Opera
The sixth graders at Our Lady of Peace School in Columbus, Ohio, take part in a program begun by the Metropolitan Opera in New York called "Creating Original Opera".
Sixth grade teacher Miss Susan Byrnes and Music teacher Ms. Stephanie Doyle were trained by artists at the Met in how to lead children to create an original thirty minute opera.
Each student auditions for three roles within the company: production manager, stage manager, assistant stage manager (ASM), writer, composer, set design, carpenter, electrician, costume/ make-up, performer, and public relations. Every sixth grader has a key job in the opera!
Opera work begins on the first day of school, and concludes with performances for the public nine weeks later.
The theme for the 2010 OLP sixth grade opera was "popularity" and the thesis was "Popularity is like a rose; it looks pretty, but those thorns can hurt!" The title of the opera was Who Cares? and the company name was Shoot for the Stars Opera. The opera was performed three times for audiences made up of family, friends, and school groups.
This year we geared our original script toward a special project our school is participating in called “H2O for Life.” Our title song “Who Cares?” depicts how OLP cares not only for our community and our school, but also for our world.
“Who Cares?”
Do we care enough
To really try to be there for one another?
Will we work hard
To make life better for our sister, or our brother?
If OLP cares, should everybody
Feel good about doing for others?
Who Cares?
I Care!
He Cares!
She Cares!
We care, ‘cause we are all family!
Click here to find out more about Service Learning at OLP.
Click here to find out more about “H2O for Life"
Click here to view our opera PowerPoint presentation
"Creating Original Opera" is made possible by the support of the O.L.P. Home and School Association, and grants from the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and the G.E. Foundation.
O.L.P. is proud to have been chosen for this wonderful project which helps build strong skills for the future!