This year, the London Handel Festival are performing the little-known Riccardo Primo (even Handel wasn't that keen on it, and happily re-used about eight arias in later works). So we took this as our starting point and learnt a little about the plot (the usual mix of revenge, despair, fighting, love, etc) through a hilarious freeze-framing exercise. We also brought in a lovely singer from the Royal College, Bradley, who gave them a blast of one of baddie Isacio's arias. I was impressed that the class of 9/10 year-olds were pretty knowledgeable about opera already, from being able to describe that a recitative was a bit like musical talking, to how opera singers sing more in head than chest voice. Blimey!
Since then we've been working on our own mini-opera, featuring Bradley and the class, and using the playground's fabulous jungle/sea murals as inspiration. Cue lots of quite amazing ideas including a trained killer shark chorus, shipwrecks and fights with swordfish instead of swords. More professional operas should feature trained killer sharks! I took these ideas away and came up with a synopsis and simple libretto. This week the Year 5s composed, instinctively and rather brilliantly, I might say, a recitative for Bradley - or should I say, Bradley The Tigerclaw, King of the Land; they were tickled to hear it sung dramatically by him the next day. They also worked on some atmospheric, textural shipwreck music and a chorus, along with body percussion riffs, to accompany the fight scene.
I've now got to take their melismatic ideas - composed in small groups on glockenspiel - and use them in Bradley's aria. Then we'll work on some drama and get them decorating their sea or land animal masks. Can't wait!
