The West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts is pleased to be hosting the Opera North performance of Little Red Riding Hood as part of their the Opera North Spring 2014 tour. This performance is specifically offered for homeschool children/families and other youth (suggested for ages 5 and up). It is open to the public with seating preference given to youth and family groups. Admission is free.

The presentation will be offered in the historic Union Church, 133 Old Church Rd, Claremont, NH. RSVP to [email protected] to reserve a space. For more information: wcc-ma.org

Description of this program:

Opera North will bring three singers from our Young Artist program complete with costumes, a pianist, a set, and props to perform a 30-minute show of Little Red Riding Hood, an operatic rendition of the classic children’s tale, composed by Seymour Barab.

ON has found that especially young audiences are immediately engaged if the content is familiar. While enjoying an opera sung in English, children will be exposed to both non-amplified classical music and singing. This combination is becoming increasingly rare for school children in an era where arts funding has been radically cut. Students will also have a chance to meet the Young Artists and ask questions at the end of the performance.

Synopsis of Little Red Riding Hood (libretto by the composer, Seymour Barab, 1962, based on the original fairy tale):

It’s a tale we all know, and thus accessible to young audiences: Little Red Riding Hood’s mother sends her daughter to Grandma’s house with some treats. Red takes her time in the forest, singing with a mockingbird and picking strawberries. The wolf appears, assures Red he is not a stranger, and calls her by name. Relieved, Red tells him about her sick grandmother. The wolf feigns interest and compassion. Red begins to tell the wolf about all of the treats she is bringing Grandma, and the wolf’s stomach begins to sour – sweets make him sick. Angered by Red and embarrassed by what she has done to him, he goes to Grandma’s house intent on eating Grandma and having Red for dessert. Arriving at Grandma’s house before Red, he chases the woman around until she locks herself in the closet. He then disguises himself as Grandma, and Red arrives. He grabs Red, but she starts talking about the strawberries she picked in the forest. At the mention of the sweet fruit, the wolf begins to lose his appetite again, and Grandma and Red talk about sweets until the wolf crawls out of the house. A woodsman and Red then chase the wolf down.

Resources:

The composer’s website – including a newspaper review of this opera:

http://www.seymourbarab.com/redridinghood.html

About the composer:

Mr. Barab was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1921, and began his professional career as a church organist at the age of thirteen. Mr. Barab’s interest in contemporary music led to a close association with American composers, whose music he began to perform while he was still in high school. Before leaving Chicago, he became a founder of the New Music Quartet; and then in New York City of the Composer’s Quartet, the resident quartet of Columbia University, whose primary purpose was to promote contemporary music.

Following military service in World War II, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill to spend a year in Paris, where he explored his own talents for musical composition. In this one year alone, he produced over two hundred art songs and other works. Vocal music has in fact become Barab’s favorite means of musical expression. “It is less abstract,” he observes. “The words of a poem immediately suggest music to me.” (excerpted from: http://www.seymourbarab.com/index.html)