I am not a regular opera-goer but after reading the interview with Alasdair Middleton and Jonathan Dove in the Guardian (21^st December 2007 - see Opera North website) I bought tickets for Pinocchio at Sadler's Wells. I share the view of Sabine that this is a gripping and magical performance- both for adults and children.

The experience was enhanced for me by being present at a panel discussions prior to the performance. This was entitled Psychoanalysis. Opera and The Wooden Boy and took place before the Saturday evening performance at Sadler's Wells, on March 1^st The pane was chaired by Dominic Gray from Opera North and the discussants were Gillian Ingall, Child Psychotherapist from the Harry Guntrip Psychotherapy Trust and Alasdair Middleton, librettist.

This amazing evening has led me back to the original Pinocchio written by Carlo Collodi, and published in 1883. When presented on Amazon with a range of editions, I chose the Oxford World Classic published in 1996. Ann Lawson Lucas has translated this and includes an informative introduction about the life of Collodi, the political and social context in which he was writing and explanations about the translation. This edition contains illustrations by Enrico Mazzanti from the first edition.

The creation of the opera The Adventures of Pinocchiois true to the book which written in a way which facilitates the visual imagination; pictures spring from the page because of the descriptions of the characters and their actions. The author had an interest in opera and the theatre. It does not seem surprising that an opera should have been created from the book - only surprising that it has not been done before.

I am not sure that the panel discussion addressed Psychoanalysis or Opera in any detail. It did focus on the Wooden Boy and it is this aspect which has been pre-occupying my thoughts since March 1^st. No doubt this arises from my background as a (retired) child clinical psychologist. What is it about this story that grips children - and adults? Collodi was, certainly, familiar with fairy tales, having translated from the French some of the best known stories of the 17^th and 18^th centuries.

The Wooden Boy was discussed, firstly, by Alisdair Middleton, librettist He spoke about creativity and the relationship of the artist to what has been created. This takes on a life of its own - like Pinocchio emerging from the block of wood. The artist hen has to let go. This was compared to the process of parenting which led to a discussion on Gepetto's roleasa parent.

A discussion about the Wooden Boy and his behaviour in developmental terms followed. Here is a boy who can walk and talk but has no experience of life. He does not do as he is asked and is easily distracted and led into mischief (and worse) by others. I can think of "labels" that might be attached to these behaviours if they came to the notice of professionals. For me, however, Pinocchio appears as a metaphor for the experience of parenting and, perhaps, more so for the experience of fostering or adoption. Most parents experience, at times, a feeling of not understanding their child, being puzzled by behaviour. When the child has been grown up with birth parents, mutual understanding develops and is activated most of the time. When a child comes to a family able to walk, talk and function, for the most part, at an age appropriate level, it can be very puzzling to experience an extreme emotional or behavioural reaction, which appears to come from nowhere. It comes, one assumes, from earlier experiences with other carers. In common with children who have been separated from their birth parents, perhaps after only a short time together or even when the experience has been negative or harmful, Pinocchio longs for his father, Gepetto, and seeks him out - whenever he remembers.

The story of Pinocchio illustrates well the confusion which children can experience when they go out into the wider world - particularly if there is not a parent/carer available to interpret for them what is going on. This could be seen as comparable to children who have to leave birth parents and be moved around until they can be settled again.

What creates a real boy as Pinocchio wishes to be? One of the questions raised at the panel discussion was "who loves Pinocchio?" It is clear throughout his adventures that Pinocchio has his supporters. There is Gepetto, his "father", the Blue Fairy at regular intervals but there are others who help him on his way - Swallowfire who gives him 5 gold coins, the Pigeon who flies him to the coast, among others. There are those who harm or try to harm Pinocchio but he learns that he can give to others; he learns something about attachment and belonging and looks back with insight.

For children, the story and its splendid operatic presentation confronts them with their worst fears - of being lost and in danger, For parents, their fears of losing or harming their children are faced. The story ends in hope of a happy future. What more can we want?