Music just became larger than life for Clearview Elementary students.
“Bravo, bravo, bravi tutti!” students exclaim, in-between scene changes during a recent on-site opera workshop before the public concert.
Kindergarten through sixth grade students are eager to share their newly acquired stage skills from a week-long residency with artist teacher and performer Alisa Magallon from the MN Opera Company.
“I jumped at the chance to bring in the opera, “says music teacher Karen Ingeman.
Thanks to the Morgan Family Foundation, grant money was available for Clearview to host the MN Opera Company for the entire week, exposing kids to opera at an early age.
Ingeman says, “She’s [Magallon] really brought opera alive to the kids.”
All K-sixth graders have all spent class time with Magallon. During each class session, they’ve learned acting, miming, role-playing, dancing, public-speaking and story-telling skills. They’ve discovered that Mozart began playing piano at age 3, writing music at 5 and went on his first musical European tour at 7. New words like “fleur”, “bravo” and “aria” have been added to their vocabulary.
A select number of fourth through sixth graders were chosen to attend special workshops with Magallon. During these times they learned more about the history of opera, languages that operas are written in, stage placement, acting, facial expression and blocking.
“Can I hold the French sign?” asks Braedon Dahnke, a fourth grade student, after volunteering to hold the Big Ben prop.
The residency is curriculum-based and each class is catered to the appropriate age.
“Kindergartners learned with finger puppets. Older kids learned with reading books and performance,” explains Magallon. “We really work with the schools to create the curriculum that correlates with their requirements. For instance, Mozart is usually part of the grade school curriculum. We want to stay in alignment with schools.”
The final performance, “Through the Eyes and Ears of Mozart“, portrays snippets of Mozart’s life, accomplishments and pieces. The entire school shows off songs they’ve learned and shouts out answers to pop quiz questions during the performance.
Ending the week, Magallon says, “I’ve gotten more experience here than anywhere else. The kids don’t want it to end. They want to hug me… I see their pure joy. I want this experience to be something they will always remember.”
Students replied flowers with an invitation for Magallon and the MN Opera Company to come back next year.