Royal Opera House – Covent Garden
Welsh National Opera

« Let’s work with opera»

Toulouse February 27 – March 02 2003 

Théâtre du Capitole

Creating an opera in the classroom 

Paul Reeve, Hannah Conway et Harry McIver

english version

	

 

LIVE OPERA IN THE CLASSROOM! 
Notes from the workshop on 1st March 2003 designed and lead by 
Paul Reeve, Hannah Conway & Harry McIver 
The Royal Opera House & Welsh National Opera

Introduction

Opera education has developed into a significant movement in the UK over the last 20 years.  All of the nationally funded opera companies have full-time education departments and many of the smaller companies undertake education work in some form.

Certain distinct trends have emerged in the work undertaken.  This session aims to explore one of them.  In considering it, it may be significant to consider the educational context in the UK: namely that opera does not appear on the statutory National Curriculum (ie what teachers have to teach by law).  Music and Art & Design do appear.  Drama and creative writing are elements of the English curriculum.

This session

This session aims to give a “taster” of an approach to introducing opera into the school classroom.   

The emphasis will be on a creative process.  The goal will be to create elements of an original opera - story, music, words and drama - but the opera (product) is a vehicle for the teaching and learning that takes place through the process of creating it. 

The leaders assume the role of facilitators, guiding participants through a creative process. Whilst the route needs to be planned to an extent, much of their work is about responding spontaneously to the group’s responses and ideas.  

In order to contrast with other approaches being explored during this seminar, we will not use a piece of classical repertoire as the starting point but instead start with a "blank canvas" and create an original story.  There are many methods that can be used to achieve this ; we will experiment with one.
 
NB: Many projects adopting this sort of approach would include a visual design element.  This is of course a vital part of opera as an art form.  Its relationship and integration with music, words, story etc can provide a rich vein of exploration and learning.  During this session there will be little or no work on visual design, due to time constraints.  

Rationale

Opera is in essence the fusion of raw materials - music, words, action, image - to create a storytelling art form that adds up to far more than the sum of its individual parts.  This approach takes those raw materials and process of fusion, and uses them as a tool.  In other words, opera is the medium or vehicle for achieving aims and outcomes that are concerned with wider issues than the art form itself, such as creativity and self-expression.

Many UK opera education projects do of course seek to increase people’s understanding and appreciation of opera (the genre as represented by the repertoire performed by opera houses across Europe and specific works within it).  That is not a primary aim of this approach.  Learning about the classical repertoire would only be a secondary outcome.

Aims for this approach might include contributing to:

•	The acquisition of thinking & problem-solving skills
•	The development of creativity, imagination and the capacity to experiment and innovate
•	The enhancement of communication and social skills (teamwork, group negotiation)
•	The enhancement of listening and observation skills
•	Increases in self-esteem, self-worth and self-confidence
 
None of these aims is directly related directly to opera, or even art generally: hence referring to opera as a “tool” or "vehicle".  Further aims are more closely related to the art form.  These may include:

•	Growth in aesthetic judgement-making and critical skills
•	Changes in attitude and motivation towards the arts/the art form of opera 
•	Development in skills associated with the art form (eg singing, performing, composing, lyric writing, art & design)

Whilst the lists provide a broad overview of what this approach to opera education seeks to achieve, each individual project or workshop would of course have its own specific aims, objectives and anticipated outcomes.

This approach is delivered via:

•	Practical work in which young people actively participate in an artistic process that involves some or all of opera’s raw materials (ie drama, music, visual design).  Particular emphasis is placed in that process on the way those individual elements can combine and inter-relate to tell a story.

The work has two principal strands:

•	The creation of original material by the participants, facilitated by the teachers/leaders (process)
•	The performance/presentation of that material (product)

The balance between those elements can vary from project to project: some can focus predominantly on the process of creating material, with any performance of it being seen as less important; others involve material being generated very quickly, with the majority of time being devoted to its presentation and performance (and skills necessary to achieve it).

Repertoire or not?

Work that adopts this approach will frequently be linked to a piece of classical opera repertoire (eg Le Nozze di Figaro), which will provide the initial starting point or stimulus for creative work.  There can be many starting points: story (or a particular moment of the story, eg a man engaged to be married is confronted by a woman who says he is already legally obliged to marry her), character (eg an aristocrat who abuses his power and position), relationship (eg master and servant), theme (eg the status quo of society, mistaken identity, jealousy), location (eg a garden at night) etc.

The value of using repertoire in this way - as a resource from which to take ideas - is that it gives a defined starting point and also that links can be made between the subsequent creative work produced by students and the opera itself.  This can enable such work to achieve two outcomes:

•	The realisation of aims as outlined above
•	Introducing a specific opera and enabling students to gain some sense of "ownership" of it   

For education departments in opera houses involved in such work there is an obvious benefit here, in that it enables a clear relationship to be seen between the company’s repertoire being performed on its stage and its education work taking place in schools.

However, we have suggested that the primary aims of such work are not to access the classical repertoire and this approach is offered to teachers who will not have the same aims and agendas as opera houses.  The starting point for creative work can therefore be in itself as creative as a teacher wishes: a picture, a piece of music, an historical event, a newspaper article etc.

Whatever the initial starting point, one aim will usually be to use it to help generate a story.

The first stage of the Royal Opera House’s Write an Opera programme, for instance, involves a method of identifying a theme, based on students’ own concerns and experiences, and creating a story and set of characters based on that theme.   The writing of libretto and music and the design all stem from that initial work.

NB: It is also interesting to note that, for professional opera companies and artists, this area of work can provide an opportunity to "experiment" with the raw materials of opera: to challenge classical definitions and create new ones, redefining what opera can be.

LIVE OPERA IN THE CLASSROOM!
Creating stories, characters and chorus work

Activity one: creating a story    

Workshop ideas/starters: 
•	Put words or phrases in a hat, have groups pull out one and create characters and scenes around them.  
•	Sit in circles and create a story one line at a time or even one word at a time.  
•	Select objects, discuss characters who possess them and others who want them, building up strategies in order to get the objects or keep them.
•	Select strong likes and dislikes for objects, creating scenes to justify these responses.

For this workshop we will use the following method.

Divide the class into four groups – one for each of the elements below.  There can be more than four groups; just decide which of the elements should occur more than once.  This might be determined by how many of your pupils you would like in each group.  Ask the pupils to work quickly to discuss, rehearse and then act out their scenes.  It is best not to prescribe what the story will be; whether it will be logical, impressionistic, a linear narrative or a series of independent scenes.  There is no need to edit or be perfect, things can be adjusted later.

Group 1. An everyday activity
e.g. having breakfast, cleaning the house, fixing the car, gardening, school work, painting, woodwork, cleaning windows, travelling, shopping, visiting someone, going to the museum/art gallery, office work, playing an instrument, going to the movies…

Group 2. An unusual occurrence
e.g. something shocking, magical, dreamlike, sudden, delightful, tragic, accidental, harsh, beautiful, humorous…

Group 3. Argument
e.g. aggressive, defensive, arguing on behalf of someone else, persuading, pleading, explaining, fighting in a variety of ways, both sides of an issue, a court case, a disagreement, a misunderstanding, a reaction to a revelation…

Group 4. The moral of the story
e.g. something learned by a character after a series of events.  It does not initially have to relate to the other scenes that are being created at the same time.  It could be a known proverb such as “too many cooks spoil the broth”, “a stitch in time saves nine”, “look both directions crossing the road” or something made up such as “stealing the big hungry bear’s food is not a good idea”.

Ask each group to think of characters, a location and 3 lines of text.

Ask each group to perform their scene in turn.  It is important that, although the scene itself may not be perfect at this stage, it is watched carefully by the rest of the class.  This prevents interesting detail getting lost and maintains the level of excitement.

As the pupils watch the scenes they will automatically begin to think of ideas to link the scenes.  If these are noted they can be brought to the chorus writing session.

Activity Two: Developing the drama

Allowing more time for clearer detail within scenes to develop:  for example, if a character is becoming angry it is interesting to see how exactly the anger is sparked, how it grows, how an attempt is made to quash it, how it flares and perhaps explodes!  The same with humour, remorse, delight, etc.  What we are looking for are specific words that might link to a character’s memory and result in strong feelings.

One way of developing the dramatic idea is to show what happened before the scene we have just created and what happened afterwards.  This can add all sorts of emotional colour to a scene and give room for ideas to be included.  

Example: showing the previous instance of the  ‘everyday activity’ might show that a character is trapped in a monotonous pattern that could be broken by the ‘unusual occurrence’ scene, or it could show a relationship developing gradually between people who only meet during this ‘everyday activity’.

Task
Invent the history and future of the original scene.  It might only be 10 minutes before and after, or a week.  Ask the pupils which of their three scenes should be the most exciting in order to develop a sense of the dramatic structure.  Suggest the following structures and discuss which works best:
•	the tension builds up through the scenes 
•	the tension plays out from an explosion of action in the first one 
•	the tension builds to a high point and resolves again.
•	the tension rises and falls repeatedly until it resolves.
It may help to think of the structures as diagrams.  The points of action can then be marked on so that the scene has a pace rather than reactions or events developing too quickly or slowly.  It is important at this stage to consider the relationship between the dramatic structure and the structure of the music that will be composed for the scenes and the piece as a whole.

History      Now      Future	History	    Now         Future	History	     Now       Future
    Structure 1				Structure 2			Structure 3

The scenes from each group can be placed in a larger structure: all the ‘history’ scenes could form Act One, all the ‘Now’ scenes could be Act Two, etc.  You will probably discover more interesting ways of juxtaposing the scenes.

Activity Three: Character portrayal

To develop the pupils’ performance they need to make clear choices about their characters developing mannerisms and expressions to portray those decisions.  The next activity will generate character information and create a basis for physical expression.  

Building your character

Task 1
For each of the following questions provide a brief answer and agree upon a way to convey that information without speaking, i.e., by the manner in which you walk, greet people, sit, stand, mannerisms, etc.

Who
What is your name? (this may be easier to answer last)
What are your best qualities?
What are your worst traits?
What do you want others to think of you?
Do you have a husband/wife/partner/fiancée?
Do you have particular friends?

What
What is your occupation?
What are your particular likes and dislikes?
What are your beliefs?

How
How do you treat other people?
How would you like other people to treat you?

Where
Where	do you live?  
What are your favourite places?
Where do you spend most of your time?
How did you get here and how did you come to know the people around you?

When
How old is your character?  
How long have you been in this location?
How long have you known the people around you?
How long do you intend to stay here?

Task 2
In pairs, pupils take turns portraying a certain aspect of their character while their partner guesses what it is and offers directorial suggestions.

Activity Four: Creating chorus

There are many ways to write and activate a chorus.  Here are ideas for writing and one method of creating a system of movement that can be very stylised or move quite naturalistically. 

Writing a chorus

Task 1
Make some initial decisions about your choruses.  
What is their purpose?
•	providing a narration for the whole story.
•	commenting on the action.
•	abstract developments of the music and drama.

Who sings them?
•	crowds of characters within the story: neighbours, factory workers, forest animals.
•	everyone who is not in the scene, as if they are outside the action like a choir.
•	a chorus which has a character/opinion and talks to the audience as a commentator.

When do they occur?
•	in between each scene as links
•	during scenes as part of the action
•	at certain points in the action to make comments to the audience
•	at certain times, e.g. beginning, middle and end, to break up the action and help the structure

Task 2
Creating the words.
Either use the three lines of text that were created with the original scenes or, if those lines are no longer relevant, set the task of writing new lines for the chorus.

Now you know the identity of the chorus and their relationship to the action, decide the ideas the chorus will express:
•	what is the subject? a character, an event, an important place, a particular feeling.
•	what are the characters’ feelings?  shocked, nervous, ecstatic, a progression from one to another or conflicting feelings. 
•	what is the chorus’ opinion? she should or shouldn’t have done it, the monster will get her, her new car’s rubbish, your Dad’s going to go mad when he finds out.  
•	what will happen next?  the person goes to see someone, meanwhile something relevant is happening somewhere else.

Example: a chorus of neighbours appears to comment on the action and create a link between the scenes of ‘an everyday activity’ and ‘an unusual occurrence’. 
•	create a sound-scape of spoken words arising from the everyday activity – a packing factory might be: “pick it up!, put it down!, wrap it up!, stamp! stick!” repeated. 
•	build a line that suggests that a change might happen.  Use the main character’s feelings: “She’s the best, at this job, one day she’ll be, just you see, managing director!, nothing can stop her!”.
•	add an element that takes us to the next place or character: “Look over here, who is this, it’s her mad bad cousin Ike, on his bike, mad bad and dangerous to know!”

Tips:
Explore the rhythm of each line by clapping it as a group changing which words are emphasised.
Split into groups and explore how the rhythms overlap as a way of moving from one line to the next; does it work as a cannon or could one line be a constant drone with the others spoken over it?
Think about the dynamics of the spoken words and make choices about the tempo/volume/colour of the sound needed to compliment the scene before and after this chorus.

Activating a chorus

Task 1
Warm up 
The pupils spread out so they have room to move easily.
Use four moves that are very different, e.g. 
•	reach up
•	crouch down
•	arms wide
•	stand with hand over mouth

o	Practice each move in turn and assign a number to each one.
o	Call out the numbers in turn and the whole group moves slowly from one to the next.
o	Divide the group into four and swap the numbers so there are four different moves when number 1 is called. 
o	Try adding a strong emotion to each move.

  
•	Invent a still position to express the main idea in the first line of the chorus.  This might be an expression of the word, a reaction to it, or a move that indicates a particular character from the story.  
(e.g. for ‘fight’ they might have fists up and look angry or they might cower back to show a comment on the violence.)
•	Allow ten seconds to think, count 1,2,3…Freeze! and everyone leaps into position.  
•	Ask someone to select their favourite or combine a couple of ideas, fix it by having everyone copy it and call that move one.  
•	Go on to the next line and repeat the process to find move two.  
•	After inventing three or four moves, revise them in order and then carry on inventing until the chorus is complete.
•	Run the sequence through and decide whether the moves should become personal and naturalistic or whether to make it more stylised like a choreographed dance.

Tips:
It should be a very brisk process and the moves can repeat in a system.
The positions do need to be still and crisp, not floppy, but equally important are the transitions; the pace and focus on the journey from one move to another is vital for the energy to be sustained and to be fascinating to watch.

The moves could be very natural character based expressions so that it does not look like choreography at all and the advantage is that it can look very complex while being easy to remember.

Activity Five: Suggestions for Designing your Opera

If you do not have a designer or access to expensive materials it is probably best to make the limitations the inspiration.  This could mean making everything, sets, props and costumes, out of materials that are cheaper than buying the real objects. Use rolls of paper or the cheapest cotton sheeting, tin foil, sticky tape and paint to make the entire design.  The costumes, set and props might look rough or cartoon like but they will be consistent and distinctive.

Tips:
•	As a guide have two or three base materials at least one of which is malleable such as aluminium foil, paper or cardboard so props may be easily made.  
•	One base material should be big sheets for the set: cotton sheeting is very useful as it can be painted onto, cut, hung up, folded, etc and can also be made into costumes.  Cardboard, canvas, hardboard or possibly even newspaper could be used.  
•	Paints and markers should be carefully controlled so that the overall look is consistent.  Using just the primary colours plus black and white would achieve this.
•	If you do decide to create a limit for the materials, be very strict; if the idea is diluted it will create something that is unclear for the audience.  It might be possible to rehearse making the environment on the spot so the audience see the locations and props being  made as part of the performance.
•	If you would like lighting effects but do not have equipment or a technician you could consider using desk lamps, torches and lighting gels.  The light isn’t very bright, even if you have lots of lamps, but it is very atmospheric.

Copyright Harry McIver, January 2003
RESEO conference reference material

   
LIVE OPERA IN THE CLASSROOM!
A fresh approach to creative vocal writing and instrumental composition

An introduction

Each of the activities that we explored on the RESEO training day in March offered a different approach to setting words to music and to creating dramatic motifs. The first musical task developed different notions of a chorus, the second concentrated upon writing for an ensemble and the final composition activity was based upon the dramatic overture.  Each activity also provided an opportunity to create your own lyrics as a basis for music composition.

Activity one: chorus writing

It is interesting to consider appropriate musical responses to the three different functions of the word ‘chorus’:
•	A group of characters: villagers, soldiers, prisoners etc. Vocalising a narrative or commentary.
•	A collective voice: messiah-esque!  A collective feeling, voiced advice or message.
•	A verse chorus structure

There is no single way to write music for a chorus. It is often effective to workshop ideas and techniques as a whole class group before spitting off into smaller working teams.  Use the following guidelines to experiment creating a musical chorus composition:

1.	Trusting in a group’s natural harmony! - Spoken word to musical speech.
•	Students are all musical!  Your class will naturally find a way to harmonise a simple melody.  The harmonies may take a while to settle, so a useful exercise is firstly exploring ‘musical speech’.  
•	Musical speech will naturally occur if pupils are allowed to experiment saying a line of words repeatedly.  
•	Ask the class to repeat a short chorus line in unison (we might take, for example, a short chorus from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus):

‘Oh dear oh dear a tragedy, oh dear oh dear a tragedy,
 Oh dear oh dear a tragedy, oh woe, oh woe is me.’

•	After the class have repeated it several times over, ask them to experiment altering the pitch of their voices.  They must still speak (not sing), but as expressively as possible, as if telling a story to a small child – and trying to attract their attention!
•	Encourage the students to explore their voices to the full, exaggerating and undulating pitch of their voices to the extreme.
•	Then allow the students to sing the chorus at any pitch they individually prefer.
•	You will discover that very quickly, a common musical ground is established and the group will find its own natural harmony and pitches.  No discussion should be necessary.

1.	Hearing parts and teaching by ear
•	Once the group has developed a raw harmonised chorus listen carefully to identify the interesting vocal lines that have been created.
•	Select up to four different vocal lines – (which will often fall naturally into SSAA or SATB).  Ask the initial singer of each line to teach their melody to a part of the whole group.  
•	Perform your refined vocal chorus now in four parts.

1.	Set rhythmic patterns
•	An alternate way to initiate the composition of a chorus piece is to predetermine the rhythm of the words of the chorus. 
•	 Experiment giving your class group a set rhythmic pattern to use for their chorus line.  This will affect the final harmonies and mood of the chorus piece.  Investigate the affect different rhythmic patterns produce.

1.	Perfect cadences
•	You will most likely discover that your chorus compositions fall naturally into perfect cadences at the half way and end points of your music.  Once your vocal chorus is firmly established, challenge the students to experiment with alternative cadences: imperfect, plagal and unexpected!  
•	Discuss how these new options affect the meaning and sentiment of the text.

1.	Augmentation and diminution
•	These are two fantastic devices to employ.  Encourage your students to experiment with varying vocal lines.  Keep one vocal line constant whilst others are sung against it in augmentation and diminution.  Find an exciting combination that works effectively.

1.	Bass line hitches
•	Often an instrumental descending scalic bass line can support a chorus line and shift comfortable harmonies – lending variation and intrigue!  
•	Discuss the virtues of leaving your chorus acappella – or perhaps adding an instrumental bass line accompaniment.

1.	Canonic verses
•	Using a canonic device in chorus writing can be extremely effective.  
•	Which sections of your chorus would work in sung canon?
•	Use canonic augmention and diminution to vary the effect.

1.	Time signature – changing times!
•	It is often fun, once a firm chorus piece has been composed, to experiment re-singing the same vocal material, but transforming the time signature.  
•	For example: If your chorus is in common time, investigate variations in triple and compound times (and vice versa). 
•	Once you have experimented transforming the music into different time signatures – mix the two! Can you find an effective solution?

 

Activity two: writing for an ensemble 

An ensemble musical number generally occurs in an opera, as a direct response to a dramatic situation.  Practically it constitutes three or more people coming together, often to solve a problem.   An ensemble can typically begin with two characters in a dramatic dilemma.  They are joined then systematically by a number of other characters; each offering a new slant to the dilemma, and/or offering fresh news to alter the path of events. 

Writing music for an ensemble therefore presents several challenges!  
•	How to create a vocal texture whereby each character‘s voice may be heard 
•	How to give each character’s sentiment equal emphasis 
•	How to create harmonic and rhythmic unity

In activity during the training day we explored a set of lyrics that you devised and addressed the three challenges above.

TIPS and reminders for composing vocal ensembles in class:

1.	Focus on a small amount of text: 
•	Economy of words will aid your musical composition process.

1.	Break your text into a list of short exclamations or statements.
•	Read the text through as a class.
•	Be expressive and dramatic in your reading.

1.	Choose two contrasting rhythms. 
•	Read the text again – though speak rhythmically.  You may speak in only one of the selected rhythms.  
•	You will find that some text will fit the rhythm – other lines will be inappropriate.
•	Read the text through a second time, exploring the second rhythm you have chosen.

1.	Create a spoken vocal piece in small groups. (Using the text as discussed in point 1 above.)
•	It should last no longer than one minute.  This will encourage economy of ideas.
•	Somebody should provide a constant pulse.  This pulse can be derived from the text, or a simple click of the fingers.   The pulse will help glue your vocal lines together.  Start with a short improvisation.   Encourage each member of the group to experiment saying a line of text (in one of the given rhythms) against the pulse.
•	Each person in the group may only speak for five seconds at a time.  This will create an interesting and effective vocal texture.  It will ensure that there is always clarity of vocal parts.
•	The vocal piece should be identical each time that it is performed.  Composition is all about effective decision making. 

1.	Transfer the vocal piece to a mixture of instruments and sung vocals.  
•	Do not change the material in any structural way. 
•	Transfer the pulse to a melodic instrument or sung vocal part before any other part. This will then provide a harmonic bass for your ensemble piece.

Activity three: the dramatic overture!

In Puccini’s Tosca, we find a fantastic example of a very effective dramatic motif, used primarily as a reoccurring gesture, but also to form an overture.  It is worth perhaps recreating this motif with your class to demonstrate how composers are able to create dramatic gestures using extreme economy.  The students might them transfer what they have learnt when creating their own freer dramatic motifs.

The motif in question is that to illustrate the evil character, Scarpia.  

1.	Experiment with three major chord triads: Bb major - Ab major - E major.

•	Play about with the chords and notes.  How could you perform each chord? On the piano or on tuned percussion?  
•	Should the triads sound as a single chord, or might you create an arpeggio gesture? 
•	Can you split the chord between a group of people?  
•	Create both bass and treble statements of the chords.

N.B: Remember that you are looking for ways to represent Scarpia.  Your chords should illustrate his character: terrifying, awe inspiring, evil, cunning and all powerful.

Experiment with the chords (you may transpose them if you wish) and become familiar with their harmony.

1.	Create a short very simple motif using all three.  
Here are the two rules:
•	The gesture should be heavily dramatic and last no more than 15 seconds.
•	Each chord can be used no more than twice during the motif.

Now listen to the very beginning of Puccini’s Tosca.  Listen to how Puccini uses only three chords to great effect.  

Dramatic motifs for opera in the classroom

An overture is sometimes a collection of musical ‘tasters’ extracted from the opera. It functions to whet an audience’s appetite for the music to come, prepare them for the action, set the ambience and in many cases to familiarise them with the various musical themes that will reoccur throughout the drama.  

Create four musical motifs: 
The motifs should represent the following themes from your opera:

a)	A sight.  
This could be a character, a group of people, a place, an object etc.

b)	A sound.  
This sound should be significant to the dramatic tale.  For example the bell to call the servants in Il Nozze di Figaro.  Or a knock at the door?

c)	An emotion.  
For example: love, tragic loss, hope, liberty etc.

d)	An influence. 
For example: a power (religion, faith) or a natural influence – the elements.  The influence could be a taste or scent. Try to find an influence that is pervasive influence throughout the drama.

Tips for effective writing:
•	Keep your motifs short.  Each motif should last no longer than 15 seconds.  You may always develop the motif, once established.
•	Perhaps restrict yourself to a limited number of chords or mode as in the Scarpia example above.
•	The motifs may be sung or instrumental.
•	Once you have established your four motifs, experiment spinning them together in various combinations to create an overture for your dramatic opera in the classroom.  
•	You may also use the motifs in isolation to underscore a particular part of the drama where appropriate.

Copyright Hannah Conway, January 2003
RESEO conference reference material

Glossary for non-music specialists

SSAA				Soprano, soprano, alto, alto (four part voices)
SATB				Soprano, alto, tenor bass voice parts
Perfect cadence		V-I chord progression
Imperfect cadence		I-V chord progression
Plagal cadence		IV-I chord progression
Canon			A round, voices imitating each other in turn.
Augmentation		Halving note values
Diminution			Doubling of note values
Bb major triad		Bb – D – F 
Ab major triad		Ab – C – Eb 
E major triad		E – G sharp – B