Who knew opera was so much fun?

The importance of including music as a core subject in children’s education is well documented. John Durston (Director of Music at Harris Manchester College, Oxford) made a profound and moving case for this in his article in the Autumn 2019 issue of this magazine. The evidence is very clear that offering children opportunities within the school curriculum to listen to and play music has far reaching benefits to their brain development, confidence and resilience – all of which will stand them in good stead in life beyond the classroom.

The Arts speak a universal language which crosses the boundaries of ethnicity, gender, religion and education. They provide a means of expression which surpasses language and enriches an inner hinterland, which for some children can lie untouched by many other classroom subjects. In my personal experience, music can prove to be a vital emotional outlet for children; a means of defining, understanding and expressing their emotions at a time when words sometimes don’t come easily.

In this digital age, with all its exposure to celebrity culture and expectations of immediate results, it is particularly important that children learn that practice and hard work are what will produce the best and most satisfying results.

My lifelong passion is opera. When I first heard classical music as a young child it ‘spoke’ to me even though this was not an interest my immediate family shared. Music proved not only to become a way of expression, helping me through the challenges of adolescence, but it was also to provide me with a colourful and fulfilling career. I went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music which prepared me for a life in music.

Music has given me so much and I would like to play my part in giving something back. My mission is to bring live opera of the highest standards to children in an exciting and interactive form, and in the process dispel the myth that opera is ‘serious’ and ‘for grown ups’. It is crucial that a first time at the opera should be a positive experience, with no compromise on quality. If it is children will be hooked forever, if it isn’t they may be put off for life! And who knows, perhaps it could change some young lives, as indeed it did my own?!

What is the best way to introduce children to opera? Going to the opera can be prohibitively expensive and difficult to access, making it out of reach for many families. In recognition of these common challenges, I was asked to develop a programme for the Windsor Festival to bring opera to children. With my company, London Festival Opera, I created Opera Magic – a 45 minute/1 hour-long performance which gives them a fun, humorous and powerful musical experience, as well as providing a glimpse of the depth of passion and feeling that can be experienced through hearing the human voice up-close in its most refined and developed form. Opera Magic can be presented in a classroom, school hall, theatre or concert hall and is ideal for children between the ages of 5 and 11.

Opera is arguably the greatest of all art-forms, combining music, drama, fantastical plots, design, costumes and scenery with a live theatre experience. Live opera provides a sensory feast for children which will thrill and ignite them, even if they previously thought that classical music wasn’t their ‘thing’!

It never ceases to amaze me how readily children accept with joy and enthusiasm this sophisticated art form, though in reality it is (and always has been) an entertainment that can move and stir us like no other. Children respond with open ears and hearts to the masterpieces of Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Bizet and Puccini – it is a joy to behold!

Some comments from children at a recent presentation of Opera Magic are very inspiring: ‘I was in tears during the Flower Duet”; “I didn’t know opera was so much fun, I want to go to the opera now!’; ‘Can we have ‘Opera Magic’ back again soon?’; ‘I loved it – I want to become an opera singer!’

London Festival Opera is not an educational singing group. Our artists are professional, international opera singers of the very highest calibre. The Opera Magic programme brings singers who have appeared with companies including The Royal Opera House, ENO and Glyndebourne to your school. The company also engages exceptional young artists from the British Music Colleges and Conservatoires, giving them valuable performance experience on graduation.

Opera Magic presents real, full-blooded opera with lashings of humour and audience interaction, creating an exciting shared experience. Pupils and teachers will receive information packs in advance of our arrival in order to learn some key elements before they attend the performance. This includes details on the voice categories, how opera singers train, the names of some of the major opera composers, the convention of shouting ‘Bravo!’ after an aria they enjoy, as well as notes and pictures on what they can wear at the opera. They will also be invited to take part in a ‘Grand Finale’ where the opera singers, pupils and teachers will all join forces in singing a rousing celebrated opera chorus.

Philip Blake-Jones has appeared with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Kent Opera, Pavilion Opera and at the Buxton Opera Festival. He appeared as Giuseppe in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company, and also on two national tours with the D’Oyly Carte singing Strephon in Iolanthe (a role he also recorded with the company with critical acclaim). Concert appearances include baritone solos in Messiah at the Pisa Opera House , Britten’s War Requiem with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and in an Opera Gala at La Fenice Opera House in Venice. Philip Blake-Jones is the Director and founder of London Festival Opera. If you are interested in knowing more about Opera Magic appearing at your school please contact Philip (philip@londonfestivalopera.co.uk or telephone 020 7223 5456) www.londonfestivalopera.co.uk