Area Students Experience An Afternoon Of Opera
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Some 2 thousand students from fifth through 12th grades spent their Wednesday afternoon at the opera in Philadelphia.
They came from city schools, Philly suburban schools and even South Jersey to see the dress rehearsal of Opera Philadelphia's production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" at the Academy of Music.
One student says, "the singing was really great and, I'm a singer myself so I was kind of inspired by the singing. The props are really cool, too. Everything was really cool. And, I like how it's like a play inside of a play."
Another student says, "well, it's in a different language. The costumes are really cool and like the music sounded really cool."
A teacher accompanied her fifth-grade class from the Northeast praised the production.
She says, "it's just a remarkable experience for the children and it's a lifelong memory."
Michael Bolton is Opera Philadelphia's vice president of community programs.
He says, "our singers respond about how amazed they are about the enthusiasm that these young audiences have for opera."