To The Teachers

This introduction to opera is geared toward elementary and middle school children with no previous knowledge of the art form, although it could conceivably cross over to a high school audience. University of Kentucky professor Dr. Tedrin Blair Lindsay brings opera to life engagingly in four segments of 25-35 minutes each, with special guest host Michael Preacely, a professional opera singer also associated with the University of Kentucky.

SEGMENT 1 In the first introductory segment, Dr. Lindsay invites the students to imagine if real life were like opera, utilizing two American opera arias (including Michael Preacely singing “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” from Porgy and Bess), two operatic children’s choruses, and finally a humorous Italian opera finale where all the characters “go bonkers.” SEGMENT 2 In the second segment, Dr. Lindsay demonstrates how music in operas reveals the characters through contrasting arias showing first two happy brides, one calm and the other very excited, then two tenors singing very differently about love, and finally Michael Preacely as the villain in Les Misérables with an unforgettable performance of “Stars.” SEGMENT 3 The third segment teaches how music in operas can contribute to the spectacle, how it can comment on the story, how it can add humor, and how it can soar on wings of love (with a duet from Porgy and Bess starring Preacely and UK voice professor Dr. Angelique Clay). SEGMENT 4 In the last segment, Dr. Lindsay guides the students through one well-known opera, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, using highlights from the kid-friendly Metropolitan Opera production directed by Julie Taymor.

Throughout the series, high quality professional performances with English subtitles, selected with attention to racial inclusivity and age-appropriateness, will surely whet the imaginations and curiosity of children encountering opera for the first time. Along the way they will learn some history, some musical and theatrical terminology, some foreign language phrases, and some real-life applications as to the importance of including the arts in our lives and education. It is the hope of the creators and of producer Dr. Everett McCorvey, Director of Opera at UK, that this series will serve the Commonwealth by preparing schools throughout Kentucky in advance of live performances by the University of Kentucky’s Schmidt Opera Outreach Program (SOOP).