Opera mini-stars: During the school day, Alessandra “Alex” Colaianni, 13, and sister Gabriela “Gabby,” 11, hit the books at Lake Forest’s Deer Path Junior High. But on weekends and some weeknights from Nov. 13 until today, they have been hitting the boards. The sisters were among 22 members of the Northfield-based Jubilate Children’s Choir who were picked by the Chicago Opera Theater to sing in the COT’s production of “Hansel & Gretel” at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago. The girls played gingerbread faces that Hansel and Gretel eventually turned back into children, which is what they had been until the witch transformed them. Just a couple of performances into the run, the girls were already sounding like old troupers.
“It was an honor to be picked,” Gabby said. Alex thought the whole experience was “cool.” She added, “It’s really fun to see people out there watching us.”
As to their own turning back into students during the day, the girls enjoyed mini-celebrity status, at least temporarily. A sign in the band room where Alex plays the clarinet and Gabby plays flute congratulated them on their roles. And friends asked about their parts. “When I said I was in an opera, they said, `Opera?’ It was kind of weird,” Alex said.