Monday, October 11, 2010

This Weekend: Broaden Your Kids' Horizons-- Look-In @ the Kennedy Center



Liberated Muse is a proud supporter of the Washington National Opera. We are thrilled to help promote the  event they are having this weekend that will be a wonderful experience for families new to the genre of opera. Children and their families will experience the magic of the performing arts when Washington National Opera presents the Opera Look-In at the Kennedy Center Opera House, October 14 and 16, 2010. The one-hour performance features story telling, familiar opera tunes and interactive demonstrations in a seamless program designed to entertain and educate children ages 6 to 12. 

The Opera Look-In is an all-new, original production that tells the story of four young people who unexpectedly find themselves in an opera house. As the children try to make sense of their surroundings, they meet famous opera characters such as Figaro and Madama Butterfly, and learn about the myriad elements of the opera stage, such as lighting, the orchestra and the conductor. Woven into the narrative are musical excerpts from The Barber of Seville, The Magic Flute, Madama Butterfly and more.

The Opera Look-In features student-actors, professional singers from WNO’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, the Washington National Opera Orchestra led by Steve Gathman, a special guest appearance by WJLA/ABC 7’s Maureen Bunyan, and others.

Developed by WNO’s award-winning Education and Community Programs department, the Opera Look-In is designed to engage children while meeting several learning goals. Like other WNO Education programs, the Opera Look-In is aligned with the frameworks of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills as well as the Common Core State Standards: children in the audience will practice skills such as observation, drawing inferences, critical analysis and visualizing on the basis of text, and will learn music fundamentals, such as the ways in which music conveys emotions.

“Stories, dress-up and songs: They’re childhood staples, but they’re also the building blocks of opera, so the Opera Look-In is immediately accessible to kids. Because opera is a multidisciplinary, multicultural art form, it allows for infinite learning opportunities,” commented Bruce Taylor, Director of Education for Washington National Opera. “Opera is not only a beautiful art form, it’s an incredibly rich and engaging teaching tool. We want our youngest audiences to come away curious—curious about language, about music, about the characters’ relationships, about the meaning of the stories. If, in the process, the kids find out that they like opera, it’s a bonus.”

View the flyer above for ticket information and the special code to get discount tickets!

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