2001 production of Tosca, an opera seria by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Richard Brodzeller

Operetta A work for the stage that is less serious in subject matter and musical complexity; has spoken dialogue and lots of humor Orchestra A group of instruments made up of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion that provides accompaniment for the opera performance Overture An orchestral piece that introduces the opera, often making use of the melodies that are heard again during the opera Patter A style of singing where the words are sung very quickly Pit A large space below the stage where the orchestra and conductor are during a performance Prima donna Italian term for “first lady;” the lead female role in an opera Props Items other than costumes or scenery used as part of a dramatic or operatic production, such as a knife, a mirror, or a special glass; short for properties

29 Quartet A musical piece for four voices or instruments Recitative Speech singing that tells the plot line of the opera, imitates natural speech patterns, and is usually heard before an aria Ritardando Italian word meaning “slowing down” Rhythm The feeling of movement in music Scene The surroundings or location where the action takes place; also a subdivision of an act Score The pages upon which the vocal and instrumental music of an opera are written Set The scenery, representing a particular location (short for setting) Set designer The person who decides how to make the stage look like a castle, or a forest, or whatever it should look like for the story; this person usually has assistants that build the set once it has been designed Soprano The highest female voice Stagehand A person who helps put together and take apart the set; also handles props and scene changes Stage left/right The division of the stage from the singer’s point of view; for example: a singer moves to stage right, which is the audience’s left Super Slang for a supernumerary; an “extra” used in non-singing, non- speaking roles Technical The stage management, lighting, scene-building, and other mechanical aspects of a theatrical production Tempo The speed at which a piece of music is performed Tenor A high male voice Theme A central melody in a piece of music; in opera, a theme may be associated with a particular character, setting, object, or emotion; this kind of theme is also called a leitmotiv Timbre (rhymes with amber) Tone quality or tone color of a voice or instrument Trio A musical piece for three voices or instruments Tutti Italian word that means “everyone” Unison When two or more people sing the same notes and the same words at the same time Upstage The position on stage farthest from the audience (see downstage for further explanation) Vibrato Vibrating quality that produces warmth of feeling in the human voice

30 Largely unseen down in the orchestra pit below stage level, the orchestra is a vital part of the operatic experience. It not only accompanies the singers but also helps to carry the storyline and fuse the entire production.

The orchestra consists of four sections: The string section includes violins, violas, cellos, and basses. The woodwind section includes the piccolos, flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons. The brass section includes trumpets, trombones, French horns, baritones, and tubas. The percussion section includes timpani (kettle drums), triangles, cymbals, tambourines, and chimes. The harp, harpsichord, and piano are usually listed in this category.

Maestro Joseph Rescigno, Principal Conductor for the Florentine Opera Company.

The conductor directs both the orchestra and the singers. During the performance, the conductor stands in the pit in front of the orchestra and the stage. From there, he or she is able to indicate the tempo and volume to the orchestra and signal the entrance cues for both solo artists and ensembles.

A score is the written music that shows all vocal and instrumental parts on one very large page. This is what a conductor looks at while he or she is conducting an opera. On the next page is an excerpt from the conductor’s score of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

31 32 The vocal score (a book that has the written music for an opera) can tell you many things. Look at this excerpt from the Act II Finale of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro). The score tells the dynamics (p – piano, f – forte, etc.), tempo (allegro means “fast”), who is singing, and even gives staging suggestions.

How could this help a director when developing his or her ideas for a show?

33 THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF – TEACHER’S SYNOPSIS

Note: The story of The Billy Goats Gruff is quite simple and will probably not require much explanation. Use your discretion on how much you want to reveal about the story before the students see it.

This is the original version of the story collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in Norway and recorded in 1845.

Once upon a time there were three billy goats, who were to go up to the hillside to make themselves fat, and the name of all three was "Gruff."

On the way up was a bridge over a cascading stream they had to cross; and under the bridge lived a great ugly troll , with eyes as big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker.

So first of all came the youngest Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

"Trip, trap, trip, trap! " went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll .

"Oh, it is only I, the tiniest Billy Goat Gruff , and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, with such a small voice.

"Now, I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

"Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," said the billy goat. "Wait a bit till the second Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Well, be off with you," said the troll.

A little while after came the second Billy Goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap, went the bridge.

"Who's that tripping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"Oh, it's the second Billy Goat Gruff , and I'm going up to the hillside to make myself fat," said the billy goat, who hadn't such a small voice.

"Now I'm coming to gobble you up," said the troll.

34 "Oh, no! Don't take me. Wait a little till the big Billy Goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Very well! Be off with you," said the troll.

But just then up came the big Billy Goat Gruff .

Trip, trap, trip, trap, trip, trap! went the bridge, for the billy goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him.

"Who's that tramping over my bridge?" roared the troll.

"It's I! The big Billy Goat Gruff ," said the billy goat, who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own.

"Now I 'm coming to gobble you up," roared the troll.

Well, come along! I've got two spears, And I'll poke your eyeballs out at your ears; I've got besides two curling-stones, And I'll crush you to bits, body and bones.

That was what the big billy goat said. And then he flew at the troll, and poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, body and bones, and tossed him out into the cascade, and after that he went up to the hillside. There the billy goats got so fat they were scarcely able to walk home again. And if the fat hasn't fallen off them, why, they're still fat; and so,

Snip, snap, snout. This tale's told out.

Source: Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, De tre bukkene Bruse som skulle gå til seters og gjøre seg fete, Norske Folkeeventyr, translated by George Webbe Dasent in Popular Tales from the Norse, 2nd edition (London: George Routledge and Sons, n.d.), no. 37, pp. 275-276. Translation revised by D. L. Ashliman.

35 Background and Accomplishments Born in 1946, John Davies is not only an established performer and composer, he is also a husband and father of six (yes, SIX) children. He lives in a little town in central New York called DeWitt, where he loves to walk, read, and write for fun. Mr. Davies’ attention turned seriously toward music at age 16. He spent that summer waiting tables in Lennox, MA (near Boston) during the famous music festival, Tanglewood. At 19, he saw his very first opera, Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi, and began studying music formally at the Boston University School of Fine and Applied Arts. Mr. Davies has written, directed, and performed in countless operas.

The Florentine Opera Company has performed six of Mr. Davies’ children’s operas: Goldie B. Locks and the Three Singing Bears, Three Little Pigs, Little Red’s Most Unusual Day, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Billy Goats Gruff, and Pinocchio. His operas are performed across the country and have become a staple of children’s operatic repertoire.

How The Billy Goats Gruff Came to Be: A Note from John In 1997 Kansas City Lyric Opera’s educational director suggested I consider writing a children’s opera featuring strategies for dealing with bullies. As the problem of bullying was becoming a concern in many schools, it seemed a worthy subject and one that might be effectively addressed theatrically. Children’s literature is replete with bullying types, and after auditioning a few "meanies" in my imagination, I selected the Troll who skulks under the bridge in the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Not only does he make an interesting bully, but little billy goats evoke school children very nicely. During the course of the opera, the three Billy Goats consider how they might deal with the bully by avoiding him altogether and resolve to talk about the problem with grownups as soon as they’re able. In the end, however, strength of character and determination win the day when the littlest goat, having pushed the Troll from the bridge, enlists his friendship. Admittedly, facing the bully down is not an officially recommended course of action. It makes for some fun theater, though, and hopefully provides a point of departure for subsequent classroom discussion.

Having six children, John Davies always has a “test audience” on which to try out his operas. He composes at his dining room table so that he can get their input throughout the compositional process.

Visit John Davies’ website at www.operatales.com. 36 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Quick Stats Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria into a musical family. His father was deputy Kappellmeister (“music master”) to the court orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg, as well as a composer and teacher. Mozart showed indications of prodigious abilities at a very young age. By the age of five, he could read and write music and play piano and violin extraordinarily well.

Musical Background Much of his childhood and adolescence was taken up with tours, which included performances before many of the royal courts of Europe. In 1773, aged 17, he accepted a post as a court musician in Salzburg, but was unhappy with his low pay and limited opportunities. Over the next eight years, he frequently traveled in search of a better position and composed abundantly, finally ending up in Vienna from 1781 until the end of his life, which sadly ended at age 35. Musically, this was a period of outstanding creativity, which saw the production of many of his best-known symphonic, concertante and operatic works, as well as his final, incomplete Requiem.

Others say… Famed composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein said of this prolific musician: “Mozart combines serenity, melancholy, and tragic intensity into one great lyric improvisation. Over it all hovers the greater spirit that is Mozart's — the spirit of compassion, of universal love, even of suffering — a spirit that knows no age, that belongs to all ages.”

37 Other Composers: Quick Stats

Donizetti, Gaetano The basics: b. November 29, 1797 (Italy); d. April 8, 1848 Known for: Lucia di Lammermoor (1835); L’elisir d’amore (1832), featuring the well-known aria “Una furtiva lagrima” Lasting legacy: Bel canto opera Others say: “Donizetti, when asked which of his own operas he thought the best, spontaneously replied, ‘How can I say which? A father always has a preference for a crippled child, and I have so many.’” (Louis Engel, From Mozart to Mario, 1886)

Rossini, Gioacchino The basics: b. February 29, 1792 (Italy); d. November 13, 1868 Known for: Il barbiere di Siviglia (1816), featuring the well- known aria “Una voce poco fa”; La Cenerentola (1817); and Guillaume Tell (1829) Lasting legacy: Nicknamed “the Italian Mozart” Others say: “Rossini, in music, is the genius of sheer animal spirits. It is a species as inferior to that of Mozart, as the cleverness of a smart boy is to that of a man of sentiment; but it is genius nevertheless.” (Leigh Hunt, Going to the Play Again, 1828)

“The first characteristic of Rossini's music is speed -- a speed which removes from the soul all the sombre emotions that are so powerfully evoked within us by the slow strains in Mozart. I find also in Rossini a cool freshness, which, measure by measure, makes us smile with delight.” (Stendhal, Life of Rossini, 1824)

“The point is... a person feels good listening to Rossini. All you feel like listening to Beethoven is going out and invading Poland. Ode to Joy indeed. The man didn't even have a sense of humor.” (Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow, 1973)

38 Opera Etiquette (i.e. the proper way to behave) Here are rules for audience behavior during the opera: 1. Remain quiet – don’t do anything that will disturb or distract the performers or the audience. 2. Do not leave your seat during the performance. 3. No gum, candy, or drinks are allowed in the theater. 4. Applaud politely at the end of a scene or act. 5. Dress appropriately for a special occasion.

Why we follow these etiquette rules: 1. Because the performers really can hear the whispers from on stage, and other people are trying to watch. 2. Because it’s dangerous to try to step over people in the dark, and because it’s disrespectful to the performers and the other audience members. 3. Gum, candy, and drinks make noise that will distract the performers, and could make a mess in the theater. 4. Shouting or whistling is not appropriate for an opera. 5. Because it is respectful to the performers and the theater to dress nicely.

Suggestions for Question & Answer Session when opera visits your school: An integral part of our visit to your school is our attempt to involve students in the performance. There will be a short question and answer period immediately following the show. Teachers are requested to prompt students to think of questions to ask before the date they are scheduled to see the opera. Students should be prepared to ask in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone. Listed below are some sample questions. ! What made you decide to become a singer? ! What do you do to warm up your voice and keep it in shape? ! How do you learn the opera? ! How much did you rehearse? ! What is your favorite type of music? ! Where did the set and props come from? ! Who made the costumes? ! How do you sing so loudly? See how many others your students can come up with!

39 Defining Opera Terms Make a “Memory” matching game from the words in the Music and Opera Glossary. Pair students off in groups of two and have them write a term on one card and its definition on the other. They should do this for each term in the glossary. They will then mix the cards up and place them all facedown in a square on the floor or a table. They will take turns flipping over two cards at a time, in hopes that they will turn over a term with its proper definition. If they make a match, they get another turn. If not, they turn both cards back over and it becomes the other person’s turn. The person to turn over the most pairs of cards wins.

Reading Buddies Pair up each child with an older student in another class as a “big brother, little sister” reading program. Have the students read the story of The Billy Goats Gruff together.

Exploring Multiculturalism Because of their basic simplicity, many folktales make an excellent introduction to literature for young children. Students in the early elementary grades can discuss the appropriateness of the pictures in illustrated versions of the better-known tales, and should be exposed to the simpler folktales from a variety of cultures. Upper elementary students can survey the entire range of folktales, noticing the cultural variations in the treatment of common themes and the psychological implications of these tales.

Art and Advertising Have your students create their own posters advertising the upcoming performance of The Billy Goats Gruff.

Preconceptions about Opera Have your students write, draw, or act out what they think opera is, or what they might already know about opera. Try not to censor their responses – let them say it’s about fat ladies with Viking helmets. Then go back and discuss with them the differences between the stereotypes they might know and the reality of what opera truly is.

40 Things to Talk About Before the Opera

1. What is a fairy tale? How is a fairy tale different from “real life?”

2. Read the story of The Billy Goats Gruff. Ask the students to discuss the story and its characters. How would they tell the same story?

3. Discuss the differences between an opera and a play, a movie, a concert, or a music video; watching a live performance and watching a performance on television.

4. What part does an audience play in an opera? What are some of the characteristics of a good audience?

41 New in the 2009-2010 season, the Wayne & Kristine Lueders Florentine Opera Center, in the heart of Milwaukee’s revitalized Riverwest neighborhood, serves as a home base for the Florentine Opera Studio Artists and our ever-expanding youth education and community programming.

Located at 926 E. Burleigh Street, the customized 3,000 square foot building houses two rehearsal/performance spaces, offices, kitchen facilities, workshops for designing and building productions, costumes and wigs, and a warehouse for the storage of production elements.

In addition to providing the Florentine with its own rehearsal space, the Center is also offered as a reasonably priced, first-class rehearsal space to local and emerging performers and arts groups.

The Florentine Opera Center is supported, in part, by generous donations by Wayne & Kristine Lueders and Mario & Cathy Costantini. Support for programming and performances held at the Florentine Opera Center is provided by the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, with added support by the Frieda & William Hunt Memorial Trust, and by generous individual donors.

For more information on events held at the Florentine Opera Center, visit www.florentineopera.org/events.

For more information about renting the space, please contact [email protected].

42 In the following sections of the guide, you will find numerous activity ideas for diverse curricula, as well as easy-to-copy worksheets for your students. The activities are divided by subject area, but many activities can be used in relation to several different subject areas – so don’t be afraid to glance through each section! Feel free to amend and duplicate the activities to meet your specific needs.

*Note: Included in the study guide are supplemental activities to promote motor and language arts skills, as well as creativity and critical thinking. These activities are typically best suited to the early elementary grades (Pre-K – Grade 2). Other activities and worksheets, such as those devoted to history, culture, and logic, encourage further critical thinking for older students.

Music Opera Timeline Suggested Activities Listen and Create! Math, Science & Technology Suggested Activities Theatre Fun with Math and Logic Suggested Activities Additional Information & Resources Visual Art for Teachers Suggested Activities Mazes and Coloring Characters and Settings

Language Arts Suggested Activities A “Tail” to Tell Viewing and Reviewing Critic’s Corner! Opera Crossword Opera Word Search

Social Studies Suggested Activities (History, Geography, Culture) Musical Geography 43

MUSIC

Explore the tools the composer uses to create sympathy and understanding for the characters. Help the students to recall the music in the program. What moods were created? What story did the music convey?

How did rhythm, dynamics, and tone affect the story the music was telling? This exercise can be used to learn both mood and rhythm words. Have students list the differences between operatic music and other types of music they are familiar with, such as pop, rap, R&B, rock, country, jazz, or musical theatre. Discuss differences in vocal quality, range of dynamics, dramatic intensity, instrumentation, etc.

Ask students who their favorite singers are. Discuss whether or not they sound like trained classical singers, explaining why or why not.

Help your students to understand what makes up musical form. Music is built in phrases, much like sentences that we speak. Try the following steps to find the form of any song they might already know. Listen to a familiar song and decide where commas and periods would go if the melody were written down like a sentence. Figure out how many phrases or “sentences” are in the song. Do they sound like questions (open cadence) or answers (closed cadence)? Do any of the phrases sound like they start with the same musical idea? Label each phrase with a shape: circle, square, etc. If one sounds like another, label them both with the same shape. Go back and change the shapes to letters: A, B, C, and so on. Once all the phrases are labeled, the form of the song is spelled out: ABA, AABB, ABABA, etc.

Demonstrate the difference between beat and rhythm. Have the students find their pulse on their wrist or neck. Compare the human heartbeat to the “pulse” or “beat” of a song. You could also have them march around the room to the beat of a song so they feel the beat in their bodies. To demonstrate rhythm, have them speak the words to a familiar song or chant, and ask them to clap along with the words they are saying. Once the class can do each activity independently, divide them into two groups. Have one group march to the beat and the other speak and clap the rhythm of the song/chant.

Play a popular song that the students will recognize. Discuss how changing certain elements of the music (tempo, instrumentation, vocal timbre, text) would alter the overall effect of the song.

Using material from a regular classroom subject, have students rewrite lyrics for music they’ve learned from Billy Goats Gruff. Practice the song together for a few days, and then discuss how the music helped them to understand and remember the new concepts or information.

Investigate the reverse: how can a character create specific music? Using a popular movie or television sitcom as an example (i.e., Finding Nemo, the Simpsons, etc.), choose a character and discuss what musical elements could portray the character’s personality. To take the exercise even further, play a scene from a movie or television show – preferably an unfamiliar one – but mute the sound so that the students only see the action. Discuss what they think the music could sound like during the scene, and why they think certain musical elements might be appropriate.

Explore how a singer’s voice type affects his/her character’s personality. Using the sections of this guide devoted to specific voice types (lyric tenor, coloratura soprano, etc.) and genres of opera (opera buffa, opera seria, operetta, etc.) discuss with your students the roles typically played by each voice type in different genres. Once again, choose a popular movie or TV sitcom to use as an example, preferably one with an ensemble cast. Have the students determine into which opera genre the show or movie could be classified, and assign each character in the cast a voice type. (For example: The sitcom the Simpsons would be considered an opera buffa, with Homer being a baritone, Marge being a mezzo-soprano, Patty and Selma being contraltos, and so on.)

LISTEN AND CREATE!

Listen to opera excerpts from YouTube and draw what you hear, feel, think, or see.

Theatre

Have your students make up their own fairy tale. Select several students to tell their stories. Use vivid descriptions to make the characters real, funny, emotional, etc.

Divide students into small groups and read a fairy tale or use one of the students’ fairy tales, then act it out for the class.

Combine these two and put on a play, completing the production process from start to finish. Hold auditions, post a cast list, and bring the students’ “backstage” plans to life. You could even double- or triple-cast the show so that each student is involved “on stage.”

Have students design a simple set, costumes, make-up, etc.

Determine the viewpoint from which the story is told. The Billy Goats Gruff is told in a way that gives the audience an overall view of the events in the story instead of a single character’s perspective. Divide students into groups and have them write their own Billy Goats Gruff story from the perspective of one of the characters from the story – even the bully’s! Allow students to perform their plays for one another. List the inconsistencies between each version and discuss how a situation can seem different when looked at from someone else’s perspective.

Explore the challenges of the stage director. The director of an opera must be able to clearly explain his/her vision for a production to the singers. Some scenes can be very complicated if there is a lot of action involved. Have students take turns directing a short scene, noting the difficulties of getting the performers to do what they are directed to do.

Look at the importance of the setting. Sometimes a director may take artistic license and decide he/she wants the production of an opera to be set in a non- traditional time and place. For example, he/she might set Hansel and Gretel in a modern-day high school. The mom and dad would be the children’s favorite teachers, while the witch might be an evil substitute. Instead of a forest, Hansel and Gretel could wander through the basement of the school. Since the setting of The Billy Goats Gruff is not specified, the options are endless. Pick an unlikely time and place for the story like the Old West or the year 2100 on Mars. How would a time/location change affect the way the actors would portray their characters? Think about their speech patterns, the way they walk and carry themselves, their costumes, and their interactions with one another. Stage a scene with both traditional and non-traditional settings. Discuss the similarities and differences.

VISUAL

ART

Create a favorite scene in the production three-dimensionally using a shoebox. Scene designers make such working models when designing a set for production.

Make a mask of one of the billy goats.

Look at all the visual elements in opera. Opera isn’t just music. It incorporates all the arts, especially visual art. Have students list all the elements of an opera or play that are visual (i.e. set, costumes, props, makeup, etc.). Discuss how these things can be considered “art.”

Sketch one of the costumes used in the production of The Billy Goats Gruff.

Make storyboards. Before building the scenery for an opera, the production designer draws out plans of the look of each major scene in the show. Have students pick out the most important moments in The Billy Goats Gruff and draw what they think each scene might look like.

Use patterns included in this packet for drawing/coloring activities.

Have the students draw pictures of what they think a typical opera singer looks like. Go to a few of the singer websites in the “Operatic Singing” section and look at their photographs. Compare the students’ drawings with the real photos and discuss their reactions.

Read a synopsis for The Billy Goats Gruff and have students draw their own versions of what they think each of the characters could look like.

Design a poster to promote the opera. Create posters or programs for the production of The Billy Goats Gruff that might represent the “look” of the show.

CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS

Draw a picture of two main characters in The Billy Goats Gruff. Show what they are doing. Be sure to show the setting for each of them.

Character: Setting:

Character: Setting:

LANGUAGE

ARTS

" Uncovering themes: Incorporate The Billy Goats Gruff into a “themes” unit in your writing curriculum. Have students choose one of the many themes in the Florentine’s production of The Billy Goats Gruff (particularly bullying) and use it for a separate activity. This activity could be writing a new short story with the same theme, or simply exploring how this theme is treated in The Billy Goats Gruff – what parts of the story provide examples of this theme?

" Drama, conflict, resolution, and the way in which these ingredients transform and illuminate the characters are what make a story interesting. Have your students rewrite the story of The Billy Goats Gruff, changing one aspect of any of the above story components.

" Assist students in writing a critical review of the performance of The Billy Goats Gruff. Students in grades K-2 can be guided using single words to describe their musical experience. This project will facilitate students’ listening, writing, communication, and aesthetic judgment skills.

" Read a variety of folktales from around the world. Select one and “update” it, making it relevant today. Have students describe the setting, the characters, etc. Ask if the story retains its meaning, or loses something in the “translation.”

" Watch opera on Looney Tunes! Search for the “Rabbit of Seville” and “What’s Opera, Doc?” on YouTube. (The “Rabbit of Seville” is based on Rossini’s “Barber of Seville,” and “What’s Opera, Doc?” uses the music of Richard Wagner, specifically “The Ride of the Valkyries.”) Before watching, give students several questions with which to guide their viewing experience. (What kind of feelings does this give you about opera? How would the cartoon have been different if they had used pop music instead of opera? How do you think the director of the episode picked the music to go with certain parts of the story?) Have students write reactions to these two opera-infused cartoon episodes.

" Discuss the parts of a story. Identify the beginning, middle, and end of The Billy Goats Gruff.

" Talk about the conflict. Stories generally have some conflict that needs to be resolved. What is the conflict in this opera? How is it resolved?

" Identify character types in The Billy Goats Gruff. Who is the “bad guy,” the “hero,” etc.?

" Read a traditional fairy tale version of The Billy Goats Gruff and the synopsis for John Davies’ opera. Discuss the differences between the versions. Ask students why they think the differences are there.

" Character discussion: Which characters are fully developed? Which are not? Are there major changes that affect a character’s growth in the story? What are each of the characters’ strengths and weaknesses? How do the characters differ from each other – physically and emotionally? What makes Osmin a “bad guy” and Lucy a “good guy”?

" Discuss the concept of personification with your students, using the cow as an example.

" Remove, add, or change one of the characters from the story. What if Osmin were nice and friendly? How would this change the plot?

" Fairy tales were often written to teach a lesson to young children. What is the lesson that John Davies wanted to teach? Is it different from the lesson in the traditional fairy tale?

" Sequencing: Write the following sentences on strips of paper. Mix up their order and distribute them to your students to put back in the correct order. ✏ Lucy accidentally knocks Osmin into the water. ✏ Lucy, Ernesto and Dandini are walking home from school. ✏ Osmin takes Lucy’s doll. ✏ Ernesto and Dandini go to get help. ✏ Lucy convinces Osmin to be nicer to others.

" New Endings: Read the synopsis for the opera The Billy Goats Gruff. Write a new ending for the story.

" Write a modern version of The Billy Goats Gruff that takes place in a location the students are familiar with. What would be different? What would be the same?

" Revisit the characters. Imagine that five years have passed. What are all of the characters doing now? How has their experience changed their views on life, family, strangers? Ask students to write an autobiography as if they were one of the characters. Don’t forget to assign some students Osmin!

A “Tail” to Tell

Students will write a sequel to the original Billy Goats Gruff story.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Any classic version of The Billy Goats Gruff Blank story maps for each student (found on the next page) Colored markers or crayons

WHAT TO DO:

1. Have students read different versions of The Billy Goats Gruff. 2. Have students use their story maps to write a draft of their stories. 3. Have students read their drafts aloud to you or a writing partner. Encourage them to ask questions such as, “Is my writing clear?” or “Is there anything I should add?” 4. Have students make any necessary revisions and proof read. 5. Encourage students to draw illustrations and make a cover for their stories. 6. Have students read their stories to the rest of the class in a special Billy Goats Gruff story hour. If a kindergarten class is available, your students may enjoy reading their stories to the younger students. STORY MAP

Main characters Setting

Problem of the story

A story event

A story event

How the problem is solved

The ending

VIEWING AND REVIEWING

Objective: To help students become informed viewers and listeners.

Activity 1:

Discuss what it means to be an informed viewer or listener. (Someone who is able to form opinions about an opera, movie, play, orchestral or dance performance, etc., based on thoughtful consideration about what was seen and heard.)

Ask your students to name two movies or television programs the have seen recently; one they liked and one they disliked. Can they describe why they liked one and not the other? Discuss the story, the characters and the production. Was the plot interesting? Why? Where did the major conflict occur? How did the dramatic conflict and resolution contribute to the success (or failure) of the plot? Did the theme come across clearly?

Was it easy to identify with the characters? Why? What actions made the characters believable or unbelievable? Was the choice of the actors appropriate for the roles? How would different performers have changed the dramatic effect?

Were the costumes, make-up and props effective? How did they contribute to the furthering of the theme and characters of the story? Identify other novels, plays, movies, operas, etc. with the same theme. If the students were going to produce their own version of the same story, what would they have done differently?

Activity 2:

After viewing the performance, have the students write their own reviews. Ask them to begin by stating their general reaction to the performance. What happened musically or dramatically to cause their reaction? Students should comment on the plot, characters and production elements (i.e. sets, costumes, lighting and make-up), as well as the musical values. Compare reviews. Discuss how the students’ perceptions differ.

Activity 3:

Have the students find reviews of performances or movies from newspapers and magazines. Compare their analysis and responses with those of other critics. Note the kinds of observations made by professional critics: What did the reviewer single out for praise or criticism? In what ways did the reviewer lead the viewer to think about alternative interpretations?

Critic’s Corner!

Pretend you are an opera critic for a newspaper. Write a review telling about your favorite part of the show. Tell what you liked about the opera and why. Was the opera funny, sad, scary, or all of the above? Did the Florentine Opera singers give a good performance? Remember it is the critic’s job to report both the positive and the negative accurately. Have your teacher send us your review. Make sure your name, grade, and school are on your review. Your opinion really counts!

The Daily Newspaper

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

By: Grade: School:

Review of “The Billy Goats Gruff”

OPERA CROSSWORD

ACROSS DOWN 3. The main vocal line is the ______1. The clothing worn in an opera 4. A piece for four singers 2. The scenery and furniture on the stage 7. A large group of singers 3. A low female singer 8. A high male singer 5. A piece for two singers 9. The speed of the music 6. A production with acting and singing 10. A piece for a solo singer 7. The person who writes the music 12. A high female singer 11. When the singer speaks a simple melody 13. The words of an opera 1

2

3

4

5 6 7

8

9 10 11

12

13

KEY – OPERA CROSSWORD

ACROSS DOWN 3. The main vocal line is the _____ 1. The clothing worn in an opera 4. A piece for four singers 2. The scenery and furniture on the stage 7. A large group of singers 3. A low female singer 8. A high male singer 5. A piece for two singers 9. The speed of the music 6. A production with acting and singing 10. A piece for a solo singer 7. The person who writes the music 12. A high female singer 11. When the singer speaks a simple melody 13. The words of an opera

ACROSS DOWN 3. Melody 1. Costume 4. Quartet 2. Set 7. Chorus 3. Mezzo 8. Tenor 5. Duet 9. Tempo 6. Opera 10. Aria 7. Composer 12. Soprano 11. Recitative 13. Libretto

SOCIAL

STUDIES

[Each activity idea can be used under the umbrella of one or more state standards for Math, Science, and Technology.]

History

Read about the composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (from Austria), and Gaetano Donizetti and Gioacchino Rossini (both from Italy). Do some research with your students and try to determine what important world and US events happened while they lived. Discuss which events might have been most influential to both of the composers.

What was going on when the story for this opera was written? Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe collected and recorded the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff in Norway in 1845. Research what was happening in America that year. Who was the president? What kinds of entertainment were popular? How much did things like gas or milk cost? Did your school exist in 1845? What has changed about your town since that time?

Find out how Austria, Italy, Norway, and the United States fit into the history of the world. Which country has been established the longest? Have any of these countries ever been involved with any wars together?

Opera stars aren’t just known for their artistry. A few have made a real difference in the cultural and social landscape of the United States. In 1939, African American contralto Marian Anderson gave a historical concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for an integrated audience of more than 75,000 people. This landmark performance was 24 years before Martin Luther King’s March on Washington! (For more information, go to http://www.kennedy- center.org/ and search “Marian Anderson;” click on the link leading to her biographical information.)

Geography Most popular operas were written in Europe and take place all over the world. Have your students find the countries in which different operas were written and those in which they take place.

Find a map of Europe and use it to learn about the different paths that Mozart, Donizetti, and Rossini took in their lifetimes. Have any of your students been to these places?

Map out a route to Norway, the place of origin of the fairy tale The Three Billy Goats Gruff, from your school. What states, countries, oceans, or other bodies of water would you have to go through if you were to travel by land and water, instead of in an airplane?

More mapping: John Davies lives in DeWitt, New York. Map out a route from your town to his. What states, rivers, and geographical regions would you have to drive through? Would it be faster if you could take a shortcut through a lake? Which one(s)?

What does Norway look like? Are there trees? Hills? Mountains? A lot of buildings? How are the landscapes of this country different from the United States? What are the most prominent industries in this country? Are there geographical issues that make it prominent? (e.g., A country on the water may have a heavy fishing industry.)

Have students draw a map of Lucy’s path from school to her house. Do the same for Ernesto and Dandini. Include a Compass Rose, a Legend, and possible geographical details.

Culture

Many operas, as well as stories, are multicultural. Discuss the methods writers and composers use to effectively communicate ideas that appeal and are relevant to various ethnic and cultural groups.

Discuss Norwegian culture. What kind of foods do people eat? What kind of traditional clothing do they historically wear? What is the most popular form of entertainment for elementary-aged students? Do they celebrate the same holidays that we celebrate?

Do some basic research on the major cities in Norway. Compare them with major cities in the United States. Do the buildings look the same? Do people drive, ride a bike, or walk? Is there public transportation?

What do people do for a living in Norway? Do people choose their careers based on family traditions or personal ambitions?

MUSICAL GEOGRAPHY!

Opera composers come from all over the world. Mozart was born in Austria. Donizetti and Rossini were born in Italy. Here is a list of composers and the countries they come from. Have your students find these countries on the map!

COMPOSER COUNTRY

Ludwig von Beethoven Germany Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano Italy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austria Charles Gounod France Gaetano Donizetti Italy Carl Maria von Weber Germany Henry Purcell England Ruggero Leoncavallo Italy Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Russia Richard Strauss Germany Giacomo Puccini Italy George Gershwin United States Benjamin Britten England Pietro Mascagni Italy Georges Bizet France Richard Wagner Germany Gioachino Rossini Italy

From Overture to Finale: Opera Marches through Time

To put opera and its composers in a historical time frame, the following is a brief operatic timeline.

Musical history Date Other history

Monteverdi born 1567 Queen Elizabeth I rules England

1577 Francis Drake sails around the world 1603 James I ascends to the throne of England

1620 Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock

Monteverdi’s Coronation 1642 Isaac Newton born of Poppea J.S. Bach & Handel born 1685

1706 Benjamin Franklin born

Handel’s Messiah 1755

Mozart born 1756 First chocolate factory opens in Germany

1773 Boston Tea Party

1776 American Revolution

Mozart’s Marriage 1786 Robert Burns publishes poems of Figaro

1789 George Washington first President of U.S. French Revolution Mozart’s Magic Flute 1791 Marie Antoinette beheaded

Rossini born 1792 Republican and Democratic parties formed

Donizetti born 1797 John Adams second President of U.S. Wordsworth & Goethe writing Verdi & Wagner born 1813 Jane Austen writes Pride and Prejudice

Rossini’s Barber of Seville 1816

Gounod born 1818

1819 Queen Victoria born

Bizet born 1838 Charles Dickens writing in London

Wagner’s Ring Cycle 1852-71 Harriet Beecher Stowe writes Uncle Tom’s Cabin Humperdinck born 1854

Puccini born 1858 New York Symphony gives first public concert R. Strauss born 1864 Tolstoy publishes War and Peace

1865 Abraham Lincoln assassinated

Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette 1867

Verdi’s Aida 1871 Suez Canal Opens P.T. Barnum opens “The Greatest Show on Earth” The Great Fire in Chicago Bizet’s Carmen 1875 First roller skating rink opens in London

1883 Metropolitan Opera opens in New York First modern skyscraper built in Chicago

Humperdinck’s Hänsel 1893 Ford builds his first car und Gretel Puccini’s La Bohème 1896 Klondike Gold Rush First Modern Olympics held in Athens Gershwin born 1898 Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) dies

1903 Wright Brothers fly first airplane Woman arrested for smoking in public R. Strauss’ Salome 1904 Theodore Roosevelt elected President

S. Joplin’s Treemonisha 1911

1912 S. S. Titanic sinks

Britten born 1913 Charlie Chaplin makes first movie

1914 World War I begins

Bernstein born 1918

1929 New York Stock Exchange crashes, which begins the Great Depression Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess 1935 Swing grows in popularity 1937 Disney’s movie: Snow White

1939 World War II

Menotti’s The Telephone 1947

Webber born 1948 Harry S. Truman elected President Babe Ruth dies Britten’s Let’s Make an 1949 Rogers & Hammerstein – South Pacific Opera Hit song: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Menotti’s The Consul 1950 U.S. military’s involvement in Vietnam begins

Menotti’s Amahl and the 1951 Color television introduced in the U.S. Night Visitors Bernstein’s Trouble in 1952 Eisenhower elected President Tahiti Bernstein’s Candide 1956 First aerial H-bomb tested

Bernstein’s West Side 1957 Russians launch first earth-orbiting Story satellite (Sputnik I) 1960 John F. Kennedy elected President 1963 John F. Kennedy assassinated

The Beatles’ first U.S. 1964 performance The Who’s Tommy 1969 First person walks on the moon (American Woodstock astronaut Neil Armstrong)

John Lennon shot in NYC 1980

MTV goes on the air 1981

Bernstein’s A Quiet Place 1983 First American woman in space CDs publicly available Madonna’s first road tour 1985 Michael Jackson’s Thriller Live Aid concerts (London & Philadelphia) CDs outsell vinyls for 1988 the first time

1990 Fall of the Berlin Wall (Union of East and

West Germany) John Corigliano’s Ghosts 1991 Gulf War of Versailles Dissolution of USSR 1992 Official establishment of European Union William J. Clinton elected U.S. President Woodstock ’94 1994

Rock and Roll Hall of 1995 Fame opens 1996 William J. Clinton reelected U.S. President

1997 Tony Blair elected Prime Minister of UK

Frank Sinatra dies 1998

2000 George W. Bush elected U.S. President

2001 Terrorists attack World Trade Center in NYC

2003 U.S./UK invade Iraq (“Operation Iraqi Freedom”) 2004 George W. Bush reelected U.S. President

American lyric coloratura 2007 Beverly Sills dies 2008 Barack Obama elected U.S. President

MATH, SCIENCE, & TECHNOLOGY

[Each activity idea can be used under the umbrella of one or more state standards for Math, Science, and Technology. The relevant standards will be cited briefly after each activity idea. The full description of the standards can be found in Section B of the Appendix at the end of this Guide.]

Draw a floor plan for Lucy’s house. How many rooms do you think it might have? What would the dimensions of each room be?

Math and music are very similar. Simple math connections can be made (e.g., 4 quarters = 1 whole dollar; 4 quarter notes = 1 whole note. ½ + ½ = 1; 1 half note + 1 half note = 1 whole note).]

Write word problems based on the plot of The Billy Goats Gruff. (e.g., Lucy walks 5 miles home from school every day. The bridge is 2 miles from school. How many miles must she walk from the bridge to her house?)

Calculate the size of the set. As a class, measure the space where the performance of The Billy Goats Gruff will (or did) take place. Calculate the correct dimensions of the space and decide how big the set should be.

Talk about various scientific discoveries that had not been made when Mozart, Donizetti and Rossini was writing his music. Did modern conveniences like the telephone, TV, or light bulb exist? How would opera production have been different if these things were available?

Take a tour of your school’s auditorium or a local performance space. Have students list all the scientific elements of performance spaces: pulley systems, lights, acoustics, etc.

Special effects: Often, smoke machines are used to add a different visual atmosphere to a production. If your school wanted to put on an opera that required smoke and you didn’t have a smoke machine, how would you create it?

Medical discoveries: One hundred years ago, there was no vaccine for polio. What other medical advances have been made in this century?

Read the sections of this guide about “operatic voices” and “operatic singing.” Explore the parts of the body that are used for singing.

Learn more about the science of sound by visiting the following interactive website: http://www.exploratorium.edu/music/index.html

Let there be lighting! Lighting a stage effectively is not as simple as flipping a light switch. Read all about the science and history of stage lighting at http://www.mts.net/%7Ewilliam5/sld.htm

Pretend you are the General Director of an opera company. Create an Excel spreadsheet to calculate a budget for your company.

Communicating with your cast of artists. In a Word document, create a mail merge letter to send to members of the cast. Create fields for name, address, roles, arrival dates, etc. Go even further and create printed materials for your opera company (letterhead, business cards, pamphlets, and performance programs).

Using a desktop publishing program like MS Publisher or Quark XPress, create posters and programs for The Billy Goats Gruff. Use various fonts and graphics that will capture the atmosphere of a fairy tale opera.

The Billy Goats Gruff: Fun with Math & Logic!

Name: Date:

Show your work.

1. Lucy, Ernesto and Dandini walked 5 miles to get to the bridge from school. It takes them 10 minutes to climb 1 mile. How long did it take them to get to the bridge?

2. Osmin has bullied kids on 14 different days. In total, he has taken 112 dolls away. If he takes the same amount every day, how many dolls has he taken each day?

3. Osmin bullied 4 groups of kids on Monday, 3 groups of kids on Tuesday, 7 groups of kids on Wednesday, 2 groups of kids on Thursday, and 5 groups of kids on Friday. How many groups of kids did he bully in the week?

4. Dandini walked a total of 35 miles during the week. He walked an equal number of miles Monday through Saturday. On Sunday he walked 11 miles. How many miles did he walk on each of the other days?

5. Lucy’s mom bought her a new doll for a total of $4.96. She was given 5 days to pay the bill. The first day she paid $2.00. How much did she pay each of the remaining days if she paid an equal amount each time?

6. Osmin’s mom gave him $6.32 to buy groceries at the store. When he arrived back home he had a total of $.52 left in change. If he bought 5 items of equal value, how much was each item?

7. Ernesto ran a total of 2 miles in 30 minutes. If he ran 1000 yards in 15 minutes how many feet did he run in the remaining 15 minutes? (1 mile = 1740 yards = 5280 feet; 1 yard = 3 feet)

Appendix

A

Additional Project Ideas for Continued Opera Education After the Florentine’s Performance

Encourage personal responses by suggesting they write thank-you notes to the singers, draw pictures of what they saw, write reviews of the performance, etc.

If opera is a completely new art form to your students, this first exposure may have been quite different from what they expected. Discuss how their experience differed from their expectations.

If some students have previous experience with opera, talk about how they felt returning to the art form and how seeing opera for a second (or third) time compared with the first.

Discuss how the main characters in The Billy Goats Gruff change over the course of the action. What do they learn about themselves and each other? What do they learn about friendship? What do they learn about making responsible choices?

Offer extra credit for students who undertake an opera-related project (e.g., writing a review of the next opera televised on public television, clipping a magazine or newspaper article about a famous opera singer to share with the class, etc.).

Pick a well-known opera to study. (Bizet’s Carmen has a powerful story and many famous melodies.) Over a period of time, read the story of the opera to your students, one “chapter” (act, scene, etc.) at a time. As you read through the story, play excerpts from a recording (available at your local public library or record store) for students and help them identify the music that goes with different characters and parts of the narrative. Have students act out parts of the story using the recorded music as a soundtrack. You can find narratives of famous operas on the following websites: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history/stories/ http://www.authorama.com/opera-stories-from-wagner-1.html (This website has Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle divided up into short chapters.) http://info.royaloperahouse.org/Synopses/index.cfm?ccs=77 The Metropolitan Opera has published a book entitled Sing Me a Story: The Metropolitan Opera’s Book of Opera Stories for Children. This book was written by Jane Rosenberg, with an introduction written by world-renowned tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Evidence of Learning

We believe that introducing students to opera is a perfect opportunity to foster an appreciation for the arts. Teachers frequently recognize improvement in a student’s attitude or growth in perspective, but unfortunately these things are nearly impossible to test for quantitative documentation.

Method of Documenting Learning A simple method of tracking and documenting a student’s progress is to have them complete a simple written survey before and after their opera unit. Here are some suggested questions to include on your survey:

Before the unit begins… List some adjectives you think of when you think about opera. What do you think an opera might be? What might you see in an opera? Do you think you would enjoy watching an opera?

After completing the unit… List some adjectives you think of when you think about opera. What is opera? Did you enjoy learning about opera? Would you like to see an opera again? B

NATIONAL AND STATE STANDARDS: How does opera fit in?

Standards for Music Education according to MENC: the National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org) and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (http://dpi.wi.gov/standards)

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. 5. Reading and notating music. 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. 7. Evaluating music and music performances. 8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts. 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

The Florentine Opera Company’s education programs provide educators, music and classroom alike, with boundless opportunities for cross-curricular connection. The state and national standards for music education can be used as a framework for such co-curricular work.

The first five standards can be described as performance-based, but are certainly not limited to music educators or the music classroom environment. Classroom teachers may encourage students to explore many avenues of creative writing and storytelling (such as those listed in the “Language Arts Activities” section) while also creating accompanying musical elements. These elements can be as simple as creating a soundscape with everyday objects to perform with the reading of a student’s work, or as complex as composing full songs to go with each student’s writing.

Standards six and seven call upon the students’ critical thinking and observation skills. Again, one need not be an expert on music to appreciate and critique a musical performance. Critical listening is one of the most innate skills a child has, regardless of his or her age. Depending on the age level, teachers can tailor guiding questions to invoke extremely thoughtful responses. Elements such as mood, setting, and possible storyline require no musical study at all – merely a working imagination. Using the concept of a movie soundtrack as the basis for such exercises, teachers can help students to explore the “who/what/where/when/why/how” of any story, as told through its music. Reverse composition is a great way to begin with students of all ages – listen to a “soundtrack” and write a possible storyline to go with it.

Standards eight and nine are the most versatile in terms of cross-curricular opportunities. Music itself is a cultural phenomenon. There is no music on earth that does not in some way reflect its composer, time

period, geographical location, or culture. There is an abundance of information available, both online and in hard copy format, on the roots of any piece of music, as well as its genre, composer, targeted audience, effect on the world or culture at the time, and present-day reverberations. Get creative with your students! If you are studying explorers of Western Europe, do a class study on musical explorers from the 17th and 18th centuries. During a unit on the peoples and cultures of West Africa, discover the instruments and everyday uses of music in cultures from Ghana. The possibilities are endless.

The New York City Department of Education has been a forerunner in terms of mapping out a music curriculum and drawing connections between music and every other subject area. See http://schools.nyc.gov for more information.

Standards for Language Arts Education according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (http://dpi.wi.gov/standards)

A. Reading/Literature: Students in Wisconsin will read and respond to a wide range of writing to build an understanding of written materials, of themselves, and of others. B. Writing: Students in Wisconsin will write clearly and effectively to share information and knowledge, to influence and persuade, to create and entertain. C. Oral Language: Students in Wisconsin will listen to, understand, and will speak clearly and effectively for diverse purposes. D. Language: Students in Wisconsin will apply their knowledge of the nature, grammar, and variations of American English. E. Media/Technology: Students in Wisconsin will use media and technology critically and creatively to obtain, organize, prepare and share information; to influence and persuade; and to entertain and be entertained. F. Research/Inquiry: Students in Wisconsin will locate, use, and communicate information from a variety of print and non-print materials.

Standards for Mathematics Education according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (http://dpi.wi.gov/standards)

A. Mathematical Processes: Students in Wisconsin will draw on a broad body of mathematical knowledge and apply a variety of mathematical skills and strategies, including reasoning, oral and written communication, and the use of appropriate technology, when solving mathematical, real-world and non-routine problems. B. Number Operations and Relationships: Students in Wisconsin will use numbers effectively for various purposes, such as counting, measuring, estimating, and problem solving. C. Geometry: Students in Wisconsin will be able to use geometric concepts, relationships and procedures to interpret, represent, and solve problems. D. Measurement: Students in Wisconsin will select and use appropriate tools (including technology) and techniques to measure things to a specified degree of accuracy. They will use measurements in problem-solving situations. E. Statistics and Probability: Students in Wisconsin will use data collection and analysis, statistics and probability in problem-solving situations, employing technology where appropriate. F. Algebraic Relationships: Students in Wisconsin will discover, describe, and generalize simple and complex patterns and relationships. In the context of real-world problem situations, the student will use algebraic techniques to define and describe the problem to determine and justify appropriate solutions.

Standards for Science Education according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (http://dpi.wi.gov/standards)

A. Science Connections: Students in Wisconsin will understand that there are unifying themes: systems, order, organization, and interactions; evidence, models, and explanations; constancy, change, and measurement; evolution, equilibrium, and energy; form and function among scientific disciplines. B. Nature of Science: Students in Wisconsin will understand that science is ongoing and inventive, and that scientific understandings have changed over time as new evidence is found. C. Science Inquiry: Students in Wisconsin will investigate questions using scientific methods and tools, revise their personal understanding to accommodate knowledge, and communicate these understandings to others. D. Physical Science: Students in Wisconsin will demonstrate an understanding of the physical and chemical properties of matter, the forms and properties of energy, and the ways in which matter and energy interact. E. Earth and Space Science: Students in Wisconsin will demonstrate an understanding of the structure and systems of earth and other bodies in the universe and of their interactions. F. Life and Environmental Science: Students in Wisconsin will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics and structures of living things, the processes of life, and how living things interact with one another and their environment. G. Science Applications: Students in Wisconsin will demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between science and technology and the ways in which that relationship influences human activities. H. Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Students in Wisconsin will use scientific information and skills to make decisions about themselves, Wisconsin, and the world in which they live.

Standards for Technology Education according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (http://dpi.wi.gov/standards)

A. Nature of Technology: Students in Wisconsin will understand that technology is an extension of human capability. B. Systems: Students in Wisconsin will recognize that systems are made up of individual components and that each component affects the operation of the system and its relationship to other systems. C. Human ingenuity: Students in Wisconsin will be able to define problems, gather information, explore options, devise a solution, evaluate the outcome, and communicate the results. D. Impact of technology: Students in Wisconsin will understand that technology affects society and the environment in ways that are both planned and unplanned and desirable and undesirable.

Standards for Social Studies Education according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (http://dpi.wi.gov/standards)

A. Geography: Students in Wisconsin will learn about geography through the study of the relationships among people, places, and environments.

B. History: Students in Wisconsin will learn about the history of Wisconsin, the United States, and the world, examining change and continuity over time in order to develop historical perspective, explain historical relationships, and analyze issues that affect the present and the future. C. Political Science and Citizenship: Students in Wisconsin will learn about political science and acquire the knowledge of political systems necessary for developing individual civic responsibility by studying the history and contemporary uses of power, authority, and governance. D. Economics: Students in Wisconsin will learn about production, distribution, exchange, and consumption so that they can make informed economic decisions. E. Behavioral Sciences: Students in Wisconsin will learn about the behavioral sciences by exploring concepts from the discipline of sociology, the study of the interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions; the discipline of psychology, the study of factors that influence individual identity and learning; and the discipline of anthropology, the study of cultures in various times and settings.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF OPERA

Baroque Period (1600-1725) In the early seventeenth century, a group of men called the Florentine Camerata began meeting to discuss music and the arts. They recognized the emotional power of music when combined with drama and aspired to create a new genre reminiscent of ancient Greek dramas, which achieved a similar combination. By linking existing musical pieces together with sung recitation, they laid the groundwork for what we now know as modern Western opera.

By the 1630s, opera was being performed all over Europe. Many countries, like Germany, were enjoying Italian operas while other countries, like France, began to experiment with their own variations of opera. By the eighteenth century, the model of opera seria was firmly established. The plots usually centered on mythological stories. The chorus was saved for the end of the opera where it added to the festivities of the inevitable happy ending, and the solo singer became glorified. The popularity of the singers was so prominent, in fact, that it was not unusual for them to change the music of an opera as they pleased. Singers would often insert their favorite arias into a show, whether it fit into the storyline or not.

The standard aria during this time was composed in a strict A-B-A form called da capo, literally meaning “from the head.” The first A section is sung in a straightforward manner, exactly as written; it is followed by a short B section that has a different melody, contrasting tempo, and is written in a different key. The aria ends with a restatement of the A section (same melody, same words), but this time the singer adds ornamentations at appropriate places throughout the vocal line. A famous example of this is “Vadoro pupille” from Julio Cesare by G.F. Handel.

Classical Period (1725-1820) By the eighteenth century, the rigidity of the opera seria model and da capo form were losing popularity since they limited the dramatic capabilities of music. Increasingly less emphasis was placed on the singer, and the spotlight moved toward the drama. The storylines also became more accessible to the general public. Comic operas, or opera buffa as they were called in Italy, became very popular throughout Europe.

The most important figure in the Classical Period of opera was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote many successful operas in both the opera seria and opera buffa styles. His comic operas were the true hits of the eighteenth century. Mozart was among the first to make a living as a freelance composer. Previous composers were employed as resident artists in a church or in someone’s household. This meant that they were obligated to write whatever music their employer demanded.

Although Mozart still had to rely on wealthy patrons to support his lifestyle, he had more artistic control of his music than others had and was often able to write operas that commented on whatever topic he chose. Many of the libretti (the text of an opera usually written by someone other than the composer) he chose reflected the new ideas that were circulating throughout Europe at that time. The American and French Revolutions were in full swing by this time. In his opera buffa, Le Nozze di Figaro, two young servants named Susanna and Figaro outsmart and humiliate their employer, Count Almaviva. The original play by French dramatist Beaumarchais was banned in France because of its bold statement regarding social classes. (It was only nine years later when King Louis XVI lost his head at the hands of the middle class.)

Romantic Period (1820-1900) In the nineteenth century’s Romantic Period, opera suddenly fell into categories defined by the nationality of the composer. Every major country in Europe made its own unique contributions to the art form.

Italian Romantic Opera Italian operas in the earliest years of the Romantic Period fell under the label of bel canto. The bel canto composers paved the way for the most prolific Italian opera composer, Giuseppe Verdi. Verdi broke down the walls between recitative and arias and tried to achieve a continuity that added to the drama of the piece. In the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, there was a strong trend toward realism in opera. This was called verismo. The plot of a verismo opera generally centered on common people dealing with familiar situations. These operas usually had true-to-life themes of love and loss, making them more realistic to the audience. An example of a verismo opera is Puccini’s La Bohème.

German Romantic Opera German opera during this period can be broken down into two categories: German Romantic Opera and Richard Wagner’s music dramas. German Romantic Operas were quite similar to Italian opera but differed in plot material. They drew more upon supernatural and medieval tales (rather than the verismo topics the Italians chose) and also employed more folk tunes. In the second half of the nineteenth century Wagner created the concept of Gesammkunstwerk [guh-zahm-koontz-vairk], which means “total artwork.” He believed that opera should be a fusion of stagecraft, visual arts, literature, and music. He did almost everything related to production himself: composed the music, wrote the libretto, and designed the costumes and scenery. In Wagner’s dramas there were almost no distinctions between arias and recitative; instead of showcasing the voice, he treated it like any other instrument. He also increased the size of the orchestra and even developed a new instrument he called the Wagner Tuba, which had a rich, mellow tone. Only very large voices can be heard over his expanded orchestra.

French Romantic Opera

French opera was typically visually spectacular, and usually included a ballet somewhere in the second or third act. In the Romantic Period, three types of French opera were prominent: $ Opéra comique – usually comical, used spoken dialogue instead of recitative. $ Grand opéra – popular in the second part of the nineteenth century when composer Giacomo Meyerbeer came onto the scene. Grand opéra was built around grandiose plots and used a large chorus and elaborate sets. $ Drama lyrique – a combination of opéra comique and grand opéra.

Modern American Opera (1900-present) Despite the dominance of Italian, French, and German opera within today’s popular repertoire, not all opera comes from the other side of the globe. American composers have been writing operas based on familiar themes for over a century. In the earliest years of American history, English settlers brought with them the Ballad Opera – a short, comic play with musical numbers interspersed throughout. These songs were basically original text set to popular tunes. During the eighteenth century, many traveling companies were performing these ballad operas all over the United States. Standard European operas by composers like Mozart and Rossini were also gaining popularity in New Orleans, Philadelphia, and New York. These productions were shortened versions of the originals, however, and were almost always performed in English.

In 1825, the first opera performed entirely in its original language was produce at the Park Theater in New York. Over the next 50 years, many traveling companies took opera all over the country, and in 1883 the Metropolitan Opera Company opened its doors. Today, The Met is recognized internationally for its high-quality productions and daring artistic ventures; several new American operas have been commissioned by The Met in the past century, giving composers exposure and prominence among the European masters.

American composers have made many important contributions to opera. George Gershwin was the first to incorporate jazz into opera with his Porgy and Bess. William Grant Still’s 1941 Troubled Island became the first opera written by an African- American composer to be produced by a major opera house. Composers like Gian Carlo Menotti and Carlisle Floyd have continued to write popular works that have a distinctly American sound. New operas are often based on American history (John Adams’ Nixon in China) or American literature (Floyd’s Of Mice and Men), offering familiar plots for new audiences. These and similar efforts made by composers and companies have made opera the fastest growing art form in the United States.

FAMOUS OPERA SINGERS OF DIFFERENT VOICE TYPES

Listed with each singer is an example of one album in case you would like to build your library. Some of their websites are included too.

Sopranos

Kathleen Battle, American light-lyric. Baroque Duet with Wynton Marsalis – Sony Classical label. www.sonyclassical.com/artists/battle/bio.html

Renée Fleming, American full-lyric. Formerly a jazz singer. Won a Grammy award for The Beautiful Voice – Decca label. www.renee-fleming.com

Deborah Voigt, American dramatic. Obsessions: Wagner and Strauss Arias and Scenes – EMI Classics label. www.deborahvoigt.com

Natalie Dessay, French coloratura. Vocalises – EMI Classics label.

Maria Callas, Greek opera singer, impossible to categorize. Sang both soprano and mezzo roles. Maria Callas: The Voice of the Century – EMI Classics label. www.callas.it

Other sopranos to consider: Edita Gruberova, Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko, Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Birgitt Nilsson, Jessye Norman, Barbara Bonney, Sylvia McNair, Joan Sutherland, Kiri TeKanawa.

Mezzo-Sopranos

Cecilia Bartoli [BAR-toh-lee], Italian singer once categorized as a mezzo, now singing literature written for castrati in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Vivaldi Album – Decca label. Viva Vivaldi! DVD.

Susan Graham, American light-lyric. Il tenero momento: Mozart and Gluck arias – Erato label. www.susangraham.com

Olga Borodina [bor-o-DEE-nuh], Russian dramatic. Olga Borodina: Arias – Philips label. www.deccaclassics.com/artists/borodina

Marilyn Horne, American singer also difficult to categorize. Rossini Heroes and Heroines – Decca label. www.marilynhornefdn.org

Jennifer Larmore, American full-lyric. Call Me Mister – Teldec label. www.jenniferlarmore.com

Marian Anderson, American contralto. Made history in 1955 as the first African- American female to sing at the Met. Also sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 for an integrated audience of 75,000. Marian Anderson – RCA Victor label. www.mariananderson.org

Other mezzo-sopranos to consider: Frederica von Stade, Denyce Graves, Anne Sophie von Otter, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Ewa Podles

Counter-tenors

Andreas Scholl, English. Andreas Scholl: Heroes – Decca label. www.andreasschollsociety.org

David Daniels, American. Handel Operatic Arias – Veritas label. www.danielssings.com

Derek Lee Ragin, American. Handel Cantatas and Sonatas – Channel Classics label. www.colbertartists.com/ArtistBio.asp?ID=9

Other countertenors to consider: Brian Asawa, Russell Oberlin, Drew Minter, Yoshikazu Mera

Tenors

Luciano Pavarotti, Italian. The Pavarotti Edition: Volumes 1-10 – Decca label. www.lucianopavarotti.com

Ian Bostridge, English lyric. Schubert Lieder Volume One – EMI Classics label. www.emiclassics.com/artists/biogs/bistb.html

Roberto Alagna [ah-LAHN-yuh], French. Roberto Alagna – EMI Classics label. www.emiclassics.com/artists/alagna/

Juan Diego Florez, Argentinean. Great Tenor Arias – Decca label. www.deccaclassics.com/artists/florez/

Other tenors to consider: Fritz Wunderlich, Enrico Caruso, Placido Domingo, Jose Cura, John Mark Ainsley, Jose Carreras

Baritones

Bryn Terfel [TER-fuhl], Welsh bass-baritone. Opera Arias – Deutsche Grammophon label. www.deutschegrammophon.com/artistmicrosite/?ART_ID-TERBR

Dmitri Hvorostovsky [vor-oh-STAHV-skee], Russian lyric. Verdi Arias – Delos label. www.hvorostovsky.com (fan site)

Thomas Hampson, American lyric. The Very Best of Thomas Hampson – EMI Classics label. www.hampsong.com

Matthias Goerne, German bass-baritone. Arias – Decca label. www.deccaclassics.com/artists/goerne/

Other baritones to consider: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Rodney Gilfry, Thomas Quastoff, Thomas Allen, Robert Merrill, Sherrill Milnes

Basses

Samuel Ramey, American. A Date with the Devil – Naxos label. www.samuelramey.com

Nicolai Ghiaurov, Bulgarian. Great Scenes from Verdi Operas – Decca label. www.deccaclassics.com/artists/ghiaurov/biog.html#

James Morris, American. Opera Arias – Capitol Records label. www.ffaire.com/wagner/morris.html

Other basses to consider: Kurt Moll, Robert Milne, Rene Pape, Ezio Pinza

OPERA-RELATED LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND EDUCATORS

Anderson, Marian. My Lord, What a Morning. New York: The Viking Press, 1956.

Comstock, Ariane Csonka. The Young Person’s Guide to the Opera. Los Angeles: Monarch Media, Inc., 1997.

Cross, Milton. The Complete Stories of the Great Opera. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1952.

Geras, Adele. The Random House Book of Opera Stories. New York: Random House, 1997.

Pavarotti, Luciano and William Wright. Pavarotti: My Own Story. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1981.

Pogue, David. Opera for Dummies. New York: Hungry Minds, 1997.

Price, Leontyne. Aïda: A Picture Book. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1990.

Rosenberg, Jane. Sing Me a Story: The Metropolitan Opera’s Book of Opera Stories for Children. New York: Thomas & Hudson, 1989.

Weaver, Tess and Andrea Wesson. Opera Cat. New York: Clarion Books, 2002.

WEBSITES FOR MUSIC EDUCATORS

Opera Websites www.florentineopera.org ✦ Florentine Opera Company website www.operaamerica.org/notes ✦ OPERA America Website. Find research and countless other resources here. www.lincolncentereducation.org ✦ Lincoln Center Education. Learn about Capacities for Imaginative Learning

Arts in Education Websites www.aep-arts.org Arts Education Partnership website. Support for arts in the classroom. www.kennedy-center.org/education The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. www.aate.com American Alliance for Theatre and Education.Educati www.theperformingartsalliance.org Founded in 1977. Advocates for the performing arts. www.americansforthearts.org Americans for the Arts. www.namfe.org National Association for Music Education. www.exploratorium.edu/music Interactive website for music and science. www.juliantrubin.com/topicprojects/musicprojects.html Music-centered science projects and experiments. Topics, Ideas, Experiments, Reference Resources and Sample Projects 2016/2017