School Opera Experience...
I believe that Opera is for absolutely everyone and have always thrilled in sharing the stories and melodies of the greatest operas with people who may not know them already. Children have always given me such joy when they hear me sing, it is wonderful to see them shocked and excited by the sounds they hear and to see their confidence in understanding the stories and emotions that the pieces hold.
Whoever I am singing to, it is my aim in every concert to give enough of a synopsis of the opera that nobody feels “lost” by hearing arias in their original languages. Whether the students have ever heard an opera or not, I will make sure that they all learn to feel comfortable that the music is for them as much as anyone else in the world!
General or language specific plans...
I can offer two kinds of concert workshops, one more general and another language specific. If your students are learning German, French or Italian, I can focus the programme on arias and songs in the desired language, I can provide sections of libretto for the class teachers if they would like to do a little translation discussion beforehand and/or we can do a little of this within the workshop itself. It would be wonderful to offer the children the opportunity to ‘Direct’ the vocal colouring of the piece by allowing them to identify the words that they would like to emphasise so that they feel able to influence the music and to have confidence in the way they can use the language to do this.
In addition to this we would be able to use a short excerpt from a piece which I can teach to the children and encourage them to sing along with me to grow their confidence in using a foreign language and in owning Opera for themselves.
The concert/workshop would be an hour long though if timetables allow and the children are particularly engaged, I am always very happy to extend to accommodate extra questions or sing a little more for them!
The performance can be accompanied either by a pianist or recorded orchestral backings played on a self contained sound system and I will sing without amplification. I would introduce each piece and welcome any interaction that the children offer. I’ll answer any questions as best I can and involve the children in the concert by asking some questions of them too, getting them to clap along at times and engaging them as much as possible whether we are sharing a general opera experience or a language focused one.
A general programme would include Italian, French, German and Czech so the children would have a great chance to experience a taster of opera in original languages without feeling in any way intimidated by it, all of the time building cultural capital.
Too often I speak to people after my concerts and am both glad and saddened to hear that it has taken one of my performances to help them to overcome their inherent fear of opera; it is always lovely to know that we can break that cycle for the next generation!
My fee for this concert, exclusive of travel would be £450. This is based on using my recorded backings though I am very happy to arrange for an accompanist to work with me should you wish to have greater freedom to explore word painting with a specific piece of music. The fee for a duet concert would be £900 +travel.
Please feel free to get in touch if you would like to discuss any element of what I can offer or to book a date for your Opera concert/workshop. It would be a real pleasure to meet your students and to share an exceptional experience with them all.
I very much look forward to hearing from you if I have managed to whet your musical appetite!
What the teachers said...
"Demelza kept 60 year 6 children and their adults totally enraptured for more than an hour. They were intrigued by the fact that she could sing in different languages, even though she couldn't have a conversation in them and were stunned by her voice. The number of other adults and children who stopped outside the hall doors, mesmerized, is testament to the power of opera and her interpretation. The children were keen to ask questions and many wanted to know where they could hear more opera!"- Marian Devons, KS2 German Teacher
"Demelza was fantastic and Year 6 had a brilliant time!" - Olivia, Year Lead Teacher
"I thought it was absolutely mind blowing, the children really enjoyed it!"- Class Teacher
"It was truly magnificent; I think the children will remember it for a long time to come."
- David, School Governor
What the bosses thought...
"I thought it was stunning and it was amazing how high her voice was."
"I thought it was breathtaking how long she could hold a note for."
5"When she sang for the first time I was stunned."
"I think it was good that she could answer everyone's questions."
"Her actions were very dramatic and told the story of what she was singing about."
"I was amazed how many languages she could sing in."
- Comments from the year 6 pupils of Hillingdon Primary School
