Thank you again for all the repertoire suggestions for opera scenes for high school students.
Below is the compilation of responses.

-Jen

Opera Scene Ideas
• Magic Flute - Mozart
Papageno's music
Papageno/Papagena duet
Boys' trio - “Bald Prangt”
Ladies/spirits trios
Final chorus is great, but probably too high for sopranos.

• Marriage of Figaro
Letter duet
Marcellina/Susanna Duet

• Don Giovanni
Zerlina and Masetto arias
Zerlina/Giovanni duet: La ci darem la mano
Choruses: not that great

• Cosi Fan Tutte
Trio from the end of Act I "Soave il vento." - Lovely short little trio that would sound good
whether or not the voices are "operatic."


• If you've a couple of outstanding sopranos and a good tenor or baritone, the "Battle of the
Divas" trio from Mozart's "Impresario" works well in English, and is a crowd pleaser.

• “La ci Darem La Mano" for Sop and Baritone - Mozart

• “Lavergine Degli Angeli" - Aria for Sop. from “La Forza Del Destino” that has men on stage as
well

• Macbeth - Witches' Chorus (larger womens' ensemble)

• Nabucco by Verdi - Va pensiero

• La Traviata by Verdi - Gypsy and Toreador choruses from party scene.

• Carmen:
Child soldiers' chorus Act 1 (Jr high)
Chorus of Cigarette Girls Act 1 (Jr high)
Toreador aria and chorus if you have a GREAT baritone,

• Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss -
Choruses or all if you have the sop. & tenor
Adele's Laughing Song

• Dido and Aeneas by Purcell - whole thing if you have the principals Purcell, Dido and Aeneas
It was composed for a girls school, so it is perfect for HS. There is lots of variety - Greek tragedy.

• Benjamin Britten wrote "Let's make an opera" for children.

• Menotti also wrote a lot of children's roles:
Amahl and the Night Visitors
The Boy Who Grew Too Fast
The Singing Child

• Hansel and Gretel:
When at night to sleep I go
Brother, come and dance with me

• Old Maid and the Thief
Opening duet with Ms. Todd and Ms. Pinkerton

• The Ballad of Baby Doe
Willow Song/Soft as the Summer's Night (you can do the entire scene that begins with the
chorus. However, you have to have an amazing soprano with solid, supported, Bbs5 and a
high D6. If you have a soprano with a solid supported Bb, you can replace the D6 with the
Bb5. The baritone role can be sung by a bari-tenor, or a baritone with solid, supported, E4s)
• Lakme: “Sous le dome epais” (female duet)

• Three Penny Opera - Kurt Weill

• The Mikado - Gilbert & Sullivan

• Porgy & Bess - Gershwin

• Try contacting Alan Cathcart of "Peninsula Teen Opera" (San Francisco Bay Area)

• The Canadian Children's Opera Company has commissioned operas (from Wikipedia)
* Dragon in the Rocks (2008) (Alexander Rapoport)
* A Dickens of a Christmas (2005) (Errol Gay)/(Michael Patrick Albano)
* The Hobbit (2004) (Dean Burry)
* The Star Child (1998) (John Greer/Ned Dickens)
* The Snow Queen (1993) (John Greer/Jeremy James Taylor)
* A Midwinter Night's Dream (Harry Somers/Tim Wynne-Jones)
* Dr. Canon's Cure (Derek Holman/Robertson Davies)
* Chip and His Dog (1978) (Gian Carlo Menotti)





Jennifer Moss
jenmoss77(a)yahoo.com