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A DAY AT THE opera [Albuquerque Journal, N.M.](Albuquerque Journal (NM) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dec. 14--It's a long way from West Mesa High to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Distance aside, how many teenagers would sit still for an Italian opera? After several weeks of study this fall, a group of students felt right at home watching a satellite performance of "Don Pasquale" in a local movie theater. In Italian. "I felt like I was at the opera," said senior Preston Guethe, 18, who had originally signed up to attend the satellite performance with other West Mesa students because he could get extra credit for his Italian class. In the past, West Mesa High piano teacher Heather Sanchez took her classes to local opera productions, with a quick briefing of the plot beforehand. This year, however, Albuquerque Public Schools got an invitation to participate in an opera education program through the Met, complete with a curriculum and training for teachers. "The caliber of the performance in the Met is just absolutely world-class," she said. The Met paid for two Albuquerque Public Schools administrators to go to New York over the summer for 2 1/2 days of training and a live opera performance. "The Metropolitan Opera decided they needed to expand and start building their audience," said Erin Hulse, an Albuquerque Public Schools drama resource teacher who attended the training and now leads busloads of kids to the movie theater for the satellite performances. The opera already was offering a training program for its own New York-area schools and was looking to expand to other cities. Albuquerque is among 23 school districts in the country participating in the Met program, which is in its third year. West Mesa attended the first opera, and La Cueva, Atrisco Heritage, Valley and Albuquerque High will study other performances in the spring, among them: "La Fanciulla del West," "Nixon in China" and "Il Trovatore." "This is more to build an appreciation for opera, to build an audience and to know the art form," Hulse said. Currently in Albuquerque schools, the local Opera Southwest offers performances each year with operas written in math or science themes. The volunteer Opera Unlimited also brings opera performances into schools. The Met program, meanwhile, offers a structured curriculum in advance of students watching a satellite broadcast of a performance. Sanchez, who teaches piano and choir, worked with the West Mesa Italian and drama teachers to get students participating. "I'm really inspired by the lesson plans," said Sanchez, who plans to have her students compose their own opera in the spring. "... I think that the students will be able to be successful." The "Don Pasquale" lessons include opera as a model for comedy conventions, the witty use of dialogue and the ability to convey serious cultural messages. The comedy by Gaetano Donizetti depicts an old bachelor who is tricked by friends and family into a false marriage as a ruse, which ultimately leads his nephew to marrying his true love and gaining his inheritance. The class acted out flashback scenes from the performance, as part of the preparation. Other activities involved creating scenes in a forest, using their bodies to portray rabbits, trees, hunters or rocks. "It kind of gave me a better understanding," West Mesa junior Sabrina Robles said. "... The subtitles also helped." For her next show, she'd like to see a live performance. "It made me like opera more," said Robles, 16. To see more of the Albuquerque Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.abqjournal.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Albuquerque Journal, N.M. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544) |