At New York’s Met, an opera even babies can go gaga for

NEW YORK: New York parents, ever vigilant for new ways to amuse their offspring, are picking up babies and flocking to the Metropolitan Opera this week for a very special US performance.

‘BambinO’ – a 40-minute opera composed specifically for infants – has crossed the Atlantic for a booked-out, six-day run after winning over audiences in Britain and Paris.

Well-dressed and well-groomed six- to 18-month-old New Yorkers assemble in a small auditorium at the Met, either cradled on parents’ knees or crawling and toddling among a sea of soft blue cushions.

Babies can make as much noise as they want, the audience is told.

Adults, on the other hand, are told to pipe down. Then the music starts.

Sung in Italian and baby sounds, it’s performed by a cellist, a percussionist and two singers, who roam among the children, introducing them to furry toy birds and a golden egg.

Almost any baby contemplating a meltdown stopped crying, variously grinning, baffled and engaged by the colourfullycostumed singers.

Sloane Campbell, 12 months, already goes to a music class once a week and her mom Kate Mangiameli is a Met singer herself, but Monday marked her first live performance.

“Hearing that kind of singing from someone other than me is probably pretty great for her,” says Mangiameli.

The plot, secondary to the music as in most operas, tells the story of a bird, a baby bird and their relationship before the baby’s quest for flight ultimately leads to separation.

“It’s not a patronising kiddies show, it’s a genuine, beautiful piece of quite challenging music,” explains director Phelim McDermott.

Jokes aside about the Met’s quest to lower the average age of its audience, each performance seeks to win over babies and caregivers to an art form often castigated as elitist and out of touch. — AFP