Classroom Successes!

Matt McNabb, Opera for All Teaching Artist

What a great opening to a new Opera For All year! In the first three weeks of class we have taken an evening field trip to see Mozart’s “Lucio Silla,” learned opera vocabulary, played acting and singing games, gotten up and performed scenes from the libretto of “Lucio Silla” and this week started singing music from “Carmen and the Bull!”

I think the greatest success so far is that we already have the students on their feet and performing for each other. We are already building an atmosphere of ensemble work that will directly relate to the creation of each class opera. The students are already finding the fun in performing, and each week they are requesting time to get up and act! One of the 5th graders at Healy, who didn’t want to make eye contact with us the first day, was one of the first to raise his hand to perform a scene from “Lucio Silla” during the second week of class. This student walked right up in front of the class and did a wonderful job! That is my favorite kind of success.