A Soup Opera

Each year in 3rd grade we do an Opera Unit. We spend time learning about the jobs involved in creating an opera such as set designer, lighting technician, choreographer, general director, etc. At the end of our unit, each class designs their own opera to be performed in our room. In the past, we've done "Hansel and Gretel", but this year we did "A Soup Opera". The students get to choose what job they want to have. I let the costume designers pick costumes out from my costume closet, the set designers get to use things in my classroom or bring items from home, and so on. We try to create the entire opera within the classroom. Everyone takes their jobs very seriously! Then, we perform it for classroom teachers and anyone else we can find that wants to watch. Here are some pictures from this year's performances.

My First Opera: Hansel and Gretel

The 3rd graders just finished learning about the opera, "Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdinck. After reading the story we play this interactive online game to design our own opera where we learn about all of the different jobs and roles involved in putting together a full opera production. Then, we create our own real opera in the classroom.


Each student selects a job from the following: Singers (Hansel, Gretel, Mother, Father, Sandman, Dew Fairy, and Witch), Set Designer, Costume Designer, Librettist/Prompter, Choreographer, Lighting/Effects Technician, Props Manager. All students are also members of the chorus and play the roles of angels and/or gingerbread children.


Costume designers select costumes from my costume cupboard for each of the characters, set designers are given cardboard boxes to decorate (I just happened to have several available from my 1st and 2nd grade program last week), the prop managers must find things in my classroom that can be used for the play, choreographers create dances for each of the songs we will be using, lighting/technical directors use flashlights and found sounds to create special effects, and the librettist takes a copy of the "Hansel and Gretel" storyline and writes singing parts for each character who then sings the lines in his/her own way (one student sang all of her lines to the Peyton Manning "Nationwide" tune!).


At first glance, this project seems a bit overwhelming and disastrous! The hardest part was for me to step back and let the students do all of the work. However, my 3rd graders completely ran away with this project! Each of the students took their job very seriously and some of them even worked on things at home!  I gave them 2 class periods (45 min. each) to work on their given jobs and then we had a dress rehearsal and then our final performance. Students invited family members to both the dress rehearsal and the final performance and we had over 15 audience members at each! It was amazing! My only regret is that I didn't record the performance or take more pictures. Luckily, my principal snapped a few for me!

Father, Gretel, Hansel, and Mother.

Gretel teaching Hansel how to dance in the song "Brother, Come and Dance with Me".

Preparing for Act II.

Taking their final bows!

Hansel and Gretel

Kids love opera, right?! By the end of my opera unit, my 3rd graders are usually buzzing about it. Most kids (and adults) just don't understand what opera is. When I ask my students what it is, they always respond that it's "girls who sing really loud and break windows, boring, or annoying". I do Engelbert Humperdink's opera, Hansel and Gretel, because the kids are familiar with the story and have fun acting it out. It's not some strange, complex tale in another language!

When I first introduce opera, we play this interactive online game: Design your own opera and talk about all of the jobs that are involved in creating an opera. Then, we act out the opera on our own. I let several students be costume designers. Their job is to pick out costumes for everyone from my costume closet. I let some kids be casting directors, and they get to pick the lead characters. My kids who aren't completely sold yet get to be set designers and lighting technicians. They help me choose props for our set and turn the lights on and off. And finally I have my performers. Everyone plays the part of an angel or a gingerbread child. I play music from the opera and the kids act it out. They don't do any actual singing, but some do have fun pretending! It's not a huge fancy production. Just a small informal play in the classroom, but the kids love it! One class this year wanted to do it 3 times! We usually invite their classroom teacher in to watch, but I've even had students invite their parents in the past.

Hansel and Gretel

Father and Mother

My angels with boas instead of wings!

14 angels guarding over Hansel and Gretel during "Children's Prayer"

My First Opera: Hansel and Gretel

The 3rd graders just finished studying their first opera, "Hansel and Gretel." To make studying this opera more exciting, we acted out several of the scenes of the opera while listening to the music. We even learned a few dances to go with it. On the last day, we invited parents and teachers to class to watch a full performance of our opera, complete with cool costumes from our costume closet. The students loved it! Here are some pictures of them in their cool costumes.

Check out this great website for games and lesson plan ideas to use along with your study of the opera: http://www.classicalkusc.org/kids/opera/teachers.asp

My First Opera

The 3rd graders studied and acted out their first opera, "Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdinck.