This production is made possible by a grant from the Jerome Mirza Foundation and in partnership with Illinois Wesleyan University.
We will be touring local schools and other venues throughout the month of May giving local school children the opportunity to experience the fun, excitement, and joy of live music in a format that is accessible and relatable to their age group.
𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦:
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6:00 p.m. 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟴 at Bloomington Public Library
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1:00 p.m. 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟭 at Unitarian Universalist
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3:00 p.m. 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟭 at the Normal Masonic Lodge (sponsored by the Normal Public Library)
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6:00 p.m. 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟳 at the Hansen Center, Illinois Wesleyan University
2024 CHILDREN’S OPERA: TREBLE TROUBLE
Heads up, Land of Melodia! Count Sticky Fingers is planning to steal all your notes and feed them into the Music Munching Machine! And those notes include the magic Star Notes that must be hung and sung in the palace courtyard each night as the moon rises. That ritual is the only protection Melodians have from the Petrification Curse, which has begun to leak out anyway. Just look over there! Queen Adagio’s legs are turning to stone! It’s up to you, Princess Poco. Can you recapture the notes and reverse the curse before it’s too late?
This operatic romp introduces night sky constellations and musical concepts such as the treble clef and how notes work. At its heart, it explores the ways music belongs to everyone, how we’re braver than we think, and the fact that anyone can step up and do the right thing.
CHILDREN’S OPERA MISSION & HISTORY
Part of Prairie Fire Theatre’s mission is to introduce local school children to classical music, such as opera. Toward that end, for almost 20 years, Prairie Fire Theatre has produced an annual children’s opera. In recent years, PFT has toured 40-50 schools and other venues and performed for approximately 10,000 children and adults annually.* Each children’s opera includes a cast of 4-5 singers (mostly local college students) plus a music director/pianist. To give the children an authentic theatrical musical experience, a portable set is designed and built by local set designers. The actors and staff move and “rebuild” the set, along with various props, at each school.
Since 2011, PFT has commissioned talented local author Nancy Steele Brokaw to write an original children’s opera. Ms. Brokaw develops a child-oriented story and then adapts the lyrics of classical arias by composers like Mozart and Gilbert and Sullivan to fit the story line. Each children’s opera contains a message or theme, such as caring for the environment, being kind to others, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, and “different can be good”. The performers engage the children throughout the performance by getting them to chant, cheer or boo the “bad guy”. Teachers are provided with a curriculum packet that includes activities and ideas for teaching the opera to a variety of age groups.
To see a clip of a children’s opera rehearsal, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh0vxt282Bo
*During the Covid pandemic, due to health and safety restrictions the children’s opera was videotaped and distributed to local schools, allowing the schools to show the video whenever and in whatever format best suited their school’s situation.