Opera in Fourth Grade

Every year I make sure my fourth-graders have some contact with opera. Last year the whole school saw Menotti's The Telephone. This year that won't happen, so fourth-graders have been hearing arias from Amahl and the Night Visitors (also by Menotti).

One reason I use Amahl is that each year at this time, multiple community groups perform it. One group is beginning its run tomorrow:
www.leavenworthsummertheater.org/Amahl-and-the-night-visitors

And Twelfth Night Productions does it every year.  This year's production will be January 7 and 8 at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle:
http://www.twelfthnightproductions.org/

As I find other performances, I will post them here.

Another reason I've chosen Amahl is that it's in English and it lasts about an hour, so it's a very "accessible" opera. Your fourth-grader might enjoy seeing it, especially as s/he has been exposed to some of the music. Try asking her or him about the difference between "aria" and "recitative"!

N.B.--The "Night Visitors" are the "Three Kings" or "Wise Men" of the Christmas story. The Kings tell Amahl and his mother that they are following a star to find and give gifts to a child who will be a special kind of king. The child is not named in the opera. The generosity of Amahl and his mother results in a miraculous healing.