Recommendations wanted for operas suitable for children....

[Another Lynn]

I'm sorry to reveal how culturally illiterate I really am.... can anyone recommend child-friendly operas? I don't mind a little inuendo, but we tried Marriage of Figaro and the "adult situations" were central to the plot. We enjoyed it, but I'd like to choose more carefully next time.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Jen500]

The Magic Flute??

[Forget-Me-Not]

IIRC, La Boheme isn't too bad but there is a death at the end. My sister is an opera singer. She played Mimi and forgot to warn my mother about that. . . :D You can find it sung in both Italian and English.

[radiobrain]

I will have to think a little bit, as I think all operas will have some inappropriate material for children. They are mostly about love, s*x, betrayal and death. ;)

 

I took my 9 yo to Carmen last summer, the sexy stuff was over his head. Musically though, just right... much repetition, lyric line and familiar tunage.

 

My first opera was Die Fleidermaus, which I saw at 8 and plan on taking my boys to in the spring. My frind's mother thought it was totally fine to take 6 eight year olds to it at the Lyric opera house (Chicago) for an evening performance. :glare:

 

Hansel & Gretel.

 

I think as they are in a different language (mostly anyway) and so totally over the top... it is best to pick the ones that have the most excessible music, are funny and on the light side... hope for the best.

 

I have NO idea how old your kids are, but do not be afraid to leave *before* they reach the end of their rope. I left Carmen after act 2, which left my son with a good taste in his mouth, instead of a bad memory.

 

I second the Magic Flute.

 

There are probably others, I would have to do a bit of research though...

 

Hope that helps!

[Another Lynn]

I have NO idea how old your kids are, but do not be afraid to leave *before* they reach the end of their rope. I left Carmen after act 2, which left my son with a good taste in his mouth, instead of a bad memory.

 

 

 

Hope that helps!

 

Excellent point - we are dipping our toe in by borrowing the DVD from the library.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! Magic Flute will be our next one - if the library has it :)

[sandra in va]

I know these are more operettas than opera, but my kids have really enjoyed Gilbert and Sullivan. We went to see Pirates of Penzance and watched the Mikado on video. It is nice b/c it's in English. :)

[EmmaNZ]

:iagree:

Magic flute and Gilbert and Sullivan are great fun.

[chiguirre]

The least R rated is probably the Magic Flute, but be aware it's got an extremely racist aria by Monostatos (who's sometimes played in blackface, seriously). I have seen versions where they've changed the lyrics (and supertitles) to eliminate the racism, but you'll have to preview.

 

OTOH, once your kids are teenagers, the adult themes won't be so inappropriate. They'll also have the attention span and reading speed you need to be able to follow the plot with the supertitles. If you listen to a cd of highlights before you go, you'll have a lot of hits you're familiar with and you'll enjoy the opera much more.

 

My dh and I love the opera, but I've only taken my kids to productions specifically designed for children. They love musicals and ballet, but opera requires more from audience members than those art forms.

[LibraryLover]

The Magic Flute!

 

My kids also love Phantom of the Opera. ;)

[rookie]

I take my kids to 4-5 operas every season. There is always "something" that is not child-friendly. HOWEVER, I justify this by saying that they never watch any of the poop on TV/Videos that is supposed to be child-friendly and is totally innapropriate. The scenes where teens are involved, or catty, or materialistic, etc.... They also do not go to the movies or watch any adult TV, etc. The opera stuff is pretty tame by comparison and so discreet that most of it goes over their heads. I have avoided the very violent operas like Lucia de Lamamoor with the 6 year old but I did take the older dds. My dcs are 12, 10, and now 7. They all start going when they are 6. Oh, and I highly recommend reading about the opera beforehand, listening to a CD of a production and attending any pre-opera lectures they might offer - it really helps to orient the dc and they can enjoy the opera much better that way.

 

Have fun!

[nd293]

I recently came across a book by Barefoot Books that retold opera stories for children - "Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera". That might be a place to start. Although you won't know what they've edited out, of course!

 

(I haven't read this particular book, but have read others by the publisher, and they're all lovely.)

[abbeyej]

My kids *love* The Magic Flute. The were first introduced through the Classical Kids CD, and later watched the Met's Julie Taymor version (in English) on PBS. It's now available on DVD. A great introduction to opera!

[Reya]

A few that my opera-mad son has seen:

 

Spanish Hour

Magic Flute

Hansel & Gretel

Pinocchio

Cinderella (in Italian! I can't spell)

Ahmal and the Night Visitors

 

 

Also, Gulliver & Sullivan operettas.

[Reya]

Nononono! THere are TONS of children's operas!

[swimmermom3]

My kids *love* The Magic Flute. The were first introduced through the Classical Kids CD, and later watched the Met's Julie Taymor version (in English) on PBS. It's now available on DVD. A great introduction to opera!

 

Yes! We started with this DVD of The Magic Flute and it's wonderful. We also have The Metropolitan Opera's Book of Opera Stories for Children. My youngest read Aida while we were studying ancient Egypt. We were fortunate enough to have a board member tell us of an opportunity to see the Met's telecast of it. I have to admit that my boys loved the pageantry and spent much of their time wondering how things worked behind the scenes.

[FairProspects]

I second Amahl and the Night Visitors as well as the Magic Flute. Those were my favorites as a child! Gilbert and Sullivan is lots of fun too.

[sagira]

I took my 6-year-old son to see La Ceterentola (sp?), a 19th century adaptation of Cinderella. I went with a friend of mine and her daughter, and the two looked sharp and enjoyed the show.

 

Now I'll have to find a performance of the Magic Flute in my area. If not, we'll have to settle for a recording. We are learning about Mozart in Composer Study as it is.

 

Nice thread.

[EmilyK]

This has been so inspiring. I love opera but never really thought of taking the kids, other than a kid oriented production of Hansel and Gretel our local opera compnay did a few years ago. I wouldn't say my kids were exactly riveted, but there wasn't much costuming or staging and no live instrumental music, and that's a lot of what can make opera exciting. So I want to try again. I'm slightly worried about adult themes but the truth is, they're more and more aware of things. (they're 11 1/2 and almost 8). On the other hand, they can't handle the scare/violence factor in an R rated movie.

 

So specific advice if anyone is willing to make recommendations based on what we have showing here for next year?

 

Schedule is:

--Pagliacci/Carmina Burana

--Hansel and Gretel (looks like a regular adult program, only worry I have is that they say it is scary, so I assume the production is emphasizing that)

--Turandot (a favorite of mine)

--L'Heure Espagnole/L'Enfant et les Sortileges

 

Advice welcome. Ideally I'd like to go to 2 or 3 if enough ones would work. Thanks in advance!

[chiguirre]

Schedule is:

--Pagliacci/Carmina Burana

--Hansel and Gretel (looks like a regular adult program, only worry I have is that they say it is scary, so I assume the production is emphasizing that)

--Turandot (a favorite of mine)

--L'Heure Espagnole/L'Enfant et les Sortileges

 

 

Pagliacci ends with a double murder by a clown. I love Vesti la Giubba, but this one could definitely feed your clown-fear almost as much as Stephen King. Carmina Burana's O Fortuna is classic horror movie music, but I love it. I saw an awesome production by the New York City Opera about 15 years ago. I'd take my kids to that.

 

I'd try Hansel and Gretel, even with the scare factor because it's a fairy tale and obviously not real.

 

Turandot's music is awesome, but the princess is going to kill everyone in the city if they can't find out the stranger's name (Nessun Dorma). I guess I'd chance it because it is sort of a fantasy-land opera. It's not shocking like the end of Tosca or Pagliacci. Sometimes the staging includes the failed suitors heads on sticks, these can be pretty realistic, so that's something else to consider if your kids have a low gore tolerance.

 

I've never seen the last two. Sorry!

[EmilyK]

Thanks! This is helpful. Come to think of it, I'm afraid of clowns myself so maybe I should skip Pagliacci.