LOS ANGELES, CA – Their expressions may seem a little over the top, but this is opera, where the notes are high and the drama is even higher.
- LA Opera sending artists to elementary schools
- Cedric Berry says school performances are the rewarding
- Program exposes thousands of students to opera
For thirty years, the LA Opera has been sending teaching artists to elementary schools, like Vena Elementary in Arleta. Cedric Berry has sung in his share of mainstage productions, but considers the school performances to be his most rewarding work.
“Because you’re the first introduction to these students to this art form," said Berry. "It’s very important for them to see people that look like them on stage up close and work with them.”
Berry knows just how life-changing this experience can be. In fact, it is how he started, when an opera singer visited his classroom in Michigan.
“All I remember is that her voice was larger than life," Berry said. "I didn’t know it was possible in a human being.”
Gabriella Escobar, 10, is similarly impressed. She doesn’t think she wants to make a career of it, but she ha definitely fallen in love with the music.
“All the time I’m just singing the songs and the music in my head," Escobar said.
Each year, the program takes up residence in about 15 schools, exposing roughly a thousand children to the art form and more. The commissioned works take excerpts from an actual opera, like Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West. The pieces add a new libretto and bring to life something the kids are learning about in class. In this case, the California Gold Rush.
Director Eli Villanueva says over a few weeks, he sees kids learn confidence, history, music and storytelling.
“They actually gain access to recognizable melodies," said Villanueva, "but most importantly these are stories that they can learn, study and grow from.”
While many people find opera intimidating, the singers hope the kids on stage, and those in the audience, come away with a new appreciation for the art.
“You can just see the joy on their faces," Berry says.
Judging from the reaction from the crowd, they certainly seem to have a struck the right chord.