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Could it be magic?
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Jonathan Dove is a new opera in a long, magical tradition. JULIAN GRANT conjures up its family tree
…topsy-turvy libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.
It is debatable whether The Magic Flute works as an opera for children. The music is often sophisticated, it is an opera of some length and the opening theatrical coup of the giant snake is never followed up. It is also possible that the trials of noble lovers and the teachings of goodly priests are not of great interest to today’s youth …
So if it’s not the Flute, which opera is most likely to succeed as a child’s introduction to the form? At the age of ten my eldest daughter was taken on a school outing to Il trovatore; she returned critical of Spanish gypsies’ parenting skills … (How can you throw the wrong baby on the fire?). I took a crowd of rowdy public school boys to see Jenůfa, and they were pole-axed. Now I am about to try out Turandot on both daughters. Its context is fairy-tale and they need a character to identify with. That man-hating princess could represent a perfect role-model for not-quite-teenage girls……..
Julian Grant is a composer and writer, currently resident in Beijing. He was formerly Music Director at St Paul's Girls' School, London. Among his works is the Jump into My Sack, based on a fairy story by Italo Calvino, which was commissioned for the 1996 Covent Garden Festival.
© JULIAN GRANT 2008
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