TOMAHAWK – Last month, Tomahawk Elementary School (TES) students participated in a professional production of Opera for the Young (OFTY)’s The Elixir of Love.
A total of 22 TES students appeared onstage for the production, held in the School District of Tomahawk auditorium on Sunday, April 26. The students performed alongside OTFY’s professional artists.
TES students also attended class chats with the artists on the morning of the production.
A release from the district said OFTY brings live, professional opera to elementary school audiences.
“All productions are fully staged, sung in English and created especially for children,” the district said. “Students appear onstage in chorus and cameo roles. OFTY audiences become acquainted with the original scores of master composers, set in contexts relevant to kids' 21st century lives.”
The district said OFTY’s The Elixir of Love is set in America’s Old West and “showcases elements that have come to define OFTY: beautiful, challenging music; engaging, relevant stories; and myriad opportunities for student participation in both design and performance.”
“In the dusty town of Lonesome Gulch, the swaggering Sergeant Corey looms over timid Jimmy Reno as they vie for Miss Addy’s attention, while the sly Dr. Dulcamara rolls in, peddling her so-called magic elixir – nothing but a bottle of root beer,” the district stated. “Sixteen students take the stage as the Justice of the Peace, the Soldier and the lively townsfolk. With playful melodies and laugh-out-loud comedy, The Elixir of Love whisks students away to America’s Old West, packed with timeless music, mischievous fun and lessons on growing up and forgiveness.”
Students throughout the upper Midwest participated in a “Be a Designer” contest to help design Dulcamara’s outfit and her cure-all cart, the district noted.
Opera for the Young presents 180 performances annually, reaching 75,000 children every school year throughout Wisconsin, northern Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan and Kentucky.
“Every OFTY production features four professional singers and one pianist,” the district stated. “Professional cast members are selected after competitive auditions held each spring in Chicago and Madison. All professional roles are triple cast. Recent cast members have performed with such opera companies as Boston Lyric, Central City, Madison Opera, Florentine Opera, Finger Lakes Opera, Cleveland Opera, Union Avenue Opera and the Grant Park and Chicago Lyric Opera choruses. All are conservatory graduates and active performing artists.”
OFTY’s Tomahawk performance was made possible by an award from the Diane Garton Edie Legacy Fund and support from the Support Tomahawk Area Resources (STAR) Foundation.
The district said it is “so grateful” for the awards.
Learn more about OFTY at www.operafortheyoung.org.
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