Teachers Take On La Cenerentola at Professional Development Workshop This Weekend

"What could be more pleasant than getting together with other teachers who love both teaching and opera to learn about an upcoming opera? The teachers are experienced experts in their fields; I always learn new things, even when it's an opera I know very well, from the discussion and from Rob McClung's insights into the opera and the music and Seattle Opera’s PowerPoint presentations. At the last workshop, the discussion was so interesting no one wanted to stop, so we went overtime. That's what happens when teachers who are part of the Experience Opera Program get together; it's a very informative, warm, and collegial gathering of kindred spirits."
 

— Jim Schindler, Woodinville High School

This Saturday, 10–11:30 am, Seattle Opera’s Education Department hosts the next in its series of FREE professional development workshops for educators. This workshop will explore Gioachino Rossini’s 1817 opera La Cenerentola, the next production in Seattle Opera’s 2012/13 season.

These 90-minute workshops offer educators the opportunity to explore each opera produced by Seattle Opera. Workshop participants come from a variety of backgrounds in the humanities, including teachers of English as well as of foreign languages, history and the fine arts. The workshop includes presentation and group discussion, incorporating history, politics, language, literature, stagecraft, visual art and music, in order to connect each opera to a variety of school subjects. Each participant receives reference materials, further reading, and a PowerPoint presentation full of images, audio clips and information about the opera. These workshops are a great primer for anyone planning on attending a Seattle Opera production and are chock-full of creative ideas for enhancing school curricula through the arts.

In Saturday’s workshop, we’ll explore how Rossini assembled La Cenerentola, an entirely charming and entertaining opera, in just three weeks. We'll learn more about the world of nineteenth-century Italian opera, where life onstage often mirrored the frenzied world around it.

We'll discuss the theatrical and musical traditions that influenced the dramaturgy of La Cenerentola; musical characterization and character development; performance practice and subject matter. We’ll engage in active listening to recognize the structure of the music and spend time creating activities for students to further their appreciation of not only La Cenerentola, but, more widely, music, language and drama.

The workshop, which happens at Seattle Opera’s Rehearsal Studio at 200 Terry Ave. N, begins at 10 am on Saturday, December 8. To sign up, please e-mail education@seattleopera.org. Parking will be available on Terry Avenue between John Street and Thomas Street, as well as in the Seattle Opera office parking lot at 1020 John Street. Future professional development opportunities for teachers are listed on our website.