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Our future audiences are students in high schools and colleges now! Familiarity with the music and theatre aspects of opera is the basis for a growing interest and love of the art form. Certainly the basic themes of all opera: love, passion, betrayal, and revenge are timeless emotions that today's young people find just as compelling and appealing as ever. For all of its full productions since its inception, the company has invited high school music students to attend the dress rehearsal. The company has then provided the students with a chance to meet the principal singers and directors, given them an overview of the opera, and information packet about the production. We intend to continue this program, as well as expanding in several different areas. Mercury Opera Rochester's education programs recently received a boost with a grant from the NY State Music Fund. The grant is for a program of six performance/learning sessions to be given in classrooms in public schools in Western NY using professional musicians. The sessions will all work toward a performance by the class, perhaps for a group of younger students in the same district or school, and will be focused on both the popular musical theatre piece, Rent by Jonathan Larson, and the opera on which it was based, La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini. Each session with the class will consist of a performance by professional musicians (Resident Teaching Artist Team) from both Rent and La Boheme, questions/discussion about the similarities and differences of the selections and performance experience, and discussion and rehearsal of the performance pieces from Rent and La Boheme to be given by the class at the end of the project. The series will introduce students of varying ages to opera and musical theatre, the relevance to their lives, and the influence of opera on current popular music and theatre. The project targets inner city and rural school districts, where students have not had the opportunity to see opera or musical theatre, although a few suburban districts may also be involved. Up to 10 school districts will be selected to participate. There will be no cost to the participating schools. This program is just beginning, and will be given in the Fall of 2007. Participating teaching artists are currently being selected. The Guild of Mercury Opera Rochester also gives a series of educational and entertaining lectures in several locations throughout the area, primarily for adults. The Guild teaches a series in the fall in the Fairport Library, and a series in winter in the Brighton Library. The Guild lectures are on a variety of opera genres, from bel canto to opera buffa, but they primarily address the operas of the Mercury Opera Rochester season. |
