Fluting voices
Noemi Zarb gets talking to the brains behind staging Mozart's The Magic Flute for children
Going on for hours on end, its soaring notes are not music to everybody's ears. In fact, opera is one of those things people love with a passion, or loathe with a vengeance. There is no middle way. But there's also lots of prejudice against this art form which is either dismissed as old hat or downright elitist, more so when performance tickets usually cost a leg and arm.
So the idea of performing an opera exclusively for children may at first sound utterly batty. Well, not if you mix Sarah Spiteri's boundless zest and stubborn determination with Mozart's perennial freshness. A year after the well-known violinist proposed the idea to the Manoel Theatre, The Magic Flute tailor-made for a young audience is happening next weekend. Enter Toni Attard as artistic director to complement Ms Spiteri's musical direction and the duo are full of beans despite the months of sweat.
"The idea is not to teach children opera, but to make it accessible to them," Mr Attard adds. "Opera has all the necessary ingredients for a great experience, music, action, love, laughter, drama, tension... it's all there."
But why Mozart's The Magic Flute? "For various reasons," Ms Spiteri and Mr Attard explain. "Based on an Egyptian fairytale, the story is first and foremost a tale of good against evil, darkness versus light, with a bit of romance thrown in, and comic relief provided by the character of Papageno, the bird-catcher and the three ladies. Moreover, through the music, Mozart provides a fantastic structure for characters to interact and the drama to develop." The audience will also be able to watch the coordination between the singers and the seven musicians who are playing on stage.
You don't have to be an opera buff to relish Mozart's superb sense of drama, harmony, melody", and counterpoint. Nevertheless, the production team has bent backwards to make the opera go down well with children primarily by giving it a good chop and also by having the fantastical elements pull punches. Radical as they sound, the changes are offering a particular insight into the performance.
"Children's attention span is becoming increasingly shorter. Therefore, the opera is built on episodes that last a maximum of six minutes each, and then change, either by having different characters coming in, or a conclusion of an aria and the beginning of the next one... or a change of scene. The pace needs to be constantly energetic and excitingly new, both for the performers and audiences alike."
The young and largely unknown cast came together following a call for auditions by the Manoel Theatre. Significantly, their motivation has been sharpened by the target audience. Far from "jeopardising" standards, the performers are even more keenly aware to hook the audience's attention. Guided by Mr Attard and Ms Spiteri, both sticklers for quality, they have been thoroughly researching their roles and ensuring that they "communicate in a clear way." After all, a lack of articulation makes everyone fidget.
Significantly, a great deal of time, effort and creativity has gone into arousing curiosity about the opera in the countdown to the actual performance. Meaning Ms Spiteri has been conducting workshops with the schools that took up the opportunity to attend the matinée shows on Friday and Monday, both of which were sold-out in a surprisingly short time. Spurred on by how Mozart's work rang much more than a distant bell to the majority of the students, the workshops built on their knowledge by having them interact directly "through puppetry, improvisation and character development. All this allowed the students to freely explore the different layers that constitute opera, working with basic fabrics to build a set, cushions or any other equipment available in the room where the workshop was held".
Ms Spiteri and Mr Attard were doubly encouraged by the teachers' reactions "who enjoyed the workshop just as much as the children did. This confirmed the notion that although the project started off targeting children, it's developing into a performance for all ages. The adaptation is also generating a lot of interest among adults, who have never been to see opera. So together with the children, the whole performance is developing into a family experience."
What has been the most challenging aspect for Mr Attard and Ms Spiteri so far? "Looking for the freedom and the liberty of not sticking to the stereotype of staged opera," is the immediate reply. Enabling children to discover the magic of one of Mozart's most delightful operas has clearly been an eye-opener for the indefatigable duo. "Opera can communicate so much more than we tend to believe. Through the workshops with the singers Mr Attard has been exploring methods of storytelling, character development as could be seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old. However, we don't want to patronise the children by spoon-feeding the story. One has to keep in mind that the level of imagination in the audience could very well surpass our "adult" collective imagination."
• The Magic Flute is on at the Manoel Theatre between Friday and Monday. Tickets may be obtained from the booking office by phone on 2124 6389 or by e-mail: bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt
So the idea of performing an opera exclusively for children may at first sound utterly batty. Well, not if you mix Sarah Spiteri's boundless zest and stubborn determination with Mozart's perennial freshness. A year after the well-known violinist proposed the idea to the Manoel Theatre, The Magic Flute tailor-made for a young audience is happening next weekend. Enter Toni Attard as artistic director to complement Ms Spiteri's musical direction and the duo are full of beans despite the months of sweat.
"The idea is not to teach children opera, but to make it accessible to them," Mr Attard adds. "Opera has all the necessary ingredients for a great experience, music, action, love, laughter, drama, tension... it's all there."
But why Mozart's The Magic Flute? "For various reasons," Ms Spiteri and Mr Attard explain. "Based on an Egyptian fairytale, the story is first and foremost a tale of good against evil, darkness versus light, with a bit of romance thrown in, and comic relief provided by the character of Papageno, the bird-catcher and the three ladies. Moreover, through the music, Mozart provides a fantastic structure for characters to interact and the drama to develop." The audience will also be able to watch the coordination between the singers and the seven musicians who are playing on stage.
You don't have to be an opera buff to relish Mozart's superb sense of drama, harmony, melody", and counterpoint. Nevertheless, the production team has bent backwards to make the opera go down well with children primarily by giving it a good chop and also by having the fantastical elements pull punches. Radical as they sound, the changes are offering a particular insight into the performance.
"Children's attention span is becoming increasingly shorter. Therefore, the opera is built on episodes that last a maximum of six minutes each, and then change, either by having different characters coming in, or a conclusion of an aria and the beginning of the next one... or a change of scene. The pace needs to be constantly energetic and excitingly new, both for the performers and audiences alike."
The young and largely unknown cast came together following a call for auditions by the Manoel Theatre. Significantly, their motivation has been sharpened by the target audience. Far from "jeopardising" standards, the performers are even more keenly aware to hook the audience's attention. Guided by Mr Attard and Ms Spiteri, both sticklers for quality, they have been thoroughly researching their roles and ensuring that they "communicate in a clear way." After all, a lack of articulation makes everyone fidget.
Significantly, a great deal of time, effort and creativity has gone into arousing curiosity about the opera in the countdown to the actual performance. Meaning Ms Spiteri has been conducting workshops with the schools that took up the opportunity to attend the matinée shows on Friday and Monday, both of which were sold-out in a surprisingly short time. Spurred on by how Mozart's work rang much more than a distant bell to the majority of the students, the workshops built on their knowledge by having them interact directly "through puppetry, improvisation and character development. All this allowed the students to freely explore the different layers that constitute opera, working with basic fabrics to build a set, cushions or any other equipment available in the room where the workshop was held".
Ms Spiteri and Mr Attard were doubly encouraged by the teachers' reactions "who enjoyed the workshop just as much as the children did. This confirmed the notion that although the project started off targeting children, it's developing into a performance for all ages. The adaptation is also generating a lot of interest among adults, who have never been to see opera. So together with the children, the whole performance is developing into a family experience."
What has been the most challenging aspect for Mr Attard and Ms Spiteri so far? "Looking for the freedom and the liberty of not sticking to the stereotype of staged opera," is the immediate reply. Enabling children to discover the magic of one of Mozart's most delightful operas has clearly been an eye-opener for the indefatigable duo. "Opera can communicate so much more than we tend to believe. Through the workshops with the singers Mr Attard has been exploring methods of storytelling, character development as could be seen through the eyes of an eight-year-old. However, we don't want to patronise the children by spoon-feeding the story. One has to keep in mind that the level of imagination in the audience could very well surpass our "adult" collective imagination."
• The Magic Flute is on at the Manoel Theatre between Friday and Monday. Tickets may be obtained from the booking office by phone on 2124 6389 or by e-mail: bookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt