The 5th graders at Burr Ridge Middle School did not see a performance of “Carmen” or “Aida.” Their first taste of opera was the one-act production of “Sid the Serpent.”
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“We wanted our students to experience what opera is like,” Principal Roger Sanders said.
The University of Illinois Youth Opera Preparation and Education troupe arrived at Burr Ridge Middle School from Urbana for three days recently for workshops and performances for various grades.
Nicholas Di Virgilio, university music professor, said most children have their first encounters with opera in a negative way by watching cartoon spoofs on television.
“Opera is better than that and is more entertaining in a different way,” he said. “We also want children to listen to the development of the human voice. They only listen to amplified voices on television and in recordings. They have not listened to the raw voice without amplification.”
Since 1990, Di Virgilio has taken U. of I. music students to schools throughout the state. Performing at Burr Ridge Middle School were Jennifer Hintz, Daniel Teadt, Jenni Carbaugh and Benjamin Bunsold. The piano accompanist was Casey Robards.
First, the troupe gave workshops on stage makeup, pantomime and operatic singing.
Then the U. of I. students performed the 25-minute opera by Malcolm Box, an Australian, about a snake who can’t sing well but travels the world seeking a style that will suit him. His search takes him from classic opera to rock, the latter in an Elvis Presley hairdo with guitar.
“I think it is cool that they can sing without a microphone,” said Courtney Klaus, one 5th grader. But Courtney said her favorites remain the pop group Spice Girls.