This video focuses on how the magic of opera is brought to life at OPERA San Antonio’s home venue, the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Viewers receive a behind-the-scenes tour and meet OPERA San Antonio’s staff and artists including Maestro Francesco Milioto who shares his passion for music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The video includes arias and duets from The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute performed by the Apprentice Artists. Access Video 1 Worksheet here.
“Fairy Tales & Fables” explores the influence of folktales on opera and a composer's use of voice types to portray characters within a story. Filmed at the Central Library, this video features library staff exploring the similarities and differences between fairy tales and fables. The Apprentice Artists perform excerpts from Gioachino Rossini’s Cinderella, Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and a children’s opera by John Davies called Little Red’s Most Unusual Day. Access Video 2 Worksheet Here.
Opera may have started in Europe, but it has become part of mainstream culture by inspiring the creation of musicals and operas that are distinctly American. This video compares and contrasts the two genres with selections from crossover works that bridge the gap between opera and musical theater like Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, selections from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, and an aria from American composer Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land. Access Video 3 Worksheet Here.
Some of the greatest operas ever written are based on some of the greatest literary works ever written. This video explores the elements of storytelling and how the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet inspired playwrights like Shakespeare and composers like Vincenzo Bellini and Charles Gounod. The Apprentice Artists sing two arias from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Access Video 3 Worksheet Here.
The final video in the "Explore Opera for Kids!" series serves as a quick review and features the OSA Apprentice Artists singing some of opera's most famous arias, duets, and quartets. “The Habanera'' and “The Toreador Song” from Bizet’s Carmen, “Musetta’s Waltz” from Puccini’s La bohème, plus the famous Neapolitan art song “O sole mio” will delight audiences of all ages. Access Video 5 Quiz Review Here.
