January 8, 2007 2:20 PM
Now - opera for everyone!
I grew up in a home where country was the only kind of music in the world. Now while I have nothing against country music, as a steady diet it's like eating only hot dogs.
As an adult, I was eager to experience so much more of the arts than I'd been exposed to. That enthusiasm was fueled by having children and becoming a Montessori teacher. I wanted to expose my children to as broad a range of the arts as possible. So I am self-taught when it comes to the classics - which proves that it's within the grasp of everyone.
Once upon a time, when Tripp and I were living the high life, we had season tickets at the San Francisco Opera - pretty expensive. But we also enjoyed seeing community productions, which was how we ended up taking 8-year-old Ben (our #5 who seemed to especially enjoy classical music) to see The Magic Flute at Berkeley Opera. Ben sat mesmerized for the entire 4+hours. At intermission, everyone was commenting on his unusual response. The rest is history. Today he is studying music/voice at Liberty U. and preparing for a career in opera.
It’s not like I pushed it. He just loved the music and spectacle. He also loved animals. He also is an accomplished artist. But when it came time, music was the direction he chose.
Which is why I’m convinced that as adults we should do our best to stretch ourselves – so any potentials God has built into our children will be more likely to be realized.
So if you grew up with the idea that classical music or opera are not interesting, you might want to challenge yourself. No matter how limited our own childhoods were, as adults we can be open-minded and try a lot of different things (though I will admit that my own open-mindedness has never extended to strapping a piece of wood to each of my feet and hurtling my body down an ice-covered hill :)
In an exciting new development, New York’s Metropolitan Opera is bringing opera to the masses through a series of simulcast HD broadcasts at a limited number of local movie theaters. Read about it and check out locations at The Metropolitan Opera Goes to the Movies.
This Saturday’s performance:
The First Emperor, January 13, 2007
The world-premiere broadcast of Chinese composer Tan Dun’s epic opera, The First Emperor, features the legendary tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin, who built the Great Wall and gave China its name. Tan Dun’s music is a fascinating mix of East and West, and the monumental production is staged by revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers), with costumes by Oscar-winning designer Emi Wada (Kurosawa’s Ran).
What a great opportunity to see an opera up close and personal! Seven of our family will be going this Saturday and we are excited about it.
If you are interested, I suggest you find the closest theater and order your tickets through Fandango now, as there are only 100 theaters in the country participating and a limited number of seats. The closest theater to us is almost an hour away and there are only 250 seats available.
I am not recommending this for children under 12 unless you know your kids have the attention span and receptiveness to appreciate the experience. And if you decide to give it a try, let me know how it works out.
For more ideas on introducing the arts to your children, see my article Get Smart with Art from Christian Parenting Today. And for a story on the time I took 9-year-old Maddy to see Madama Butterfly, go here.
Posted in Culture, Homeschooling, Music | Permalink
Comments
I love you for this! As a trained classical singer (now wife, mommy and music director) married to an opera singer and professor (one and the same person, of course!) I love hearing about parents allowing their children to experience the arts outside of their own personal comfort zone. Kids will know quality stuff if we expose them to it! Our 6 year old has been going to concerts with us since he was 4 and our 4 year old is just beginning to attend. It teaches them so much, regardless of whether they make it their career later in life. Brava to you!!
Posted by: Christine | January 8, 2007 9:27 PM
