EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE
Opera Saratoga’s Opera-To-Go program visits Troy School 18
TROY, N.Y. >> Students at School 18 in Troy saw a special performance of “Pinocchio” on Tuesday as part of Opera Saratoga’s Opera-To- Go program.
Opera-To- Go is visiting more than 50 public and private schools throughout the region this month, and Tuesday was Troy’s turn.
A group of more than 100 kindergar t eners through third-graders enjoyed the classic story of Pinocchio, performed through both acting and operatic music by the professional artists of Opera Saratoga, during an afternoon in their school auditorium.
“We try to choose a fable or a fairytale that has a really great moral to the story,” said Opera Saratoga’s marketing and community partnerships manager Ann Chase, sharing that last year’s production was The Ugly Duckling.
While The Ugly Duckling taught about self-acceptance, Chase said, Pinocchio focuses on listening to one’s parents and the importance of truth.
The Opera-To- Go school visits are designed to help students realize that classical music can be relatable, accessible and entertaining. And it seems to work. “The kids are so interactive, and they love it so much,” Chase said.
“In a world where the default forms of entertainment for children are primarily television, video games, and the internet, Opera Saratoga’s Opera-to- Go program provides youth with an alltoo-rare opportunity to experience the visceral thrill of the live performing arts, up close and personal,” a news release from Opera Saratoga said.
Opera Saratoga’s production of Pinocchio is an adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s classic tale, featuring music from some of Opera’s most beloved composers, including Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Offenbach, and Pergolesi. Adapted by Jon Davies and sung in English, Pinocchio takes students on an adventure that will delight and enchant, all while teaching them important life lessons.
“OurOpera-to-Go productions allow students to experience the thrill of opera —up close and personal — through a story that [they] are already familiar with,” Opera Saratoga artistic and general director Lawrence Edelson in the release. “Through this production of Pinocchio, students will be exposed to operatic music and classical singing, while exploring important themes of self- acceptance, the importance of respecting and listening to parents, and of course, telling the truth.”
Troy School 18 music teacher Jason Boemio was excited to introduce his students to opera through the Opera-To-Go program. “This will be a great chance for [the students] to experience something new, while listening to a story that might be familiar to them,” he said just before the performance.
Boemio’s wish is that the children would take away “a love and appreciation for a new genre of music,” he said, “something that they’d like to continue listening to, or learning about in the future.”
The music teacher hopes he can welcome Opera Saratoga’s Opera-To-Go program back to Troy School 18 for many years to come, to continue to foster the students’ musical growth.
More information about Opera Saratoga’s and its Opera-To-Go performances, including several public performances throughout the Capital Region, is available online at www.operasaratoga.org.