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Synopsis
The Royal Singer, an opera for children, centers on a singing contest.
When the old Royal Singer falls into a vat of honey, the King’s
Messenger announces a contest to find a new singer . Professor Song –
who in youth was passed over for the position – hopes that her child,
Bo, will win this contest. But Bo doesn’t take the competition
seriously, and also doesn’t sing very well. Professor Song brings Bo
together with the students from her singing school – Ray, Mi, Cha, Kai,
and Woo – for voice lessons. But instead of learning from her, all they
do is fight about who will win the prize. Professor Song decides that,
as a time-out, they need to take a trip to a place where they can learn
to get along: Someplace Magical. In the end, Bo, Ray, Mi, Cha, Kai, and
Woo decide that singing together as friends is more fun than singing
alone. The King's Messenger returns to announce that instead of having
one Royal Singer, from now on the Kingdom will have a Royal Chorus so
the friends can continue singing together. They will be led by Professor
Song.
The
Royal Singer purposely includes a “missing” scene, inviting an outreach
component involving the active participation of a group of children
from a performing arts program at a local school or other instructional
organization. These children are to create and perform the words, music,
and/or movement that comprise Scene VI, "Someplace Magical." The goal:
the adult characters must learn from the children how to stop quarreling
so that they become a community that enjoys making music together. The
specifics of this lesson should ideally be left up to the children. Any
program run by imaginative teachers could be suitable for this purpose.
Possibilities include a general music program with ordinary classroom
instruments (recorders, guitars, etc.); an Orff/Kodaly ensemble; an
orchestra of instruments designed, built, and played by kids; a
children's choir; a dance class; an improvisational theater class; etc.
Note:
none of the characters in the opera is necessarily male or female. Any
singer, male or female, can play any role, if desired, with appropriate
modification of pronouns in the lyrics.
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Title Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
Approximate Runtime (hh:mm)
0:35
Number of Acts
1
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