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“Alex, age 4, clearly in love with what he’s hearing and seeing.”
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And in Sydney this past week, another little boy called Alex, he was 3 on Friday, went to a concert about young Amadeus and was totally rivetted by the music and seeing the musicians playing. I know that some of the posts here get a bit OTT but
when it comes to knowing that young people are fascinated by classical music from such an early I cease to despair for the future of music. Thank you, La Cieca, for posting this.
But who’s going to explain to the poor little chap that sopranos shouldn’t constantly do ‘expressive’ nudging up into notes?
There is hope for the world!–let us only pray that this does not inspire future productions set in the world of Mr. Potatohead.
(And I suspect that La fille du regiment is a good introductory opera for any kid with a taste for sitcoms, like (I admit) me at that age.)
WOW La Cieca I’m honored that you posted this for all to see!!! You old softie.
The expression on his face and that sigh at the end… he’s entranced! I’m so proud of my little guy! No insipid children’s music in my house – he wants to be an opera singer when he grows up and he asks to hear it all the time.
La Fille wasn’t his introduction — His first was Magic Flute of course, the Met’s English version. He also likes Cosi, Marriage of Figaro, Carmen and Barbiere. Now we’ve moved on to Verdi – Rigoletto and La Traviata.
I recently brought him to a dress rehearsal of La Cenerentola and he had that same expression on his face.
Here are some more – go rate and comment!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXQlfi6VzwY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjBjLhvtO2Q
Yes, that sigh is priceless. Donizetti can do that to you. In my case, it was Puccini and The Magic Flute.
Thank you, La Cieca, and congratulations, Susan.
My first opera…Fantastic Mr. Fox by Picker. No wonder it didn’t catch with me until about five years later.
There is hope – thank you La Cieca and Susan you should be proud. And he’s a darn good Papagano.
*blush* Thanks everyone.
Alice – Don’t despair. We are on a mission of converting all his little friends (and sometimes their parents) into opera lovers.
He’s a better Papageno than Izzy!
Susan… keep your sweet boy away from this site tho… i am a bit red in the face for a couple colorful remarks i made yesterday… i just dont think of mothers with sons logging on here all that much…(NG
)
LOL, He’s 4 – he doesn’t quite read yet. His online visits are primarily to the Thomas the Tank Engine site and supervised YouTube sessions. That probably won’t change after he learns to read over the next few months.
And Hey! Mothers with sons do LOTS of things. I know it’s shocking but… we actually have our own lives!
to all of you. I have a friend who teaches kindergarten in NJ….she has taught the kids about Ancient egypt, Rome and China….I especially love the one on Egypt because she had them mummify their beanie babies.
there is a little eurasian girl age 5 or so in her class who is enchanted with the Ring Cycle. She has it on DVD and had watched the whole thing 3X////I must say she is a better man than I am…….
I remember reading some years ago of a litle girl in Japan who was enthralled by Parsifal but when taken to Madama Butterfly did not care for it. Thanks Susan, keep up the good work.
Susan: He’s 4 – he doesn’t quite read yet.
Not even surtitles?
Ha! I wish he did, then he could read them to me. I get tired of squinting at them and just give up after 10 minutes.
There must be more kids out there who love opera. Parents choose what music to play for out children. Why would I choose something that I don’t like? The girl who watched the Ring Cycle 3 times– that’s totally normal. Kids want to hear the same thing over and over. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched the various Papageno scenes from many different Magic Flute videos. He usually wanted the English one with Nathan Gunn so I just suffered through it, heh heh. If I had to listen to Barney or The Wiggles that many times in a row I think I’d have found a way to gnaw my ears off.
We have this great CD called, “The World’s Very Best Opera For Kids – In English.” http://www.amazon.com/Worlds-Very-Opera-Kids-English/dp/B0000C5ROP
It has a synopsis of the operas and explains where the piece fits in. It has the lyrics in English, and my favorite part is, there are 3 or 4 instrumental versions so you can Karaoke it yourself. Another fun one we have is called Beethoven’s Wig. This very clever guy took different classical works and set silly yet relevant words to them, so you learn a little bit about the piece and/or the composer. http://www.beethovenswig.com/
And now I know what we’re doing tomorrow – mummifying the Thomas trains!!
Susan – how wonderful to see your boy enjoying the gift of music; I’m afraid he’s been bit with the opera bug. Its great that you are encouraging him with items like Beethoven’s Wig. A good friend of mine is the soprano on all the Beethoven’s Wig recording and if you don’t mind I will share your story and video with her – she will be so happy to know the impact the B’Wig project is having.
Please post more of Alex’s continued development – he will find many supportive adoptive Aunties and Uncles on this site to wish him well on his musical journey.
Dutch Sesame Street actor Frank Groothof has been making succesful adaptations of opera’s for children, including “difficult” ones like Idomeneo, Fidelio and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. They were all big hits in the theatre and on CD. Although they are in Dutch you might want to check out his work for tips.
[http://www.frankgroothof.nl/opera_lijst.html]
The strangest opera preference I ever heard by a kid was Elektra “as if a door opens and a lot of music tumbles out”
First off – I’m not the type to go on and on about my kid so this is all a bit strange for me… that said… here I go!
Tenorguy – Of course tell her! We love love love Beethoven’s Wig. We have the first 3 and are waiting for #4 to be released. I’m a little star-struck which is so silly considering I’m a super and meet opera singers all the time, lol. But I’ve sung along with your friend countless times.
You can read what Alex is up to musically and cognitively in my blogs.
For language development (meaning, the silly stuff kids say)
http://whatalexsaid.blogspot.com/
And musical development is mixed in my other blog. You’d have to page through it to find them, but for example, here’s one from March:
http://luindriel.blogspot.com/2008/03/future-coloratura-er-oh-and-i-am-going.html
He has said some interesting things about music. He calls coloratura “jumpy.” Old notes are low and young notes are high. He’s also said some interesting things about hearing the music in his head – I’ll post back if I remember what it was.
Buster – Thanks for the link and info. I’ll check it out.
Thanks again, everyone, for all your nice comments.
Susan –
I emailed the Beethoven’s Wig soprano (Elin) and she responded,
“how totally sweet! Tell her I’m so glad she loves the Wig! #4 is out now, I think.!”
You and Alex made her day…. By the way, Elin is the same soprano who re-recorded the newest version of the classic Star Trek obbligato. Here is the link to see her and listen to her singing the theme – http://www.elincarlson.com/startrek.html
I’m totally enjoying reading the blogs on Alex’s development. He really has got some great observations.
Thank you Tenorguy! I love that she’s a professional opera singer who gets paid to sing goofy stuff. That would be my dream job. I’ll definitely check out her website. Meanwhile, I’ve updated my blog with Alex’s latest musical observations, this time about the bass voice.
I want to see an opera which has Froggie on top of his clock singing while he tortures Hans Conried or Billy Gilbert, while Midnight and Squeeky saw away as the orchestra, and Andy or Smilin’ Ed stand around laughing(while singing.) Of course there would have to musical commercials for sugar pops and tootsie rolls and Buster Brown shoes. I suppose Charlie Sheen could write some gross out songs for the moppets, like “Who barfed in the fish bowl,” or “Who cut the cheese.”
I think any opera that featured farts and burps would be a big draw in the 2-6 year old set. Well for boys I imagine there is no age limit, but girls shy away from fart jokes for a few years before secretly coming around to realize how funny they really are. Go ahead, take a look at these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQRLMA1r3Mc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAkfJTgwr50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFRiu6S77z8&feature=related
Yep. From opera to farts. Or as Ofelps said, “Who cut the cheese.”
Now you know what life with a “sweet boy” is really like.
I didn’t have a television, but Rigoletto was my first opera (aged about 9 or 10). I was definitely won!
Oh no, I’m not “complaining” – please don’t say that of me. It was fantastic not having a television! I got to see so many plays and hear so much music!
…gives up and quietly slinks away to blogs that don’t keep changing the attributions on the comments.
