Framingham Public Schools
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Opera light: Boston group introduces school children to song By Charlie Breitrose/ Daily News Staff Wednesday, October 5, 2005 FRAMINGHAM -- The curtain on the Brophy Elementary School stage stood motionless as the grade-schoolers waited patiently for the special presentation. Suddenly singing erupted from a man in the audience who had been sitting quietly a moment before. Then a woman started belting out a tune, and a second man and woman joined in too. This was not a scene from a Hollywood musical, but a group of professional opera singers from the Boston-based group Opera to Go. The singers, and their pianist, visited the Framingham school as part of a tour they are doing of all the elementary and middle schools in town. They will do the same in Newton. The opera group makes about 150 appearances a year around New England to introduce students to the world of opera. The elementary school children in Framingham learned the basics of opera, including the vocabulary: aria, baritone, tenor, overture and many other words. When Opera to Go visits the middle schools they perform "Carmen: The Gypsy Life," for the students, and even include some volunteers as part of the show. Most of the performance is in English so they can follow along, but some of the most memorable songs are done in French. The 45-minute presentation included a lot of singing, but Opera to Go also spends a lot of time interacting with the children. They start with the basics, showing the children how they warm up their voices and teaching them the vocabulary. After each of the four singers introduced themselves, group director Tom Oesterling spoke to the group of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders. "What we have been singing here were solos," Oesterling said. "In opera we call it an aria." The vocalists moved around the room, singing full volume just a few feet away from the students. "Why do you have your hands over your ears like that?" Oesterling said to the students sitting in the first couple rows. "Normally we sing to you from the stage, and between us and those of you in the audience, there is a group of people who play the music for us -- the orchestra." Operas usually have an entire orchestra accompanying the singers, Oesterling explained, but when Opera to Go visits, all the music is provided by pianist Sharon Lee. Oesterling, a tenor, was joined by Paul Soper, a baritone, soprano Martha Warren and mezzo soprano Angeliki "Jeannie" Theoharis. Sometimes, Oesterling explained to the students, things in opera do not make sense in the real world. He looked at his colleagues and asked the students who they thought should play the part of a 13-year-old boy. He ended up picking Theoharis. Soper, playing along, looked aghast at a woman being picked over him. "I know Jeannie is a fabulous singer, but it doesn't make sense," Soper said. "I should be the boy." Theoharis explained that the part was not meant to be played by a man. "Paul, you have a wonderful manly voice, and that's the problem," Theoharis said. "Your voice is manly and your physique is manly, but Mozart wrote the part for a mezzo soprano." Opera to Go started in 1972, and Oesterling has worked in the program for nine years. The program is only a part-time thing for Oesterling, who performs with the Boson Lyric Opera. Many of the opera singers who visit the schools will go on to top companies. "All the singers are from different companies," Oesterling said. "Many of the singers go on companies like the Metropolitan Opera." The group will visit Framingham for 21 performances this fall through a grant from the Framingham Education Foundation and the individual schools' creative arts councils. Opera to Go not only performs for the students, they include them in the action. "The unusual thing about our program is that we do an improvised performance," Oesterling said. "We do a spontaneously composed opera with the students." The group does not make up the performance completely. On this day they used "The Emperor's New Clothes" as the basis for the mini-opera. Before jumping right into the opera, the singers bring a few students up to get the group going. They start simply. Warren explained that in opera, when the characters speak they sing their lines, which is known as recitativo. Then she asked them to begin by introducing themselves, and do it while singing. A couple student volunteers, suddenly shy as they stood in front of a few hundred students and teachers, sheepishly sang their name. Then Warren turned to a boy in a yellow T-shirt. "My name is Jo-elll!" belted fifth-grader Joel Mendoza, as he held one arm out theatrically. The whole cafetorium erupted in applause that matched Mendoza's zeal, singing as if he was on stage at the Metropolitan Opera House. |
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