Little Red Riding Hood Opera Performed for 15,000 Children
The Young Patronesses of the Opera performed the children’s opera, Little Red Riding Hood, by Seymour Barab at the Ruth K. Broad Bay Harbor K-8 School this week thanks to grant support from the Shepard Broad Foundation. This was a special day since the school was named after Mr. Broad’s late wife, Ruth K Broad. On hand for the performance was their daughter, Ann Bussel, a long-time member of Young Patronesses of the Opera. Additional attendee was Caroline Biggs, a music teacher at the school who was YPO’s 2017 Educator of Note winner.
The story of Little Red Riding is a well-known folktale told throughout the ages and this version offers wonderful lessons such as “don’t talk to strangers”. The students roar with laughter and often yell out to warn Grandma about the Wolf at her door. The children are truly engaged in the performance for the full 30 minutes. YPO also provides Opera Funtime booklets which accompanies the show and is created by YPO members. This learning guide tells the story of the opera, include music, features, games and puzzles. They use this booklet in the classroom to prepare for the show and is a tool to help with reading comprehen-sion and more.
For 42 years, YPO has been bringing children opera performances to school children in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to approximately 15,000 annually. Thanks to support from the Shepard Broad Foundation, as well support the Anthony R Abraham Foundation, the Opera Society and fundraising efforts, YPO was able to bring the opera to 36 local schools.
Since its inception in 1975, it is estimated that over 500,000 children in public and private schools around south Florida have seen these wonderful professional performances, free of charge. Many of the schools visited are Title 1, meaning they have a high percentage of students from low-income families. A good num-ber of the children might not have a chance to experience opera if it wasn’t for this program. And, these children who fall in love with opera are the opera sup-porters of tomorrow.
YPO offers opera education to children because, now more than ever, music programs are needed in today’s world. Many school systems have eliminated or reduced arts programs. By fostering an appreciation of and exposure to future generations, opera can survive.
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