Students at Olga Brener Intermediate School returned from the gymnasium to their classrooms Friday with a song in their hearts — or at least a song in their heads.
The entire student body and about 40 parents and grandparents were treated to a performance of “Beauty and the Beast” by Opera for the Young, based in Madison. The performance was sponsored by grants from the Shawano School District Grants for Excellence, Shawano Area Retired Teachers Association and the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley.
Some of the students had questions related to the version of “Beauty and the Beast” that Opera for the Young performed. They questioned why Beauty was wearing a blue dress rather than the yellow one she was in for much of the Walt Disney film from 1991, and why she was called Beauty instead of Belle like the Disney counterpart.
They also had a number of questions about how the performers could hold a note so long without pausing for a breath, and how long the group had been preparing for the show.
Fifteen students joined the opera troupe for the performance, playing birds and pieces of fruit. Olga Brener music teacher Lynn Johnson worked with the students once a week since early February on the music, but the students only had 35 minutes with Opera for the Young cast members to learn the choreography.
“They did great,” said Meg Stoltz, who played the fruit basket Tooty Fruity for the show. “They had very specific questions, and we were like, ‘Wow! You know this show really well. Now relax a little. It’s OK; we’re with you.
“It’s amazing. We get to bring something to these kids that just absolutely overwhelms them. They are the best audience to perform for. They’re so enthusiastic.”
Olga Brener’s fourth-grade music classes have a unit in opera. After Opera for the Young came to Olga Brener for a show in 2011, Johnson was eager to bring the troupe back, and she applied for grants to cover the cost.
“Having an opportunity for (the students) to see a live opera production with professional opera singers, it’s something they really needed to see,” Johnson said.
Getting the 15 students who performed to understand the music and to sing in operatic style was quite easy, she added.
“The cool thing about the Brener kids is they’re really receptive to all kinds of music because we talk about all different kinds in class,” Johnson said. “We’ve talked about opera in class … and that was very helpful for them. They were used to it already.”
Besides opera, Johnson provides access to other musical and artistic forms. For example, the third grade learns about ballet by studying “The Nutcracker.”
Johnson said it’s important to give students exposure to all different styles to give them a better understanding of how music works.
“I think it’s important because with our area having not as much access to different art forms, there’s much more out there than what they hear on the radio,” Johnson said. “Surprisingly, a lot of students latch onto it and really enjoy it.”
While most performances are a chance to expose children to the arts, Friday morning’s performance was a coming home of sorts for Steve Radke, the troupe’s pianist. He grew up in Shawano, living near Olga Brener.
“It’s really special. It’s full circle,” Radke said. “I was really grateful to have a musical community to grow up in and bring it back in a small way.”
Opera for the Young does 10 performances a week— made possible, according to Stoltz, by a copious amount of coffee.
Categories
