2700 F Street

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OPERA / 2018-2019

TOSCA

STUDENT GUIDE

Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal Music by Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa Based on the play La Tosca by Victorien Sardou

School show: May 8

Teacher and Parent Guide: Tosca

WHO'S WHO

Main Characters

Floria Tosca, a celebrated opera singer (soprano—the highest female voice) Mario Cavaradossi, a painter and revolutionary (tenor—the highest male voice) Baron Scarpia, chief of Roman police (baritone—a middle-range male voice) Cesare Angelotti, former consul for the Roman Republic (bass––the lowest male voice) A sacristan, custodian of the church (bass)

So, What’s Going On?

Rome. June 17-18, 1800.

(Note: Unlike in most operas, audiences can pinpoint the exact dates of the Tosca story, as the plot unfolds in the wake of the Napoleonic Battle of Marengo, fought in June, 1800. In addition, all locations mentioned in the opera are real places in the city of Rome that still exist to this day.)

Act 1

In the “eternal city” of Rome, one of the many Italian revolutionary republics has recently been suppressed by forces loyal to an Italian king. With the future of the Roman territories uncertain and civil unrest on the rise, the streets are now run by the brutal Baron Scarpia (SKAHR-pya), chief of the royal police.

Newly escaped from prison, Cesare Angelotti (CHEH-zah-reh ahn-jehl-OHT-tee)––a member of the former Roman Republic––staggers into the Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle. His sister, the Marquess Attavanti (ah-tah-VAHN-tee), has promised to leave some clothes beneath the altar of her private family chapel so he can flee in disguise and avoid Baron Scarpia.

But Angelotti has some unexpected company.

Just as he slips behind the Attavanti chapel doors, a sacristan enters, followed by Mario Cavaradossi (kah-vah-rah-DOHSS-ee), a painter who’s been working on a church portrait of Mary Magdalene. Inspired by a mysterious woman, Cavaradossi has given his Magdalene blond hair and blue eyes––but in real life, he only has eyes for his own dark-eyed love, Floria Tosca (TOHS-kah), the most famous opera diva in Rome.

Take a listen...

Cavaradossi remarks that beauty comes in many colors in his aria “Recondita harmonia” (“Secret harmony”). Listen for the way in which the sacristan’s commentary cuts through Cavaradossi’s tune (which helps ground the moment in reality), and for the way the orchestra reinforces the painter’s melody when he sings of how much he loves Tosca.

Angelotti recognizes Cavaradossi as a fellow democrat and approaches the painter, asking for help. With the sacristan out of sight, Cavaradossi is about to pledge his undying loyalty, but the two men are interrupted by Tosca, who’s arrived to offer flowers to the Virgin Mary (but, really, to pay her Mario a visit). Knowing Tosca is a naturally suspicious woman, Cavaradossi tells Angelotti to hide.

Turns out Cavaradossi is right to be cautious.

Convinced her painter has been meeting with another woman behind her back, Tosca quickly flies into a jealous fit, but Cavaradossi succeeds in calming her down. They then make plans to meet up later that evening, and everything is sunshine and roses...until Tosca catches sight of Cavaradossi’s painting. She instantly realizes the Magdalene portrait shares a face with none other than the Marquess Attavanti (yup, Angelotti’s sister) and accuses Cavaradossi of having an affair with the blond beauty. The painter swears up and down that the resemblance is only a coincidence, that he just happened to see Attavanti praying in church, and that Tosca is the only woman for him. Satisfied (for the moment, anyway), Tosca leaves.

Alone with Angelotti, Cavaradossi tells the escaped convict to take shelter at the artist’s private villa and offers to show him the way.

As the two rush off, the sacristan re-enters with various members of the clergy and church choir. He proudly announces the evil Napoleon Bonaparte (who’s largely responsible for the revolutionary spirit that’s been stressing out their beloved king) has lost a decisive battle.

Celebrations are cut short, however, when Baron Scarpia comes marching in with his royalist police squad on the hunt for Angelotti. Searching for clues, Scarpia uncovers a lady’s fan with the Attavanti family crest displayed on it, as well as the Magdalene portrait (in which he recognizes the marquess’s face). Scarpia discovers the portrait is the work of Mario Cavaradossi, whom the chief suspects of treasonous activity and who, more importantly for Scarpia, is known throughout Rome as Tosca’s lover.

Certain the two revolutionaries have hatched a rebellious plot of some sort, Scarpia devises a plan to use Tosca’s infamous jealous streak against her. At this precise moment (what are the odds?), Tosca comes sweeping back into the church, hoping to reschedule her meeting with Cavaradossi (as she’s now been asked to sing a special concert to commemorate the king’s victory).

Seizing his opportunity, Scarpia shows Tosca the Attavanti fan and strongly insinuates the accessory was left behind by the painter’s secret mistress. Tosca lets her jealous fears get the better of her, and, heartbroken, runs off to confront Cavaradossi.

His trap set, Scarpia gives the order to have Tosca followed.

Take a listen…

Scarpia watches his villainous plot unfold and dreams of having Tosca all to himself. Check out the way Scarpia’s melody blends with the events happening around him in real time (the chorus singing the Latin “Te Deum” hymn to God, the church organ that accompanies them, the cannon fire in the distance, etc.), a trick designed to make you feel like you’re in the center of the action.

Caption: Scarpia hypocritically joins in the religious celebration while secretly thinking of Tosca.

ACT 2

Later that evening at the royal Farnese Palace, Scarpia––who’s asked that Tosca be brought to him––awaits news of Cavaradossi and Angelotti’s capture. But when news finally does arrive, it isn’t great: Following Tosca’s trail, Scarpia’s minions have arrested Cavaradossi, but Angelotti remains on the run.

Furious, Scarpia questions Cavaradossi. The painter vehemently denies having anything to do with Angelotti’s escape, but Scarpia isn’t convinced.

Her performance now over, Tosca arrives. Cavaradossi whispers for her to keep quiet just as Scarpia has his officers take the painter into a back room for further “interrogations” (if you’re thinking this means “torture,” you’re absolutely correct). The chief then turns his attention to Tosca, who claims she knows nothing about Cavaradossi or Angelotti’s revolutionary dealings.

But Tosca can only hold out so long.

Hearing Cavaradossi screaming in pain, she finally reveals that Angelotti is hiding in Cavaradossi’s garden. Cavaradossi is temporarily released, and a messenger arrives to deliver a startling twist: News of Bonaparte’s defeat was premature—the revolutionary has actually won the battle.

Ecstatic, Cavaradossi taunts Scarpia. Scarpia, not about to take this lying down, instantly sentences Cavaradossi to death by hanging.

Horrified, Tosca pleads with Scarpia to save Cavaradossi––which is just the scenario Scarpia was hoping for. He’s willing to be merciful, he says, but only if Tosca will spend the night with him...alone.

Take a listen...

Tosca’s famous aria “Vissi d’arte” (“I lived for art”) is one of the few moments in the opera where time seems to stand still. Pay special attention to the orchestra, which plays its own melodies underneath Tosca’s heartfelt prayer (some of these tunes appear earlier in the opera when Tosca and Cavaradossi first sing together). Listen also for the way Tosca’s voice rises to its greatest height on the word “Signore” (or “God”).

Backed into a hopeless corner, Tosca agrees.

Scarpia, insisting he keep up appearances so as not to look weak, makes arrangements for Cavaradossi’s mock execution. The painter will be put before a firing squad, but the bullets will be blanks. And, at Tosca’s insistence, the chief also signs papers that will grant the lovers safe passage across the Roman border.

But while Scarpia’s back is turned, a panicked Tosca resolves to defend herself rather than succumb to the baron’s violent advances. She finds a knife on Scarpia’s dinner table and––just as Scarpia lunges at her to claim his “prize”––stabs him in the heart, shouting, “This is a kiss from Tosca!” (...ouch).

ACT 3

With Scarpia dead and his body as yet undiscovered, Tosca hurries to the prison at Castel Sant’Angelo to inform Cavaradossi of the fake execution plan. She’s certain the papers she’s secured will allow her and Cavaradossi to begin a new life together...but is she right? Can Scarpia’s false execution orders be trusted? And will Tosca ever have to answer for Scarpia’s murder...or will she get her own version of an operatic happy ending?

Good to Know

Curious as to what Napoleon is doing in the middle of an Italian opera? Never fear; there’s a mini history lesson coming your way. (We promise it’ll be painless.)

Though celebrated composer Giacomo Puccini wrote Tosca in Italy at the turn of the twentieth century, the story of the opera is set almost exactly a century earlier...at a time when the country of “Italy” didn’t really exist.

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Tosca’s hometown of Rome stood within one of many separate territories, each with its own unique leader and/or political structure. Yet despite these many different forms of government, some citizens of what would one day become Italy witnessed the recent democratic uprising in France and the impressive military campaigns of France’s General Napoleon Bonaparte and were inspired to build their own democracies (this was before Napoleon made the move to full-on dictator/emperor).

As a result, amateur republics spread throughout the Italian countryside. One of the most influential of these republics was in Rome, which had been occupied by French troops who helped stave off greedy Italian monarchs.

But by 1800 (when Tosca would have been at the height of her fame), the Roman Republic had been squashed by forces that supported the powerful King Ferdinand (no, not the guy from Spain) of Naples, which launched a few French counterattacks and left the region completely unstable. Former consuls of the Roman Republic like Angelotti would have been considered enemies of the royal state, freedom-loving artists like Tosca and Cavaradossi would have felt threatened by royalist powers, and royalist policemen like Scarpia would have ruled the streets with an iron fist.

Ciao!

Remember we said “all locations mentioned are real places in the city of Rome that still exist to this day.” We weren’t kidding. Jump on your Vespa and visit these sites of Tosca:

Caption: Farnese Palace

Caption: Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle

Caption: Castel Sant'Angelo on the Tiber River

Learning to Listen

Going to the opera means you’ll have to start listening in a new way if you want to take in everything the music and the voices have to offer. And guess what? This is less difficult than it sounds.

Try thinking of opera singing as its own type of language or speech. When we’re speaking, our emotions can change the way our voices sound from moment to moment—and one word can have a thousand different meanings depending on how we say it (loudly, softly, quickly, slowly, with a high- or low-pitched voice, etc.). The same is true for the characters in an opera. Each voice you’ll hear will have its own special flavor depending on who the character is and what he or she is saying.

Floria Tosca, for example, is an immensely passionate young singer with a fiery personality. Her voice, therefore, will be on the higher side (to provide a clue that she’s youthful and vibrant), but will frequently jump from light to dark as her mood swings back and forth. As the character herself is, in fact, a singer, there will also be moments when Tosca’s sound feels incredibly forceful, indicating she’s a woman who uses her voice as her primary form of expression.

Scarpia, on the other hand, is a sinister chief of police with lustful motivations. His darker baritone voice (unlike the brighter sound of the hero, Cavaradossi) suggests the baron spends a lot of time making shady backdoor deals. Still, Scarpia’s music will often rise to impressive heights, indicating he wields a lot of power over the many characters on stage.

When in doubt about how a character is feeling or what they’re thinking, always pay close attention to exactly how they sound. (The instruments in the orchestra will give you hints as well.)

Check This Out…

Composer Giacomo Puccini was a stickler for detail and wanted his operas to have a real sense of time and place. What kinds of musical clues help set each scene for you? Are there specific musical moments that remind you of sounds you might hear in real life? (Hint: Pay attention to the music and sound effects heard off stage as well as on.)

Rome was a divided city in 1800, and citizens were largely split between loyal royalists and democratic sympathizers. How do the costumes, sets, and props in this production help alert you to which characters belong on which side? Do Angelotti’s clothes give you clues about his recent stint in prison? Does the design of Scarpia’s office in the Farnese Palace help convey his wealth and royal status? Do Tosca’s costumes suggest a rebellious spirit or a royal servant...or both?

In Tosca, Puccini uses certain melodies to represent different characters or situations. These themes will recur again and again to help keep various people or events fresh in the audience’s mind. Can you guess which tunes are meant to symbolize Cavaradossi? Tosca? Scarpia? What about melodies that represent Angelotti’s escape or Scarpia’s evil plotting? (Bonus: Consider how these themes make you feel about the characters or situations they symbolize. For example, can you tell Scarpia is a villain just by listening to the music that accompanies his entrance? If so, how?)

Think About This…

Tosca and Cavaradossi find themselves in the middle of a political hurricane despite the fact their lives revolve mostly around art and each other. Do you think it’s possible for artists to remain neutral during a revolution? Can art exist all by itself or is it always affected by the world around it?

Given Tosca’s impossible predicament in Act 2, do you think her actions toward Scarpia are at all justified? Did she have any other choice? What punishment, if any, do you feel she deserves? Were you satisfied with the end of the opera or would you have preferred a different outcome?

Scarpia calls Cavaradossi a “Volterriano” (or “follower of Voltaire”). Why would a French Enlightenment author like Voltaire appeal to a painter who favored a democracy over a monarchy?

By the turn of the twentieth century, opera was making a serious effort to reel in audience members with limited attention spans––that is, composers were creating operas that were meant to feel like a seamless sequence of events rather than a series of scenes broken up by songs. And Tosca was no exception. But do you think Puccini succeeded in his goal to make Tosca a non-stop theatrical roller coaster? What moments, if any, would you cut from the show?

Take Action: Eye of the Beholder

When we first meet Cavaradossi, he literally sings an entire song about how it’s possible to be captivated by two very different types of artistic beauty.

He’s not wrong.

While it’s actually possible to find various things to appreciate in an infinite number of aesthetics, it’s rare we take the time to compare and contrast in detail or ask ourselves why we like the things we like––especially when it comes to artwork.

Why not try and prove Cavaradossi’s point for yourself and get to know your own personal tastes a bit better? Head to a museum or art gallery (if you can’t visit this type of venue, no worries: a book on paintings, sculpture, or even makeup or fashion will do) and choose two contrasting pieces you enjoy. (This could be a contrast in media, subject, era, style…whatever.)

Once you’ve selected your works of art, see if you can describe your feelings about each one in writing, in a small video, or in an amateur-podcast-style audio. Consider: What attracts you to each piece? How are they different/similar? Why do you think they’re equally powerful/effective despite their differences? (Note: You can try this experiment with two pieces of music, two films, two novels, two poems...any two works that excite you, so long as there are obvious contrasts between them.)

If you’re comfortable, help spread the word that beauty comes in many shapes and sizes. Share your thoughts on your two artistic pieces with your friends or family, and, when you’re done, ask them about what draws them in when it comes to works of art.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with Tosca extras.

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Top Image: Original poster by Alphonse Maria Mucha for the play La Tosca (1887) featuring actress Sarah Bernhardt.

Writer: Eleni Hagen

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Timothy O’Leary General Director

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director

Major support for WNO and Tosca is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

WNO's Presenting Sponsor

Generous support for WNO Italian Opera is provided by Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello.

Unexpected Italy is presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy.

International programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment;The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

The contents of this guide have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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OPERA / 2018-2019

TOSCA

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal Music by Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa Based on the play La Tosca by Victorien Sardou

Student Guide: Tosca

Caption: Original poster by Alphonse Maria Mucha for the play La Tosca (1887) featuring actress Sarah Bernhardt.

Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: We’ve Got You Covered

Hey there, adults. We’re sure you’re already familiar with the concept of opera but, just in case you’re looking for a refresher or you want to go deeper, here are some thoughts that may be of interest:

Opera A 400-year-old genre born in Italy that was cultivated throughout Europe from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries and eventually made its way to the United States (that’s right, Americans write operas, too). As you’ve probably guessed, there will be singing. Lots of it. Just think of it as heightened speech. A soprano may hit a really high note when she’s angry or scared. A bass might lay down a low note when he wants to be extra menacing.

Italian maestro Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, which debuted in Rome (the city in which it takes place) in 1900, was a masterpiece several years in the making. As early as 1889, Puccini was clamoring to turn the story of a singer and her artist lover caught in a web of political intrigue into an opera. Having seen Victorien Sardou’s French play La Tosca––a melodrama written for the eminent stage star Sarah Bernhardt––Puccini knew the piece had “opera” written all over it, and he soon began shopping for the rights to transform La Tosca into a musical work. In Tosca’s story, Puccini wrote, he saw an opera that he more or less “needed” to write.

But Puccini’s dreams of setting La Tosca to music were almost derailed when, years later, the rights to La Tosca were handed over to a different composer, who’d already lined up a libretto with erstwhile Puccini collaborator, Luigi Illica. Fortune favored Puccini, however, and the rights soon fell into his hands anyway, with Illica still on board as co-librettist with Giuseppe Giacosa (you may have heard of yet another Puccini-Illica-Giacosa partnership: a little opera called La bohème). After three years of work, the result was Tosca, an instant hit that remains among opera’s most popular picks to this very day.

Over the course of his career, Puccini would become known for his international flare and his penchant for setting operas in places that were unfamiliar to European audiences such as Japan, China, and even the United States. In these works, Puccini would take pains to be as authentic as possible by researching indigenous folk tunes, immersing himself in his settings, etc. But with Tosca, Puccini kept things a whole lot closer to home (and, legend has it, well within the family). Set in his native land, Tosca was an unmistakably Italian story (fiercely passionate heroine, effortlessly romantic hero, wine-swilling villain and all) with no need for “exotic” melodies that evoked faraway places.

Still, Tosca’s Roman backdrop didn’t stop Puccini from doing his homework before bringing the final product to the opera house. An expert was consulted to help Puccini recreate the sound of the Vatican church bell, and there’s evidence the composer was influenced by an original “Te Deum” hymn written by his grandfather, Domenico, for the so-called defeat of Napoleon in 1800. And, if all that wasn’t enough, Puccini reportedly slept on the roof of Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo prison to get a clear sense of the tolling bells that could be heard by his hero Cavaradossi in Act 3. Upon Tosca’s premiere, some detractors felt these atmospheric sounds were unnecessary and didn’t really count as music, but, to Puccini, these little touches were no doubt essential for making audiences feel they were active participants in the drama.

You’re ready for Puccini’s Tosca.

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Writer: Eleni Hagen

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Timothy O’Leary General Director

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director

Major support for WNO and Tosca is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

WNO's Presenting Sponsor

Generous support for WNO Italian Opera is provided by Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello.

Unexpected Italy is presented in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy.

International programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment;The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

The contents of this guide have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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DANCE | 2018-2019

…SEEDS: RE GENERATION…

STUDENT GUIDE

By Dancing Earth™ Choreography by Rulan Tangen, a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow

School show: April 25

Teacher and Parent Guide: ...SEEDS: RE GENERATION...

“I truly believe that the greatest gift that we as humans can do to support the health of the earth begins with movement. Starting every day with expanding one’s breath and range of motion, circling the limbs with gratitude for the form we have—indoors or outdoors, getting into one’s body. From that as a starting place, you will grow the instinct, intuition, and imagination to know what to DO or not DO, that is in alignment with all living beings.” —Rulan Tangen, Founder and Artistic Director of Dancing Earth

Rulan Tangen’s assertion is woven throughout the contemporary dance performance ...SEEDS: RE GENERATION…. Members of Dancing Earth—representing more than a dozen First Nations—are dancing the narrative of their peoples, blending history and myth, resilience and vision.

For many First Nations in the Americas and worldwide, their histories and lore were buried or distorted after colonists and settlers took their ancestral lands and tried to erase these conquered cultures with attempted conquest. In the Americas and beyond, those cultures—from the Piscataway in the East to the Inuit in the Arctic North to the Kanaka Maoli in Hawaii to the Mapuche in the South—demonstrated resilience, surviving nothing less than attempted genocide.

Sadly, many narratives, from Cowboy and Indian movies to scholarly histories, have portrayed native peoples as relics of the past. But members of these same Indigenous groups are happy to respond: “Hey. We’re still here. Respect.” Today, activists and artists with Indigenous roots are resurrecting the stories and traditions of their people and nurturing them anew. They are recalling the ways of their elders, reclaiming agency in the present, and reimagining a thriving future not just for their peoples, but for humanity as a whole.

Dancing Earth demonstrates these aspirations front and center. This production, ...SEEDS: RE GENERATION…, incorporates movement, music, and a full-range of sensory experiences to “re-story” inter-tribal concepts about land, water, sky, life, and the myriad ways the natural and human worlds circle, dance, collide, and connect especially through food systems that teach us about reciprocal nourishment. It also captures the metaphoric understanding of us as “seeds of our ancestors,” carrying responsibility for future generations with our actions.

Dancing Earth artist/members are in-motion reminders that yes, their people are here, always were, and they have some keen insights about what’s going on—the past as hopeful preview. As a voice says during the performance: “They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.”

To learn more about the company and the performance, check out the study guide created by Dancing Earth:

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Top Photo: Paulo T Photography

Introduction Writer: Sean McCollum

Introduction Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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…SEEDS: RE GENERATION… is part of the Kennedy Center's Human Journey kennedy-center.org/humanjourney

The Human Journey is a collaboration between The Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art, which invites audiences to investigate the powerful experiences of migration, exploration, identity, and resilience through the lenses of the performing arts, science, and visual art.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

The presentation of …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… by Dancing Earth Creations was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

The contents of this Guide have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

[2700fstreet]

DANCE | 2018-2019

…SEEDS: RE GENERATION…

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

By Dancing Earth™ Choreography by Rulan Tangen, Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow

Student Guide: ...SEEDS: RE GENERATION...

Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: Get the Conversation Going

In 2018, New Mexico elected Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna Nation, to the U.S. House of Representatives. Voters in a Kansas district chose Sharice Davids of the Ho-Chunk Nation to be their representative in Washington, D.C. They are the first two Native American women ever elected to the U.S. Congress. They are also examples of a changing narrative that native peoples are creating for themselves.

Textbooks, published histories, and old movies can make it seem like Native American history ended with the driving of “Indians” onto reservations in the 19th century or the Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890. Fortunately, however, the unjust and at times criminal treatment of native peoples—past and present—continues to be revealed and documented. And better yet--not only are these narratives being told more widely--there is a wider audience ready to listen.

More Native American writers, historians, filmmakers, and artists are emerging to present an updated and more complete version of their lives and cultures. Native rights advocates are also pushing back against continued efforts to exploit their ancestral lands. “If you want to own it, you have to act like you own it,” Kelly Brown told The New York Times. Brown is the director of resource management for the Heiltsuk Nation in Bella Bella, British Columbia.

Among these artists and advocates are members of Dancing Earth™, the contemporary dance troupe led by dancer, choreographer, and artistic director Rulan Tangen. Their performance of …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… is a present-day expression of, and tribute to, First Nation traditions and relationships with the earth, life, and rebirth.

The information in this Grownup Guide will enable you to “get the conversation going” with your young performance goers—before and after the show.

The Human Journey

The dance performance …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… is one in a series of programs in The Human Journey, a season-long artistic collaboration among The Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and National Gallery of Art. These identified performances and exhibits invite audiences to investigate human experience through the performing arts, science, and visual art.

…SEEDS: RE GENERATION… emphasizes two main themes that form the framework for The Human Journey project—namely identity and resilience.

Identity relates to how we see ourselves and others, and how we form and apply ideas about who we are. In …SEEDS: RE GENERATION…, the performers emphasize their larger cultural identity, especially in regard to their peoples’ relationship with the natural world. Rebuilding and reclaiming their beliefs and identities as cultural communities unites individuals in common cause.

Resilience describes our ability to endure and function, especially under pressure, stress, or threat. One theme in …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… is the capacity of First Nations to survive and revive in the aftermath of physical and cultural conquest, and governmental and institutional efforts to extinguish them and their ways.

Many American school children still learn outdated versions of Native American history and culture, where “Indians” serve as extras in the drama of European colonization. One of the overarching purposes of The Human Journey series is to illuminate each other’s paths so we might see the many ways our journeys intertwine, as well as what makes them unique.

BEFORE THE SHOW

Along with young audience members, discuss and decide how they want to prepare for attending …SEEDS: RE GENERATION…. First stop, ask: What do they already know about First Nations and Native Americans? What more would they like to learn? Do they want to know more about the history of native peoples in your area? Are they interested in current political issues affecting First Nations? Do they want to learn more about contemporary dance? Would they like to take an online tour of the Kennedy Center?

Consider following their lead on how they want to prepare, from theater etiquette and genres of dance to background research on cultural history to themes in …SEEDS: RE GENERATION….

Here is a glossary of key terms that will help young people in understanding the performance:

First Nation: The general term for the original people of a land.

Contemporary Dance: A genre of dance performance that emphasizes fluid and improvisational expression of mind and body. It combines elements of modern, jazz, lyrical, and classical ballet.

Indians: The term mistakenly given to native peoples of the Americas by the first European colonizers; they mistakenly believed they had sailed to India. Some native peoples reject the term “American Indian,” others accept it. The same is true for “Native American.” As a rule, native peoples prefer to use the specific names of their nation, such as Piscataway, Lakota, Iroquois, etc.

Indigenous: Being native to a land.

Pow Wow: A social gathering of First Nation communities that celebrates their traditions and cultures, including music, dance, dress, and food.

Treaty: An official agreement between nations.

Here are things to look and listen for during the performance:

Interpreting dance performance often benefits from a willingness to suspend traditional ideas about narratives. For …SEEDS: RE GENERATION…, we can pause our more critical minds and open ourselves to our senses, impressions, and emotions. With this in mind, check out:

Ways the performance engages the five senses—sight, sound, touch, scent, and taste.

Repeated patterns of motion, like raised fists, and what they may signify.

Colors and patterns and what they may symbolize.

How earthly elements like seeds, land, water, and air are personified and performed.

The purpose and symbolism of the “six directions” during the performance.

The experience and significance of many different languages being spoken.

Ways emotions are expressed with entire bodies as well as facial expressions.

How the production uses contrasts to create and intensify moods onstage—dark and light, loud and soft, slow and fast, fluid and rigid.

How the dancers interact with the audience and draw them into the performance.

AFTER THE SHOW

Collaborate with young audience members to determine how they want to process the performance afterward. Let them brainstorm ways to get the most out of the experience and make the subject relevant to them.

To set the tone for discussions with young people, consider sharing something from your personal experience that relates to the performance and its themes. The intention is to start conversations and keep them going.

You can use open-ended questions to help your young people spot information they may have overlooked, to dive deeper into the performance’s content and themes, and engage with potentially controversial content that may come up in discussions, such as issues of race and stereotypes. When necessary, encourage them to back up their interpretations or views with supporting evidence from the performance itself or a trustworthy third-party source.

Here are several open-ended points of discussion to consider:

The title of the show is ...SEEDS: RE GENERATION….

What are words and ideas that come to mind when you think of seeds?

What do you know about Indigenous peoples? What would you like to learn?

Have young people describe elements of the production—the lighting, costumes, props, and music/soundscape.

As a collaborative exercise, recount the scenes in the performance: What got your attention or surprised you?

How did you feel and respond when performers called on the audience to participate?

How did the performance affect all five senses?

Here are some suggestions for young people to think about:

One of the central themes of …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… is the idea of stories and the power wielded by the people telling them. With that idea in mind, think about:

What makes a good story, in your opinion? Why might two people tell the same story in different ways?

How do we use stories to explain or make sense of life? How can stories be purposed to influence others?

While watching the performance, compare and contrast dancing a story and telling a story. What might dancing express that words cannot?

First Nations have cultivated and maintained traditions and beliefs that bond them to the natural world and with their communities. Do you have rituals—formal or casual—that bond you to your environment or community?

The concept of ancestral homelands has powerful meaning for many First Nations people. Does your family have what it considers ancestral homelands? (You may have more than one.) Does this homeland have any influence on your identity?

Here are some activities designed to help young people connect with …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… and beyond:

Plant a seed in good soil. Care for it with water and sunlight. Write haiku or other reflections describing the experience of watching the natural process of a seed transforming into something else.

If you have space and a place, consider planting a tree as a promise to the future. Research what trees grow best in your soil and climate, and what they need to survive and thrive.

Many of the costumes in …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… are crafted from old T-shirts that have been recycled and repurposed as a mindful practice of reducing waste. Use your imagination to come up with ways to give a fading piece of clothing new life as a bracelet, headband, dish towel, or other purpose.

Use the following links to find out what native peoples once lived where you now call home. Research their history and create a multimedia presentation or other report about who they were, aspects of their culture and history, and when and why they may have left. “This Map Shows You Which Indigenous Lands You’re Living On” by Heather Dockray. Mashable, October 8, 2018.

If you are interested in Native American culture but are unsure how to engage it respectfully, you can find a helpful guide here: “7 Thoughtful Ways to be an Ally to Native Americans on Thanksgiving (and Beyond)” by Katie Dupere. Mashable, November 26, 2015.

Creating art and writing are ways to turn random thoughts into focused ideas. Here are ways to motivate young people to respond creatively to the performance:

Earth. Water. Air. Seeds. Plants. What dance moves or body movements would you use to portray them? If you feel too shy to work them in public, find a private place to express your thoughts and feelings with movement.

Choose one of the natural elements present in the performance and create a work of art—a collage, drawing, or painting.

In Scene 2A, the dancers appear in costumes adorned with personal and cultural symbols. These symbols represent unique stories that are in their bodies, hearts, minds, and spirits. With the help of a friend, trace a silhouette of your body on a large piece of paper. Decorate it with words, colors, patterns, memories, and images that are elemental to who you are.

Choose one of the scenes from …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… and use your writing skills to craft its story into a poem or narrative.

And finally, keep the discussion current:

…SEEDS: RE GENERATION… portrays the role of resistance in protecting the earth, its environment, and its meaning. First Nations activists have been leaders in defending their ancestral lands from development, exploitation, and degradation. Here are three contemporary/ongoing battles to explore and discuss:

Oak Flats In 2014, the U.S. government traded away this federal land in Arizona to a mining company. That same area is culturally important to the San Carlos Apache and other native peoples of the region. Environmentalists and native-rights activists have strongly opposed the mine’s development and are monitoring its impact on the water, land, and sacred sites. To learn more: "Native Americans Hope to Protect Ancestral Sites Threatened by Multibillion-Dollar Copper Mine" by Daisy Finch.

Mauna Kea Plans to build the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea—the highest point in the Hawai’ian islands—was given the go-ahead by the Hawai’i Supreme Court in 2018. The volcanic mountain is already the site of more than a dozen observatories, but is also a sacred site to Kanaka Maoli (native Hawai’ians) as well as a conservation district. Plans for the new telescope and its infrastructure have triggered widespread environmental protests. To learn more: "Native Hawaiian Activists: We'll Keep Fighting Thirty-Meter Telescope" by Cecily Hilleary.

Standing Rock Efforts to build the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) became a flashpoint about the rights of First Nations. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shifted the proposed oil pipeline away from Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, toward Standing Rock, encroaching on traditional burial sites and threatening the water supply of native communities. Resistance to the project drew activists from around the country and received international media coverage as peaceful protestors were attacked by law enforcement. To learn more: "'Our History is the Future' Puts Standing Rock in Broader Native American Story" by Nicholas Cannariato.

Resources

Visit: dancingearth.org/seeds-regeneration-2019

Native America. PBS, October 2018. A series that explores past and present of First Nations peoples.

“Old Treaties and New Alliances Empower Native Americans” by Kirk Johnson. The New York Times, November 15, 2016. Examples of native efforts to control their ancestral lands and resources.

“What Does It Mean to Be a Native American Today?” The New York Times Op-Doc, March 1, 2018. Young people speak about their lived experience as native people in the United States.

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxane Dunbar-Ortiz. Boston: Beacon Press, 2014. A scholarly history of the country from the perspective of its original people.

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Top Photo: Paulo T Photography

Writer: Sean McCollum

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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…SEEDS: RE GENERATION… is part of the Kennedy Center's Human Journey kennedy-center.org/humanjourney

The Human Journey is a collaboration between The Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art, which invites audiences to investigate the powerful experiences of migration, exploration, identity, and resilience through the lenses of the performing arts, science, and visual art.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

The presentation of …SEEDS: RE GENERATION… by Dancing Earth Creations was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

The contents of this Guide have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

[2700fstreet]

OPERA / 2018-2019

THE ME I WANT TO SING

STUDENT GUIDE

Created and written by Tom Minter Originally commissioned by the Washington National Opera Roderick C. Demmings, Jr., piano Christine Lyons, soprano Laree "Ree" Simon, soprano

School show: April 11

Teacher and Parent Guide: The Me I Want to Sing

“If you have a purpose in which you can believe, there’s no end to the amount of things you can accomplish.” —Marian Anderson

“Believe: I am here and you will know that I am the best and will hear me.” —Leontyne Price

So, What’s Going On?

Filmmaker Jordan Peele; playwrights August Wilson and Suzanne Lori Parks; actor and producer Viola Davis; Hip Hop theater star Daveed Diggs; ballerina Misty Copeland—we can find respected African American performers in every field of the performing arts. But as the show The Me I Want to Sing makes clear, that wasn’t always the case. In fact, performers of color still face obstacles and hostility related to race and prejudice, as can be readily viewed in the online trolling they face. Compared to their predecessors, though, they are less likely to encounter the institutional barricades between their talents and opportunities to share them.

These opportunities did not spring from thin air. They are the fruits of seeds planted by previous generations of African American artists and their communities. Awareness of social challenges and struggles overcome by past artists of color provides historical and cultural context to what we now see onstage and onscreen, and listen to on our playlists. Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price stand as two twentieth-century artistic titans who sang their way across America’s color lines, specifically in the realm of classical music and opera.

In music, images, and anecdotes, The Me I Want to Sing dramatizes the musical and historical journey these two women of color navigated. They consciously created and opened the doors for the unique voices and artistry that have followed—a hard-won prize that today is often easy to overlook.

Who’s Who

These brief biographical profiles of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price provide historical context to their lives and achievements.

Caption: Marian Anderson (center) as a young woman.

Born in Philadelphia, Marian Anderson (1897–1993) was singing in her church choir by the age of six. Her family supported her musical talents but they could not afford formal lessons. She refused to let that stop her, practicing and developing her talents largely on her own. Her church family later raised some $500—a large sum at the time—to allow her to train with voice teacher Giuseppe Boghetti. She subsequently won a contest through the New York Philharmonic Society and gained more notice. In 1928, she performed in Carnegie Hall and afterward toured Europe, winning international accolades.

Caption: Marian Anderson performing in concert.

Anderson returned to the United States regularly to perform, making a point to sing for African American audiences, including concerts in the deeply segregated South. After being denied the right to sing at a Washington, D.C. concert hall because of her race, she performed in front of 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial in March 1939. That event is viewed as one of the seminal moments of the mounting Civil Rights Movement. In 1955, she became the first African American vocalist to perform with the Metropolitan Opera. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy honored Anderson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s top civilian award. She retired in 1965, but was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1978 and received a Grammy® Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1991.

Caption: Marian Anderson sings the National Anthem at the Inauguration of President John F. Kennedy in 1961.

Listen to… Marian Anderson performing Ave Maria in 1944:

Watch… Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial:

Caption: Leontyne Price’s 1948 graduation photograph from Central State University in Ohio.

Leontyne Price (b.1927) was born and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, a small city in the Deep South. At age nine, she and her mother attended a concert by Marian Anderson, a moment that helped her begin to envision a future as a classical vocalist. She attended college in Ohio with the idea of becoming a teacher, but her teachers encouraged her to pursue vocal studies. She subsequently enrolled at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City where she earned a scholarship. In the early 1950s, Price took part in European and American tours, including a tour of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, performing the lead role of Bess.

Caption: Leontyne Price appeared in Tosca on NBC Opera Theatre. Because Price was black, the broadcast was banned in many southern states.

Price doubted her ability to make a career in opera, but the opera world already had taken note of her talent. In 1955, she appeared before a national audience via television, performing the lead in Puccini’s Tosca on NBC Opera Theater. From then on, she was in constant demand and crisscrossed the Atlantic for recitals and opera engagements, including her first turns in what would become her signature role in Aida. Her debut at the Met came on January 27, 1961, in Verdi’s Il Trovatore. Over the next three decades, she mixed opera appearances with concerts and recitals, her reputation as one of the all-time greats continuing to grow. Named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1980, she retired from opera in 1985 and gave her last recital in 1997.

Caption: Leontyne Price in her signature role of Aida.

Listen to… “O Patria Mia”—Leontyne Price’s farewell Aida performance:

Watch… “La Forza del Destino” by G. Verdi (in concert):

Caption: Anderson and Price together.

Some Context: Breaking the Color Line in America

In 1896, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Plessy v. Ferguson, a legal case that challenged racial segregation on public transportation. The Justices ruled 7-1 that keeping the races separate was just fine, as long as the facilities were equal. To the surprise of few people of any color, most white Americans were happy to do the “separate” while ignoring the “equal.” “Separate but equal,” white supremacy, and Jim Crow—policies and laws meant to keep African Americans from voting or exercising other legal rights—were the de facto laws of the land. African Americans faced a particularly cruel social climate in the first half of the twentieth century. Lynching was a common atrocity in the Deep South, and keeping black families out of white neighborhoods and schools was standard practice in most every American city—South, North, East, or West.

Meanwhile, African Americans served with distinction in both World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). They worked, paid taxes, and contributed to communities. Nevertheless, they remained second-class citizens in public, private, economic, and legal spheres.

Having proven their loyalty and life-sacrificing dedication to a country that had a tradition of abusing them, African Americans grew increasingly impatient with empty promises of liberty, equality, and patience. As the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, black performing artists played leading roles in breaking color lines and demonstrating again and again that the African American experience was an essential part of the American story. Artists like Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, and others became increasingly visible in the different performing arts and other realms of American society.

This timeline of the twentieth century includes some major “firsts” as more African Americans took their rightful place in America’s public spaces.

Year Milestone 1910 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) publishes the first issue of The Crisis, “a quarterly journal of civil rights, history, politics and culture…” It is considered the oldest publication of its kind, and is still in print today. Many of the best-known African American writers have published in the magazine. 1918 The “New Negro Movement” arises after World War I. The social, cultural, literary, and artistic movement becomes better known as “The Harlem Renaissance.” 1919 Oscar Micheaux releases his first film, The Homesteader, based on his novel. Micheaux is recognized as the first African American filmmaker. 1928 Blackbirds of 1928 opens on Broadway. The all-African American musical revue becomes a big hit with multiracial audiences. 1935 The opera Porgy and Bess, featuring classically trained African-American vocalists, premieres on Broadway. 1940 Hattie McDaniel is the first African American to win an Academy Award® for her supporting role in Gone with the Wind. 1946 Playing for the Los Angeles Rams, Kenny Washington becomes the first African American in the National Football League. 1947 Jackie Robinson breaks the color line in Major League Baseball and becomes a star for the Brooklyn Dodgers. 1948 President Harry Truman ends segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces with Executive Order 9981. 1949 William Grant Still is the first African American composer to have his work, The Troubled Island, produced by a major opera company in the United States—the New York City Opera. 1950 For her role in South Pacific, Juanita Hall becomes the first African American to win a Tony® Award on Broadway as Best Featured Actress in a Musical. 1950 Poet and author Gwendolyn Brooks wins a Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry, Annie Allen. She is the first African American to win the prestigious writing award. 1955 In the case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the U.S. Supreme Court rules the segregation of public schools is unconstitutional. 1959 Jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie win two Grammy® Awards each at the 1st Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. 1964 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. This sweeping law prohibits the segregation of public accommodations like hotels and restaurants across the United States. 1977 The miniseries Roots—based on the book by Alex Haley—airs on national television. Watched by a record number of Americans, the show dramatizes the story of the enslaved African named Kunta Kinte and his descendants. 1986 The Oprah Winfrey Show becomes a nationally syndicated talk show. Over time, Winfrey develops into a beloved public figure and top media mogul. 1993 Author Toni Morrison wins the Nobel Prize in Literature for her novel, Beloved. She is the first African American to win the international prize. 1996 George Walker becomes the first African American composer to win a Pulitzer Prize for music for his composition, “Lilies for Soprano or Tenor and Orchestra.”

Think about…

How the accomplishments of Marian Anderson opened opportunities for Leontyne Price. Who are other “trailblazers” you know of, from the past or present day? What role do they play in changing the status quo? What role have they played in your life?

Anderson and Price’s identities as African American women affected their careers in ways big and small. How does identity affect people’s opportunities today? How does your identity affect your ideas about your life’s path?

Let’s Talk Terms

Art Song is a genre of vocal music usually sung with piano accompaniment in a recital setting.

Classical Music technically refers to a period of European music that lasted roughly from 1750 to 1800. The music of this era will rarely feel too passionate or too emotional. In fact, it sounds balanced and even. For example, if a musical phrase has gone from a low note to a high note, odds are it will be answered by a phrase that moves from high back to low.

Contralto describes the lowest range for a female singing voice. Marian Anderson sang contralto.

Opera is a style of theater in which the story unfolds almost entirely through song. It is distinct from musical theater which relies to a greater extent on acting and dialog.

Segregation is the policy of legally separating white and black races specifically in the American South by requiring them to use separate (nearly always inferior) facilities, such as water fountains, schools, and transportation.

Soprano describes the highest range of singing voice. Leontyne Price sang soprano.

Spirituals are religious songs associated with African American Christian churches. They often combine elements of European hymns and African musical traditions.

Check this out…

How the spoken narrative creates context for the music.

How the energy and emotion of the music reflects and reinforces the history being shared.

Ways the projected images create a setting of time and place for the music and stories.

The different styles of music featured in the performance, and the feelings the different songs may evoke.

Change Keeps Up and Coming

African Americans have continued to expand their presence in classical music and opera. Here are a handful of current stars you might want to get to know:

Lawrence Brownlee, Tenor Named 2017 “Male Singer of the Year” by the International Opera Awards. lawrencebrownlee.com

Angela Brown, Soprano A top international performer, singer of African-American spirituals, and creator of the funny and insightful outreach program “Opera…From a Sistah’s Point of View.” angelambrown.com

Alyson Cambridge, Soprano An award-winning vocalist performing and recording in multiple genres, as well as devoting time and energy to the development of young classical artists. www.alysoncambridge.com/

Jonathan Bailey Holland, Composer Composing music that incorporates classical, jazz, and Hip Hop. jonathanbaileyholland.com

Roderick Cox, Conductor Conducting orchestras on the international stage. roderickcox.com/about

Sphinx Virtuosi, Chamber Orchestra Ensemble of 18 Black and Latinx classical musicians. www.sphinxmusic.org/sphinx-virtuosi/

Think about…

Ways Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price advocated for themselves, their dreams, their careers, and the African American community. Can you think of an instance when you pushed through obstacles in order to achieve something important to you?

How at the age of nine, Leontyne Price was moved by hearing Marian Anderson perform and felt inspired to pursue her own dreams of singing. Have you ever felt inspired by the performance or actions of another person to pursue a purpose?

How Anderson, Price, and other artists of color have had to learn to code-switch. Code-switching is the ability to translate, adjust, and move between cultures and sub-cultures in terms of dress, behavior, and language while retaining your values and, basically, who you really are. Imagine Leontyne Price’s social journey from the small segregated city of Laurel, Mississippi, to the greatest concert halls of Europe and America. To go deeper into the concept of code-switching, check out a young woman’s personal experience and take:

In 1939, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution when the organization would not allow Marian Anderson to perform at Constitution Hall. Ultimately, support from the White House led to a Marian Anderson concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. What are helpful roles for us to play in supporting others who face unfair treatment?

Take Action: You Can Get It

“I think of [creating] in terms of empowerment,” says The Me I Want to Sing playwright Tom Minter. “Not just seeing ourselves in the way things are, but taking action to create things the way we want them to be. Empowerment already happens in our lives, even in incredibly small things. Empowerment is: being five years old, and you’re wanting something, and your parent or caregiver says, ‘It’s right over there. You can get it yourself.’ The moment you go and get it yourself you are empowered.”

Minter sees opportunities for empowerment all around us. Think of something you want or need, big or small, that requires some planning and effort. Then compose a written plan with concrete steps and a time frame to achieve it. If you choose, share it with family and friends.

One more thing: Show Your Support As young women, hearing music and attending performances changed the lives of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price. Go to a concert, musical, play, or other performance at your school or in your community. Think about the role the performing arts play in your life, and in the lives of young performers and their audiences. And if you aren’t already participating, consider getting involved.

Get Your Creativity On

Heroes in Words, Images, and Sound Name a historical or contemporary figure you draw inspiration from. Using The Me I Want to Sing as a model, write the script for a short one-person play in which that person reflects on his or her life and life lessons learned. Pull images from the Web and add music if you’d like to help tell the story and create a Prezi or other multimedia presentation. (See “How to Make a Prezi”; instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Prezi/)

Directional Update In her autobiography, published in 1956, Marian Anderson wrote: “Not everyone can be turned away from meanness and hatred, but the great majority of Americans (are) heading in (the right) direction. I have great belief in the future...” Write Ms. Anderson a letter, offering an update on the direction the country is heading today in terms of social improvements and ongoing challenges.

Code-Switch What does code-switching mean to you? (Code-switching can be between cultures, economic classes, religions, sexualities, or involve other aspects of identity.) When are times you have code-switched in order to communicate and get along with others? Draw, paint, or create a collage that illustrates how you understand and practice code-switching in your life. Or write a story or script that illustrates the peril and humor of code-switching gone awry.

Go Deeper/Learn More

PBS NewsHour story about Marian Anderson’s performance at the Lincoln Memorial

Marian Anderson Profile (hour-long PBS Biography)

“Marian Anderson Biography” at Biography.com

Biographies: Leontyne Price (b. 1927). Afrocentric Voices in “Classical” Music

“Black Opera Stars: More Than Just the Sopranos” by Jada F. Smith. The Root. May 20, 2011.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with The Me I Want to Sing extras.

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Writer: Sean McCollum

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences.

Additional support for The Me I Want to Sing is provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Anne and Chris Reyes; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

[2700fstreet]

OPERA / 2018-2019

THE ME I WANT TO SING

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

Created and written by Tom Minter Originally commissioned by the Washington National Opera Roderick C. Demmings, Jr., piano Christine Lyons, soprano Laree "Ree" Simon, soprano

Student Guide: The Me I Want to Sing

Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: Get the Conversation Going

Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price—their voices helped change the soundtrack of the twentieth century. Their determined efforts to perform were also instrumental in eroding prejudices that were barring African Americans from classical voice performance and opera, as well as other artistic and social realms.

The Me I Want to Sing interweaves the music, narratives, and images of Anderson and Price. It dramatizes the changes they helped bring to the American cultural landscape by means of their artistry and resolve.

This adult guide is designed to facilitate conversations about the living links between present and past for artists of color.

Conversation Starters

To set the tone for discussions with young people, consider sharing something from your personal experience that relates to the show and its themes—perhaps the story of a public figure or personal hero who successfully challenged convention. The intention is to invite reflection and conversation among your young theatergoers.

In leading discussions of The Me I Want to Sing, you can use open-ended questions to help students spot details they may have missed in the show, to dive deeper into the show’s content and themes, and to engage with potentially controversial content that may come up in discussions—issues such as racism, discrimination, and prejudice. When necessary, you can encourage students to back up their views with supporting evidence from the production itself or a trustworthy third-party source.

Here are a handful of open-ended discussion points to consider together:

What were the social and racial landscapes during the careers of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price? How do they compare to the social and racial landscapes of the United States today?

As a collaborative exercise, recount notable moments in The Me I Want to Sing: What got your attention or surprised you?

What new information or ideas came to mind by the end of the performance?

How do we define, describe, and demonstrate identity? What role do people’s identities play in their creativity, artistry, and the arts?

Work with your young people to create a list of performing artists of color—singers, actors, dancers, etc. Why do some artistic disciplines seem more diverse than others? What is the historical context of that diversity?

What are ways media, especially social media, shape today’s ideas about artists and their artistry?

Before the Show

Along with your young theatergoers, discuss and decide how they want to prepare for attending The Me I Want to Sing. First stop, review the Student Guide together. Follow their lead, but you might pose questions like:

What do they already know about race relations and segregation in the first half of the twentieth century? What more would they like to learn?

What do they know about African American performing artists of that period?

What do they know about—and what are their feelings toward—opera and classical music?

Would they be interested in listening to recordings of Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price?

Would they like to take an online tour of the Kennedy Center?

Follow their lead on how they want to prepare, from theater etiquette and stagecraft to background research on Marion Anderson and Leontyne Price. You will find some ready resources below.

After the Show

Collaborate with your young theatergoers to determine how they want to process the production afterward. Let them brainstorm ways to get the most out of the experience and make the subject relevant to them. You may also revisit the questions discussed in the “Before the Show” section above.

The Student Guide

Revisit “Check This Out…” and “Think About This…” in the Student Guide. Use these sections to stir discussion about the production, its music, and the social realities the show recounts.

Consider the Themes

Consider focusing on three main themes in The Me I Want to Sing: Identity, Empowerment, and the motto, “Lifting as We Climb.”

Identity relates to how we see ourselves and others, and how we form and apply ideas about who we are. Ideas of identity profoundly affected Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price, as dramatized in The Me I Want to Sing. Their identities were front and center in the racial discrimination they encountered, as well as their presence as women of color in the world of classical music and opera.

Empowerment is the active effort of individuals or groups to tend to and meet their needs. Empowerment can be as simple as making breakfast for ourselves or taking on a job to pay our own way. It can be as complex as pursuing a long-range personal dream or organizing with others to overcome barriers to equity and fairness.

“Lifting As We Climb” is the motto of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC). The motto refers to ways communities and individuals of color can work together to help each other reach their potential. In Marian Anderson’s case, her church community supported her efforts to receive classical training as a young woman. For Leontyne Price, her family and community also helped her begin her life as a vocalist. Along their journeys, both women continued to act on a responsibility to help other young artists achieve their ambitions.

Use activities in the “Take Action” section of the Student Guide, such as creative writing and artistic projects, that students can use to explore these ideas in relation to their own lives. These activities are designed to be scalable for a diversity of learning styles and/or abilities.

Q & A with Tom Minter Creator and writer of The Me I Want to Sing

The work of playwright and author Tom Minter explores the dynamic nature of diversity. In the 2014 commission of Blues for a Royal Flush, he weaves together the lives of singers including Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, and Billy Strayhorn, all in the orbit of D.C. native son, Duke Ellington.

Along with Washington National Opera, Minter has focused on creating work that reflects the individuals who make up the tapestry of our communities. The libretto for his one-act opera, Graffiti Corner, celebrates the life and neighbors of Washington’s Northeast neighborhoods. Most recently, Just Out the Window examines the gentrification of Washington, D.C. through music, and the eyes and cameras of students from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

Caption: Playwright Tom Minter

Kennedy Center: Was there a specific seed of inspiration that The Me I Want to Sing grew from?

Tom Minter: This show was a commission from the Washington National Opera, and meant to specifically celebrate Marian Anderson, who is a Kennedy Center Honoree [1978]. With that I saw an opportunity to celebrate intergenerational connections, between classical singers of color, in the ways in which Marian Anderson opened doors for others.

Marian Anderson wanted the freedom to sing art songs; opera came later in her career. From the beginning, she embraced a mission to show “what is possible,” especially to people of color, and possessed an innate understanding that dreams need nurturing, especially those of children. In the span of her long career, Marian Anderson crossed thresholds into rooms that had been closed to others, and in so doing opened doors, and windows, and eyes along the way.

One significant pair of eyes she reached were those of a nine-year-old Leontyne Price whose mother had brought her to the balcony in a segregated theater in Mississippi to watch a woman of color sing. That little girl didn’t necessarily know what Marian Anderson was singing, but she saw a woman of color onstage, in dignity, looking magnificent, singing beautifully, and seemingly speaking to her.

KC: You’re a playwright and writer with a strong relationship with classical music. What does that relationship stem from?

TM: My father started out as a teacher of choral music in junior and senior high schools in East Harlem. My mom was [a] singing artist and sang opera. So the legacy of music in my family runs very deep.

As a child I experienced first-hand what opera allows to be amplified, in terms of storytelling. There’s a family story about when I was growing up. I was with my father in the car, driving somewhere, with the classical music station on. The “Triumphal March” from [Verdi’s] Aïda came on and I apparently got very excited. Dad, being an educator, immediately followed up on this teaching moment. He went out and bought a recent recording that featured Leontyne Price and Jon Vickers under the direction of Georg Solti.

My father introduced me to the libretto, showing me how the Italian appeared on one page and the English translation on the other. He didn’t know what to say when he found that I was captivated, and sat between the stereo speakers for three straight hours!

I have had a several great passions in my life. They include the career of Leontyne Price, as well as studying the journey of Giuseppe Verdi and his revolutionary impact in melding words, emotion and music into drama.

KC: What would you say to young people who might roll their eyes at classical music or opera?

TM: Music is a natural form of expression for children. Too often, I think we over-mystify music. We need to knock down every single wall that stands between young people and musical experiences. I am deeply grateful to my family for creating an environment where music was not mysterious. I have had the freedom to roam in any kind of music that engages me.

Opera is a way of amplifying stories in a unique way. For parents and caregivers, they can facilitate how a child interacts and responds with the world-enhancing experiences of word, music, and story as part of their inherent playfulness.

In Italy, France, and other countries, there is a rich history of connecting music to word and storytelling. (Perhaps not as much in the United States in such fashion.) The reason Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price are so incredible is the way they glow as they perform their art, imbuing an audience with desire to experience their own gifts of song in such a way. How can we not have children understand that empowerment and the gift in this art form?

KC: In The Me I Want to Sing, you make a point of emphasizing how Ms. Price’s career in a sense stood upon the opportunities of Ms. Anderson’s. How important has that solidarity been in developing the talents of artists, especially artists of color?

TM: I think it’s critical. Audiences need to be able to see themselves reflected in the art—any art. And that solidarity is important for people of color, youth of color, who are interested in any of the arts, or anything in life.

In Marian Anderson’s case, it was her church community that gave her the support she needed as a young person and vocalist. Historically, the church has been such a mainstay for black families, especially at that time. They saw that this young woman should be allowed to sing anything that came out of her mouth!

It is unfortunate, but in the case of opera, artists of color continue to be underrepresented, or find themselves involved in new iterations of Porgy & Bess, Showboat, or even Scott Joplin’s Treemonish. Perhaps having focus on newly composed operas, such as Champion, by Terrance Blanchard, there can be room for Troubled Island, by William Grant Still with a libretto by Langston Hughes, which speaks for itself as legacy of black talent in this art form.

But in saying that, we should not forget such talent should also be represented across every facet of performance, from stagehand to Executive Director.

KC: What would you say to educators and school administrators about the importance of this artistic process in our schools?

TM: We need to educate on a spectrum that includes the arts in the mix of other aspects of critical thinking that our youth are already aware of. They are doing things with technology, for example, that are astonishing to me! They are already being creative artists every day, creating intuitively on social media and in their own paths as young artists, and not always within the scope of a classroom’s stream of education.

What do we educators have to offer? In my mind what’s slipping most is context. We must remember that “context is everything” in being able to apply critical thinking, and that our collaborative help in framing events and experiences is valuable for young people.

That’s a realization Marian Anderson came to early on. She wanted her music, her art, to reach beyond the limits of what American culture allowed at that time. It was important to her that African Americans be able to see and hear her without being segregated and treated as second-class citizens. In doing so, and in igniting the dream of a Leontyne Price, she was instrumental in showing the way to breaking down some of the barriers that were blocking African Americans from the arts—and the arts from the contributions of African American artists.

Resources

“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow.” California Newsreel. Online guide to the award-winning PBS series. newsreel.org/video/the-rise-and-fall-of-jim-crow

“Marian Anderson.” PBS Biography. An hour-long program that explores Anderson’s life.

“NEA Opera Honors: Interview with Leontyne Price.” National Endowment for the Arts. June 3, 2010. Reflections on her life and career.

“How to Start Appreciating Classical Music.” Deep Cuts. March 21, 2017. A video survey course defining and exploring classical music.

“Opera 101, Opera Basics.” The San Diego Opera Podcast. June 10, 2013. When we want to know more about the art form. Start at about the two-minute mark (2:00).

STANDARDS CONNECTIONS

English Language Arts—Literacy in History/Social Studies (RH.2, RH.7)

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Writer: Sean McCollum

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences.

Additional support for The Me I Want to Sing is provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Anne and Chris Reyes; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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BALLET / 2018-2019

LE CORSAIRE

STUDENT GUIDE

WORKING REHEARSAL

MARIINSKY BALLET

With the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra Original Choreography by Marius Petipa Reconstructed choreography (1987) by Pyotr Gusev Music by Adolphe Adan, Cesare Pugni, Léo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo and Pyotr Oldenburgsky Libretto by Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Joseph Mazilier and edited by Yuri Slonimsky and Pyotr Gusev

School Show: April 9

Teacher and Parent Guide: Le Corsaire

Before the curtain rises, a little history…

Whether or not you’ve touched a tutu or performed a plié, you’ve surely heard of Marius Petipa’s (pronounced PET-ee-pahs) ballets. Does Swan Lake ring any bells? What about Sleeping Beauty? And that holiday classic, The Nutcracker! But here’s the oddest thing: Petipa—born in France—is considered the “Father of Russian Ballet.” How’d that happen?

When Petipa arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1847, he was considered just an “okay” dancer. Decades later, however, he had successfully danced his way up the ladder at the Russian Imperial Theatre. To celebrate this famous choreographer, the Mariinsky Ballet performs Le Corsaire (COUR-sair, The Pirate). Set on an island in Greece, this ballet is filled with exotic characters, a shipwreck, treachery, romance, betrayal, and a boatload of pirates!

About that pirate ballet…

The story of Le Corsaire was loosely adapted from Lord Byron’s poem of the same name. The first production was choreographed by Joseph Mazilier in 1856, but Mariinsky’s version is a reconstruction of Marius Petipa’s choreographic revival about 10 years later.

Now here’s the interesting part: Petipa didn’t just choreograph one production of Le Corsaire. He actually revived it four times—each time adding more pas (pronounced pah, incidental dance variations that don’t necessarily forward the plotline or character development). This shouldn’t come as a big surprise since Petipa was famous for developing the form of the grand ballet—a multi-act production with a fully-developed plot, pantomime acting, and lavish sets and costumes. And you’ll soon see that Le Corsaire absolutely fits that definition.

Who’s Who

Main Characters

Conrad, Birbanto, and Ali: shipwrecked pirates Medora: the most beautiful woman on the Greek island Gulnara: Medora’s friend Lankedem: an evil slave trader Seid Pasha: a rich sultan

So, What’s Going On?

Prologue: The Shipwreck Three corsairs (“pirates” in French) struggle to save their boat during a storm. Their efforts fail and the boat sinks.

Act I

Scene 1: The Sea Shore Shipwrecked on a Greek island, the corsairs named Conrad, Ali, and Birbanto are saved by a group of young women. If found by the Turkish patrols, the men will be in immediate danger. The women decide to hide them as one of the women, Medora, falls in love with Conrad. Meanwhile, Lankedem, an evil slave trader, is pillaging the Greek coast in search of women to seize and sell. The women successfully hide the corsairs but are captured by Lankedem’s men.

Caption: Mariinsky dancers are renowned for their impeccable technique and their focus on storytelling. Credit: Viktoria Tereshkina in Le Corsaire by Valentin Baranovsky ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

Scene 2: The Slave Market From his powerful throne in the marketplace, the sultan Seid Pasha is eager to add young women to his harem. Lankedem is equally enthusiastic to fill the sultan’s wish and sells Medora’s friend Gulnara to him. Then, just as Medora is brought in, another bidder enters the market area—the pirate Conrad in disguise. When Seid Pasha confronts Conrad, the other corsairs throw off their cloaks, seize the evil Lankedem, and rescue the women. The Seid Pasha is furious at the useless Turkish patrol.

Caption: Pas (incidental dance variations) are common in Petipa ballets. While these dance variations might not move the plot forward, they still help the audience better understand the characters. Credit: David Zaleyev in Le Corsaire by Natasha Razina ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

Act II: The Corsairs’ Cave The corsairs cheer the rescued women as well as the money they stole from the sultan. In celebration, Medora dances with Conrad and his friend Ali. The other women, however, express to Medora their desire to return home to their villages. Birbanto wants the women to stay, but Conrad is convinced by Medora to take the women home. Lankedem watches this conflict grow between Conrad and Birbanto. In exchange for his freedom, he offers Birbanto a sleeping potion. The plan is for Birbanto to pour the potion on a bouquet of flowers and give it to Medora. Medora passes the flowers to Conrad to thank him for his chivalry. Conrad falls asleep as Lankedem abducts Medora and he escapes the cave.

Caption: Medora is considered the most beautiful woman on the island; her movements are graceful and virtuosic. Credit: Oxana Skorik in Le Corsaire by Natasha Razina ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

Act III: The Seid Pasha’s Harem Lankedem brings Medora to Seid Pasha’s harem, where he eagerly buys her from the slave trader and celebrates his new prize in his “garden of beauties.” Suddenly, mysterious pilgrims enter the palace and are invited to join the evening prayer. But Medora recognizes the visitors to be the corsairs, once again in disguise. The pirates surprise attack Lankedem’s patrol and Conrad saves Medora once and for all.

Epilogue Medora, Conrad, and their friends sail toward their next adventure.

Check This Out…

Everything about this production is grand—from the spectacular sets and ornate costumes to the challenging choreography and large cast of dancers. The intricate plot calls for such grandeur, but it is also a famous quality of the Mariinsky company itself. Let’s take a closer look at what makes this production so impressive.

What to Look for:

SETS The sets in Le Corsaire feature spectacular backdrops, curtains, and panels that set the scene without taking up the dancers’ real estate on the stage. There are a couple of scenes (including the slave auction) where there is a small platform on stage. But for the most part, the stage is wide open. This allows for a large number of dancers to be on stage and for them to perform dynamic, traveling choreography. This is particularly noticeable in the opening of Act II where the corsairs and women are celebrating.

Caption: A scene inside the elaborate cave setting. Credit: Viktoria Tereshkina & Andrei Yermakov in Le Corsaire by Valentin Baranovsky ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

COSTUMES The costume design in Le Corsaire fuses Eastern-inspired apparel like harem pants and intricately wrapped stomach baring tops, with more traditional ballet apparel and accessories, including grand tutus and leotards and tights. Both the men and the women are dressed from head to toe. Headpieces and hats, facial hair and wigs, jewelry, and specially crafted shoes all reinforce characterization in Le Corsaire.

Caption: The costumes in Le Corsaire are extremely detailed and ornate—from the dancer’s headpiece and hairstyle to the pattern on her shoes. Credit: Olga Belik in Le Corsaire by Natasha Razina ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

Caption: The costume design fuses traditional ballet tutus and pointe shoes with more Eastern inspired apparel. Credit: Renata Shakirova & David Zaleyev in Le Corsaire by Natasha Razina ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

CHOREOGRAPHY Le Corsaire features both virtuosic choreography as well as elaborate pantomime. In fact, the character of Conrad initially didn’t dance at all—he only acted through pantomime.

Pay attention to the height of their jétes (zhuh-TAYS, jumps), intricate pirouettes (peer-WET, whirls or spins sequences), and effortless athleticism. Additionally, the corps de ballet (core duh bah-LAY, dancers in a company that perform as a group) demonstrates its unity of style.

Caption: Years of training allows this dancer to travel through the air with amazing flexibility and height, making this difficult jump look effortless. Credit: Philipp Stepin in Le Corsaire by Natasha Razina ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

Additionally, Mariinsky dancers have distinguished themselves for their beautiful port de bras (pawr duh BRAH, technique of moving arms gracefully) and epaulement (ay-pohl-MAHN, placing of the shoulders and head). This meticulous attention to expression, fluidity, and detail gives a sense of aristocratic elegance.

Caption: The corps de ballet often works as a backdrop to the principal dancers. Credit: Renata Shakirova in Le Corsaire by Natasha Razina ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

The female dancers don’t always wear pointe shoes. They perform the more folkloric choreography in character shoes with a short heel.

Pantomime is a major element of Le Corsaire. It often helps to set the scene but is also incorporated into much of ballet choreography. For example, watch how Seid Pasha’s movements and gestures tell much about his intentions. Another dramatic moment of pantomime is when Conrad smells the bouquet of poisoned flowers at the end of Act II.

What to Listen for:

The score for Le Corsaire is a hodgepodge of tunes from many ballet composers, the result of scenes added over many years by Petipa. The “legend” is that ballerinas would often demand “a special solo” be added whenever they entered a production. Over time, each favorite solo became part of the standard version. In fact, ballets like Corsaire, (which didn’t start with a strong central score like Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty), were often subject to these kinds of musical additions.

Listen closely. Some music seems more Eastern Greek-inspired with accents from tambourines and flutes while other compositions sound like they may have come from another ballet like Swan Lake or The Sleeping Beauty.

What to Think About:

Le Corsaire has been performed internationally for over 250 years. Why do you think it remains so popular?

How is Le Corsaire similar to ballets you might have seen in the past? Can you make a list of qualities common among Petipa’s ballets or other classical ballets?

“Seeing a ballet” means more than simply watching dancers dance. A ballet is a total theatrical production with all parts working together, from the sets and costumes to the music and choreography. Think about how seeing Le Corsaire has changed your perception of ballet.

Let’s Talk About Shoes

In Le Corsaire, the ballerinas perform in both pointe shoes and heeled shoes. For some background info, here’s a bit of history behind the evolution of the ballet shoe.

Ballet and pointe shoes might seem inseparable today, but the art of ballet actually came about 200 years before ballerinas began dancing on their tiptoes. The Royal Academy of Dance was founded in France by King Louis XIV in the mid-seventeenth century. While ballet was practiced all throughout Europe, this Academy helped codify the language of the art form (which is why ballet terminology is in French). As ballet grew out of the social court dances, both male and female dancers wore heeled shoes (as you’ll see many dancers wear in the start of Act II). As you can imagine, heels inhibited a lot of movement. The heel was “dropped” in the early eighteenth century; the more formal shoe allowed for greater articulation of the foot (think of demi-pointe/soft ballet slippers that we have today).

By the late eighteenth century, choreographers began experimenting with wires and harnesses to elevate dancers from “mortal to ethereal.” Dancers also began stuffing their shoes with padding to get higher and higher on relevé (reh-luh-VAY, a raised body). Soon after, alterations were made to the shoes themselves to make this toe work more possible. The pointed-tip shoes were swapped with a sturdy front platform, or a layered fabric “box” to encase the toes, and a stiffer (but silent) sole. What we consider “modern day” pointe shoes are even stronger and sturdier than those early versions.

Surprisingly, the pointe shoe has remained relatively unchanged over the past 200 years despite the increasing demands of modern ballet dancing. A professional ballerina can wear up to 120 pairs of pointe shoes in a year and will often “alter” her shoes depending on a particular role (breaking them in more or stiffening them to last longer). Dance shoe companies provide the pointe shoes—the tools for the art—but it is often the dancer’s responsibility to mold and shape the shoes to fit her needs (and to care for her feet with tape, toe pads, etc.).

Learn more about the pointe shoe with this ARTSEDGE resource.

Take Action: Tell Your Story

Classical ballets were generally based off well-known fairy tales, fables, and folklore. Some examples are The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, and Swan Lake. Le Corsaire follows this model in the story elements of a shipwreck, a sleeping potion, and a happily-ever-after ending.

Think of a well-known story you especially enjoy—anything from the Three Little Pigs to Spider-Man. Either by yourself or with a group of classmates or friends, tell your story through movement using choreography and/or pantomime. Like a game of charades, communicate your tale without speaking. If you choose to present your work to your class or family, see if they can guess the story you’ve chosen to tell.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with the Le Corsaire Extras.

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Top Photo: Le Corsaire by Valentin Baranovsky™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

Writer: Mary Callahan

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and C. Michael Kojaian.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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BALLET / 2018-2019

LE CORSAIRE

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

WORKING REHEARSAL

MARIINSKY BALLET

With the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra Original Choreography by Marius Petipa Reconstructed choreography (1987) by Pyotr Gusev Music by Adolphe Adan, Cesare Pugni, Léo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo and Pyotr Oldenburgsky Libretto by Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Joseph Mazilier and edited by Yuri Slonimsky and Pyotr Gusev

Student Guide: Le Corsaire

Caption: The corps de ballet often works as a backdrop to the principal dancers. Credit: Renata Shakirova in Le Corsaire by Natasha Razina ™ State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

Parents and Teachers: We’ve Got You Covered

Want more info? Check out these resources:

The Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre can trace its history as far back as 1783. The building has survived both physical and political challenges, and the roster of artists who have called Mariinsky home includes many famous performers, composers, and choreographers.

To learn more about the Mariinsky Theatre’s rich history, check out the venue’s official website.

Happy Birthday Petipa!

Marius Petipa, often called the “Father of Classical Ballet” created many well-known ballets including Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty. Petipa made a name for himself at the Mariinsky, known back then as the Imperial Theatre. During his tenure at the theatre, Petipa choreographed more than 60 full-evening ballets, including Le Corsaire.

Caption: Photo of Marius Petipa Credit: The Royal Opera House

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Ballet 360: Exploring Le Corsaire

For more on Marius Petipa and Russian ballet history: www.russianballethistory.com/diaghilevchoreographers.htm

A Parents’ Field Guide to Ballet

Teacher Resource: The Elements of Dance

You’re ready for Le Corsaire.

STANDARDS CONNECTION

English Language Arts—Reading: Literature (RL.3, RL.9)

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Writer: Mary Callahan

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and C. Michael Kojaian.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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CLASSICAL / 2018-2019

CHANTICLEER

STUDENT GUIDE

PERFORMANCE / DEMONSTRATION

School show: April 2

Teacher and Parent Guide: Chanticleer

So, What’s Going On?

They take the stage, their voices filling the auditorium with vocal sounds as rich as a symphony. But unlike a symphony, there are no instruments with them on stage…except their voices, of course. Meet Chanticleer—12 men whose choral strains have filled concert halls for 37 years, known worldwide as “an orchestra of voices.”

Chanticleer (pronounced SHAN-teh-kleer) is a choral chamber ensemble that performs almost entirely a cappella (solo or group singing with no instrumental accompaniment). For nearly four decades, the group has performed all kinds of music from early Renaissance to jazz, gospel, and modern compositions in concert halls across the globe. Its name originated from the rooster in The Nun’s Priest’s Tale in Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval collection The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer had borrowed this character from the ancient French tale Renard the Fox. The word “chanticleer” comes from the French chanter—“to sing” and clair—“clear.”

One of the group’s goals is to encourage worldwide appreciation for the art of ensemble singing. The performers showcase their flexibility by performing not just the expected range of classical works, but music as varied as the group’s members. Watch Chanticleer perform Freddie Mercury’s “Somebody to Love” (yep, the Queen song):

Wait! What’s a Chamber Ensemble?

Chamber music might make you think of a small group of instruments, like a string quartet or woodwind quintet. In classical chamber music, each instrument typically carries a musical part on its own, unlike an orchestra where multiple instruments play a part. And like instrumental music, in a choral chamber group, the singers typically sing an individual part, as opposed to a choir, where multiple voices per part are present. Chanticleer has only 12 members, but they blend their voices into one sound, even as they sing different parts.

Speaking of parts, Chanticleer's voices from lowest to highest are:

contrabass: the deepest, or lowest, male voice, an octave below a typical bass

bass: a low male voice, singing the lowest notes in the vocal range of most males

baritone: a medium-low male voice singing in the range between tenor and bass

tenor: a high male voice, singing in the range between countertenor and baritone

countertenor: the highest male singing voice, equivalent to a female contralto or mezzo-soprano

alto: typically a female voicing, male altos sing higher than tenors and lower than sopranos

soprano: the highest female voicing, achieved by some male countertenors through the use of falsetto (a method of voice production used by male singers, especially tenors, to sing notes higher than their normal range)

Who’s Who

Chanticleer was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1978 when music student Louis Botto invited nine men to sing around his dining room table. He thought it was strange that the vocal music of the medieval and Renaissance periods wasn’t being performed and founded a group to remedy that. One of the founding baritones, Charlie Erikson, was reading Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales at the time and suggested they name the group Chanticleer after the name of the "clear-singing" rooster.

One of Botto’s goals was to provide full-time, salaried employment for its members, a challenging goal the group finally achieved in 1991. The group had gained notoriety by touring the country in a van, and eventually earned international recognition in Europe. Over time, they were able to release an album that included many original compositions written specifically for the group.

Currently, the group consists of 12 men, including two basses, one baritone, three tenors, and six countertenors.

Andy Berry, bass Zachary Burgess, bass-baritone Brian Hinman, tenor Matthew Knickman, baritone Matthew Mazzola, tenor Cortez Mitchell, countertenor Gerrod Pagenkopf, countertenor and Assistant Music Director Kory Reid, countertenor Alan Reinhardt, countertenor Logan S. Shields, countertenor (soprano) Andrew Val Allsburg, tenor Adam Ward, alto

Chanticleer has been led by Music Director William Fred Scott since 2015, following decades of successful years conducting and directing various opera houses, symphonies, and choral schools.

Caption: Musical Director, William Fred Scott

Check This Out…

During the performance and demonstration, Chanticleer will perform a varied repertoire stretching from early Renaissance music to arrangements of jazz and spirituals. The performance list includes:

“Gaude gloriosa” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (jaw-VAH-nee pyer-loo-EE-jee dah pal-uh-STREE-nuh) (c. 1525–1594) is a motet (pronounced MOH-tet; a sacred choral composition) honoring The Virgin Mary.

Read this translation of the Latin lyrics of the motet. Notice how the words profess adoration for Mary.

Gaude gloriosa,

Rejoice, glorious one,

super omnes speciosa,

surpassing all others in beauty,

Vale, valde decora,

Fare you well, fair Lady,

et pro nobis semper Christum exora.

and intercede for us to Christ.

Palestrina was known for his perfection of counterpoint, a musical technique where different melodic lines are combined to create harmony using strict rules. Listen for the intricate way the voices simultaneously sing individual melodies and interact with one another to form harmonies.

Get a glimpse into the life of Chanticleer while listening to Gaude gloriosa:

"Duo Serarphim” is a motet written by Jacob Händl (1550–1591), a Slovenian composer and monk who was also known as Jacobus Gallus. He wrote both sacred and secular works including musical settings of the mass, passions, and motets. (The Catholic mass was often set by composers into major compositions with sections like the Kyrie and the Gloria.)

Read the translation of the Latin lyrics of the motet.

Duo seraphim clamabant alter ad alterum:

Two seraphim cried to one another,

Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

Holy is the Lord God of Sabbath.

Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus.

The whole earth is full of His glory.

“Duo Seraphim” is a polychoral piece, meaning it utilizes two different choruses that alternate singing. This type of composition is a hallmark of the Venetian school in the late Renaissance period. See if you can hear where the two choruses answer one another throughout the music.

Händl (pronounced HAHN-del) was criticized in his time for music that was too complex, both for their large number of voice parts (some of his pieces included up to 24 individual parts), and for the intricate counterpoint of his music. Hear "Duo Seraphim":

“Nude Descending a Staircase” by Allen Shearer (b. 1943) utilizes a poem by X.J. Kennedy and is based on a painting by Marcel Duchamp (DOO-shawn; 1887–1968). About the song, Shearer writes, “Because I am a singer myself, writing vocal music is a particular pleasure for me. Setting this whimsical poem provides a diversion.”

Nude Descending a Staircase, No.2 (1912) is a Modernist painting that depicts an abstract human figure walking down a flight of stairs. The original reception of the painting was not favorable, and it was largely regarded with jokes and ridicule. View the painting:

Image Source

Now listen to this description of the painting:

If the painting represents overlapped images of a person walking down steps, how does the musical interpretation do the same? Listen for complex rhythms, humorous asides, and thick musical texture (there's a lot going on at once here!). Hear Chanticleer sing "Nude Descending a Staircase":

DID YOU KNOW…Some info on Cubism and Futurism

In Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, Shearer combined Cubist and Futurist artistic styles. Cubism was an early 20th-century art movement using geometric shapes and interlocking planes. Futurism was an early 20th-century Italian art movement emphasizing speed, technology, industrial objects, youth, and velocity. Both art movements extended their influences to the period’s music, dance, literature, and film.

Quatre petites prières de Saint François d'Assise (Four small prayers of Saint Francis of Assisi) by Francis Poulenc (1899–1963) is a group of four motets based on the prayers of Saint Francis of Assisi, a Catholic friar who is considered the patron saint of animals.

Image Source

The piece was written by Poulenc (poo-LINGK) in 1948 for an a cappella men’s chorus and premiered by Franciscan monks. It alternates moments of chant, similar to Gregorian chant (a single melody of unaccompanied singing as a form of prayer), with more complex harmonies. Poulenc’s harmonic passages uses homophony—a musical texture where a strong melody is supported by harmonies.

Hear Chanticleer perform the piece:

“Fröhlich im Maien” from Drei Männerchöre, Op. 45 by Richard Strauss (REE-card strauss) was written for a male singing-society in Germany in the 1930s. Best known for his operas, tone poems (orchestral music that illustrates the text of a poem) and Lieder (poetry set to polyphonic music with several simultaneous melodies), Strauss (1864–1949) wrote several little-known works for such singing societies. This piece is set to the text of Friedrich Rückert (FREED-rik REUK-ehrt; 1788–1866), a German Romantic poet.

“Fröhlich im Maien” (“Joyous in May”) is the third männerchöre (or men’s chorus) in Drei Männerchöre, a song that encourages everyone to dance joyously in May. Listen for surprising harmonies, a hallmark of Romantic music.

The piece alternates verses with a chorus. See if you can follow along with the sheet music in this video as Chanticleer performs the piece:

“Dúlamán” arranged by Michael McGlynn (b. 1964) is set to a traditional Irish folk text. McGlynn uses classical and medieval music as inspiration and is best known for founding the vocal ensemble Anúna (Ah-NOO-nah).

The text of “Dúlamán” (DOO-lah-mahn) tells of a marriage involving the king of seaweed and was traditionally sung by people gathering seaweed from the unfertile coast of Ireland. The seaweed was laid on the land, and the land was eventually used for planting crops.

McGlynn’s musical setting combines traditional Irish folk music with his own musical ideas. Listen especially for the song’s alternating rhythms. Watch “Dúlamán” performed by McGlynn’s musical group Anúna:

“Creole Love Call” is frequently attributed to Duke Ellington (1899–1974), an American jazz composer and pianist who made the song famous. It was actually written, however, years before Ellington first performed it and given to him by saxophonist Rudy Jackson, who claimed it was his own composition. After Ellington performed it with jazz singer Adelaide Hall in 1927, both musicians skyrocketed to international fame. Ellington was granted publishing rights in 1928, but jazz musician Joe “King” Oliver quickly sued Ellington for plagiarism after noting that the song was eerily similar to “Camp Meeting Blues,” which Oliver had first recorded in 1923. Even though Oliver lost the suit over a paperwork error, Rudy Jackson was fired.

This arrangement of “Creole Love Call” was performed by the pre-World War II German jazz-influenced vocal ensemble the Comedian Harmonists, led by an unemployed actor named Harry Frommerman, who wrote the arrangement. This group of five male singers and a pianist was known for the ability to blend their voices. Listen to see if the members of Chanticleer are able to do the same.

The arrangement treats all of the voices as if they are instruments. Try to pick out what the individual instruments might be. (Hint! Think big band instruments like trumpet, trombone, clarinet, piano, and even a Hawaiian ukulele!)

“I Want to Die Easy” is a traditional spiritual arranged by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw with a beautiful solo tenor melody, full harmonies, and counterpoint between voices. The text describes the thoughts of a slave who has toiled in the fields and is ready to see heaven. Read the moving words:

I want to die easy when I die Shout salvation as I fly I want to die easy when I die.

I want to see my Jesus when I die Shout salvation as I fly I want to see my Jesus when I die.

I want to go to heaven when I die Shout salvation as I fly I want go to heaven when I die.

Listen for the slow, easy tempo; the emotion the tenor’s melody conveys; and the swing rhythm (a rhythm that, instead of using “straight” eighth notes counted one-and-two-and, etc., uses a triplet subdivision). It’s hard to explain but easy to feel in the music. Watch for a few quick examples of straight v. swing rhythm:

Hear Chanticleer perform “I Want to Die Easy”:

“Straight Street” is a traditional gospel song arranged by Joseph Jennings and has become one of Chanticleer’s most-often performed pieces. The song was originally written by J.W. Alexander and Jesse Whitaker from the traveling gospel ensemble the Pilgrim Travelers, whose energy and percussive foot tapping was legendary. Music from the Pilgrim Travels influenced singers like Ray Charles and Lou Rawls.

Introduced to the group by its arranger in 1980s, “Straight Street” was debuted by Chanticleer just as they began to explore repertoire outside of their traditional early music sets. Listen for the differences in vocal techniques used by the group in this song as compared to when they sing Renaissance music.

Follow the words as you watch Chanticleer perform “Straight Street”:

Well, I used to live up on Broadway Right next to the liar’s house My number was self-righteousness Had very little guide of mouth So I moved, I had to move And I’m living on Straight Street now.

One day my heart got troubled All about my dwelling place I saw the Lord ‘round my settlement And He told me to leave that place So I moved, I had to move And I’m living on Straight Street now.

Oh since I moved, I’m really living I got peace within. I thank the Lord for ev’ry blessing I’m glad I found new friends.

Before I moved over here Let me tell you how it was with me Old Satan had me bound up And I had no liberty So I moved, I had to move And I’m living on Straight Street now.

Think About This…

One unique feature of Chanticleer is the mix of voices, from soprano down to contrabass. How do the voices intermingle to create one sound? When a soloist takes center stage, how do the other voices blend to support him?

How is music influenced by art, and vice versa? Think of Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2. How does the musical interpretation of the poem and the painting expand your understanding of its meaning? What other examples can you think of to exemplify music and art working together?

How do you compare Chanticleer’s group performances with the type of music you usually hear performed—from classical to popular? You may not listen to a lot of early music or even jazz and spirituals, but are there aspects of Chanticleer’s performance that seem familiar? What sets Chanticleer apart from other live music you’ve experienced?

Take Action: Transforming Art

Many of the pieces Chanticleer performs are music set to art or poetry. “Fröhlich im Maien” is music set to a poem, while “Nude Descending a Staircase” represents music set to both a poem and visual art. Throughout history, composers and performers have been inspired by existing art, transforming that inspiration into song.

Think of a piece of art (poetry, painting, sculpture, dance, etc.) that inspires you. Choose a way to use that inspiration to create your own piece of art—whether that’s composing a song to represent a poem, or creating a dance to accompany an existing piece of music. Consider the elements of the art you're representing, and how they'll come through in your new creation. Share your innovation (and the artwork you transformed!) with a friend or trusted adult.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with the Chanticleer Extras.

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All Chanticleer photos by Lisa Kohler

Writer: Tori Friedrich

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Gianandrea Noseda Music Director National Symphony Orchestra

The Fortas Chamber Music Concerts are supported by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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CLASSICAL / 2018-2019

CHANTICLEER

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

PERFORMANCE / DEMONSTRATION

Student Guide: Chanticleer

Credit: Photo by Lisa Kohler

Parents and Teachers: We’ve Got You Covered

Hey there adults. Whether you have season tickets to the symphony or are totally new to this classical music thing, we’ll catch you up.

Chanticleer is a group of 12 men that sing in a chamber group. The ensemble sings mainly with just their voices, a style of singing called a cappella. Chanticleer sings a variety of music from traditional Renaissance early music to jazz and spirituals. The group performs across the globe and works on educational initiatives that touch the lives of 5,000 young people every year.

Here are a couple of links to get you started:

Sample Chanticleer’s music on Spotify.

Learn the basics of Renaissance music, Chanticleer’s trademark genre.

Alright, you’re ready to hear Chanticleer.

Standards Connections

Music – Connecting (Cn.11)

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Writer: Tori Friedrich

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Gianandrea Noseda Music Director National Symphony Orchestra

The Fortas Chamber Music Concerts are supported by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund, and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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OPERA / 2018-2019

FAUST

STUDENT GUIDE

Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal Music by Charles Gounod Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré Based on Faust: Part I by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

School show: March 13

Teacher and Parent Guide: Faust

Who’s Who

Main Characters

Faust, a learned scholar (tenor—the highest male voice) Méphistophélès, a demon (bass—the lowest male voice) Marguerite, a young woman (soprano—the highest female voice) Valentin, her brother, a soldier (baritone—a middle-range male voice) Siébel, a young man (mezzo-soprano—a middle-range female* voice) Marthe, Marguerite’s neighbor (mezzo-soprano)

*It’s common for opera composers to assign young male roles to female singers.

So, What’s Going On?

The sixteenth-century Germanic countryside.

Poor Dr. Faust (pronounced FOUST). He’s been a scholar for decades but has now become an old man with nothing to show for it. He doesn’t really know anything. He doesn’t really feel anything. He has no idea what the meaning of life is. And he’s entirely alone.

Determined not to wait for death, he attempts suicide only to be distracted by a chorus singing God’s praises outside his door. Annoyed, Faust cries out that God can do nothing for him. Faust wants his youth back. He wants love and affection. God can’t give him any of those things.

So Faust calls upon the Devil instead (what a brilliant idea).

Immediately, the Devil appears in the form of Méphistophélès (meff-uh-STOFF-uh-lezz), a demon disguised as a wealthy gentleman. Faust explains he wants a chance to be young again (with maybe the added bonus of a few girlfriends), and Méphistophélès proposes a deal: all the youth and ladies Faust could ever want in exchange for his immortal soul.

Faust hesitates, but when Méphistophélès tempts him with a vision of a breathtaking woman who lives close by, he’s sold. The two sign a contract and Faust is transformed into a dashing young man, ready to hit the streets.

Take a listen…

Faust makes the spectacularly dubious decision to invoke the Devil. Listen for Faust’s breathless, agitated phrases. Think about how his outbursts compare to Méphistophélès’s smoother, more even-keeled melodies and deeper tone of voice. (Bonus: Check out the “word-painting” technique used when Méphistophélès stretches his voice to its lowest extremes as he sings about the hellish place “là-bas,” or “downstairs”).

In the nearby village, a young soldier named Valentin (vahl-ohn-TAEHN) prepares to go to war. Worried that his sister, Marguerite (mahr-geh-REE-tuh), will be left un-chaperoned, Valentin asks his young friend Siébel (syeh-BELL) to watch over her.

Take a listen…

Valentin says a small prayer that his sister will be kept safe (“Avant de quitter ces lieux,” or “Before I leave this place”). Listen for how this aria (solo song) is broken up into three sections: 1) a heartfelt plea with a plaintive melody, 2) a military march as Valentin preps himself for battle, and 3) a repeat of the first section with a few minor tweaks.

But soon, Méphistophélès arrives to stir up trouble.

Take a listen…

In his aria “Le veau d’or” (“The golden calf”), Méphistophélès conjures up the image of a devilish idol that inspires Satanic dances and possesses the power to bring down the human race. Listen for the cymbal crashes and fluttering wind instruments (think piccolos, flutes, oboes, and clarinets) that give Méphistophélès’s song the sense it’s whipping into a devilish frenzy.

After singing a song to entertain the locals, Méphistophélès teases Valentin and his friends by reading palms and predicting not-so-nice futures. The demon then proposes a toast in honor of Marguerite. Shocked that Méphistophélès knows his sister’s name, and sensing this stranger is up to no good, Valentin draws his weapon—only to have it shatter in midair. Valentin calls on God for protection from evil as the crowd disperses.

Later, Faust urges Méphistophélès to introduce him to the maiden from the magical vision. Méphistophélès cautions that this particular lady may not be interested in Faust’s advances—she is, after all, none other than (surprise!) Marguerite, Valentin’s pious sister. Still, Faust demands to see her, and Méphistophélès orchestrates a “meet cute.” Faust turns on the charm, but Marguerite shies away.

Attempting to speed the love affair along, Méphistophélès leads Faust to Marguerite’s house and leaves her a basket of jewels, hoping they’ll help Marguerite look more favorably on her new suitor.

And—boom—the gamble pays off.

As Faust and Méphistophélès hide nearby, Marguerite—who’s been daydreaming about her brief encounter with a handsome stranger (Faust)—uncovers the jewels and treats herself to a luxurious “makeover.”

Take a listen…

Marguerite checks out her new look in her aria, “Ah! Je ris de ma voir si belle” (which roughly translates as: “I’m laughing at how pretty I look”). Notice how she sings several notes in rapid succession (a style known a coloratura), to give the effect that she’s literally laughing.

Her neighbor, Marthe (MAHR-tuh) interrupts her, and Marguerite is slightly embarrassed, but not half as embarrassed as she is when Faust arrives, complimenting her beauty and proclaiming his undying love.

Méphistophélès distracts Marthe, leaving Faust and Marguerite alone. In no time at all, Marguerite reveals she’s just as smitten with Faust as he is with her, despite her concern that a whirlwind romance could bring her everlasting shame. (Marguerite may be innocent but she’s not stupid; she knows the other villagers won’t look kindly on an unwed woman who spends all her time with a young man). And yet, with a little coaxing from Méphistophélès, Marguerite agrees to be Faust’s girl forever.

Several months later.

With no recent word from Faust, Marguerite sits nervously at her spinning wheel. Siébel arrives to keep her company, but his attempts to comfort her are in vain: She’s carrying Faust’s child, and there’s no ring on her finger.

At this (very) inopportune moment, Valentin and his army come marching home from war. Having emerged victorious, Valentin is ready to celebrate with Marguerite, but soon discovers something’s gone very wrong in his absence (thanks for blabbing, Siébel).

As Valentin goes off to confront his “disgraced” sister, Faust and Méphistophélès turn up at Marguerite’s door hoping to smooth things over, as Faust has been feeling remorseful about leaving his former love.

But everything goes to hell (see what we did there?) when Valentin bursts on the scene, demanding someone take responsibility for his sister’s situation. A fight breaks out and Faust ends up stabbing Valentin. Faust and Méphistophélès disappear just as some villagers gather to see about the commotion. Marguerite rushes to her brother’s side, but Valentin pushes her away, claiming his impending death is all her fault and cursing her as he collapses on the ground.

With nowhere to turn, Marguerite goes to church to pray. Once there, however, an unforgiving voice (which sounds mysteriously like Méphistophélès) declares that her sins have damned her forever.

Sometime later, Marguerite has landed in prison. Her brother’s death and Faust’s abandonment have driven her mad, horrifically causing her to murder her newborn child.

Convinced he’s loved Marguerite all along and that the trials and tribulations of the past few months were all the Devil’s doing (really, dude?), Faust persuades Méphistophélès to help him break Marguerite free.

But will Faust’s newfound sense of commitment be enough to save Marguerite before it’s too late? Can his love rescue her from execution? Will they both be able to escape Méphistophélès’s eternal damnation?

Good to Know

By the time Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (GEUH-tuh, 1749-1832) began writing the epic saga that would inspire Charles Gounod’s (goo-NOH, 1818-1893) opera, the legend of Faust—the ultimate “deal with the Devil” story—was already a few centuries old. Indeed, German texts from the sixteenth century reveal “Doctor Faust” may have actually been a real doctor or magician who reportedly died a very strange, very gruesome death. The doctor’s bizarre bio eventually made its way into Germanic folklore (way before the days of the Brothers Grimm), where it was transformed into a cautionary tale about the dangers of asking too much out of life.

Faust would later be immortalized by Shakespearean contemporary Christopher Marlowe in his play Doctor Faustus, and would enjoy even greater fame nearly two hundred years later thanks to Goethe’s massive two-part drama (a work that took him nearly 60 years to finish). Goethe’s version came with a twist, however: He was the first to introduce the character of Margaret (also known as “Gretchen” and referred to as “Marguerite” in French), the young woman Faust seduces and then discards.

It was Marguerite’s side of the story that proved so moving it went on to influence a long list of nineteenth-century Romantic artists, including powerhouse composer Hector Berlioz (who wrote his own Faustian opera, La damnation de Faust), song master Franz Schubert, and Gounod, who became a fan of the Goethe story during a trip to Rome—a place filled with images of angels and demons.

Faust’s tale continued to spark imaginations well into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (think of movies like Damn Yankees and Bedazzled or more recent TV series like Lucifer or Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and the term “Faustian bargain” has become a universal phrase meaning “to sell one’s soul.” The original Doctor Faust may have met a tragic end, but his legacy isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Learning to Listen

Going to the opera means you’ll have to start listening in a new way if you want to take in everything the music and the voices have to offer. And guess what? This is less difficult than it sounds.

Try thinking of opera singing as its own type of language or speech. When we’re speaking, our emotions can change the way our voices sound from moment to moment—and one word can have a thousand different meanings depending on how we say it (loudly, softly, quickly, slowly, with a high- or low-pitched voice, etc.). The same is true for the characters in an opera. Each voice you’ll hear will have its own special flavor depending on who the character is and what he or she is saying.

Marguerite, for example, is an innocent and sensitive young woman. Her voice, therefore, will be on the higher side (to provide a clue that she’s youthful and inexperienced) and will occasionally soar above the orchestra with intense emotion (such as when she raises her voice in prayer or when she pleads with Faust not to break her heart).

Faust, on the other hand, spends much of the opera as a young man with a tremendous appetite for fun. His bright tenor voice (a vocal type associated with heroes) symbolizes his youthful, reckless, and passionate personality. His melodies often pour out in short, explosive musical phrases that are meant to remind us of his lust for life.

When in doubt about how a character is feeling or what they’re thinking, always pay close attention to exactly how they sound. (The instruments in the orchestra will give you hints as well.)

Check This Out…

Gounod frequently uses musical foreshadowing to signal his listeners as to where the story of Faust is headed. Can you identify any specific moments in which the music provides some dramatic spoilers? (Hint: Listen carefully to the overture, Mephistophélès’s entrance, and Marguerite and Faust’s tortured love duet.) On the other hand, are there any scenes in which the music fakes you out by evoking the wrong mood? (Hint: Listen for the upbeat victory march that plays when Valentin returns home.)

Watch for the ways in which the costume, lighting, and makeup designs help give you hints about each character’s status and their relationship to those around them. Do the costumes and lighting provide you with any clues regarding the characters’ personalities? Can you tell who’s “good” and who’s “evil” based on what they wear or what colors they’re associated with? Do you notice any shifts in how the characters look as their stories progress or their motivations change?

Marguerite’s spinning wheel aria (“Il ne revient pas,” or “He hasn’t returned”) was inspired by an actual poetic “song” in Goethe’s text, and there are many other musical settings of the exact same scene. Why do you think this moment gets such special attention in so many different versions of Faust? What do you think the spinning wheel might symbolize? (For extra points: How would you know Marguerite’s aria features a spinning wheel even if you closed your eyes? What instrumental sounds are used to create a spinning effect?)

Think About This…

In opera, supernatural and/or extremely powerful figures such as gods, demons, kings, or ghosts are usually sung by basses. Why do you think composers gravitate toward lower male voices when writing these characters? Do you feel the bass sound suits Mephistophélès? How so?

The chorus plays an essential role in Faust. Why do you think Gounod opted to feature such a large group of men and women in so many scenes? What function do they serve? Can you recall any other theatrical or literary works in which a chorus is used in a similar way?

In Goethe’s homeland of Germany, Gounod’s Faust is sometimes called Marguerite instead. Why do you feel that might be? Who do you think is the true hero of the opera? Who’s the true villain? (Consider this: Mephistophélès may be a demon, but are his crimes any worse than Faust’s? Or Valentin’s? Or anyone else’s?)

Take Action: Social Serenade

Though Gounod’s opera could be looked at as one big ethical fable, many of its themes and lessons come packaged in folk songs or serenades—miniature fables told by the characters as they sing of hypothetical stories that mirror their own. These include Marguerite’s ballad of the King of Thule (who dies for love), Mephistophélès’s satirical tune about a woman named Catherine (who must resist her boyfriend’s advances until marriage), and the soldier’s brief song about a cat and a rat (or a predator and his prey).

Gounod’s not alone in using this trick. You probably know this already, but many artists—poets, painters, songwriters, you name it— choose to bury significant social messages in made-up tales about distant historical figures or even non-human characters (think Aesop) who speak in simple phrases or easy rhymes.

Think you’re up for trying out the same tactic in the real world?

Pick a news story or social cause that concerns you (anything from politics, to polar bears, to the potholes on your local highway) and take a shot at weaving a fake story around this theme. Try and present your tale in small sections or stanzas (like a serenade) and, if you feel like it, see if you can use a rhyming scheme as well. Most importantly, be sure to add a clever moral at the end if you can. (If you want to go the extra mile, write a tune to accompany your poetic “song.”)

If you’re comfortable, share the finished product with family and friends, or submit it to a local newspaper or regional poetry competition. See if your readers can uncover your hidden message and/or guess which real-life story inspired your sneaky serenade.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with the Faust Extras.

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All photos by Lynn Lane for Houston Grand Opera.

Writer: Eleni Hagen

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Timothy O’Leary General Director

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director

Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

WNO's Presenting Sponsor

This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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OPERA / 2018-19

FAUST

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal Music by Charles Gounod Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré Based on Faust: Part I by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Student Guide: Faust

Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: We’ve Got You Covered

Hey there, adults. We’re sure you’re already familiar with the concept of opera but, just in case you’re looking for a refresher or you want to go deeper, here are some thoughts that may be of interest:

Opera A 400-year-old genre born in Italy that was cultivated throughout Europe from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries and eventually made its way to the United States (that’s right, Americans write operas, too). As you’ve probably guessed, there will be singing. Lots of it. Just think of it as heightened speech. A soprano may hit a really high note when she’s angry or scared. A bass might lay down a low note when he wants to be extra menacing.

Charles Gounod’s Faust is just one of many musical pieces based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s early Romantic masterpiece of the same title, and yet the opera is easily the most performed of those that were created for the theater. Though Gounod’s work (like several other Faustian musical pieces) focuses mainly on the love story featured in Part I of Goethe’s epic rather than on the more spectacle-filled Part II, the complex inter-personal relationships and killer tunes make it ideal for opera-going audiences. Gounod’s Faust doesn’t skimp on production values, either; it deliberately draws on many nineteenth-century French operatic traditions designed to pack a punch, including a huge chorus, a steady stream of elaborate set changes, and even a choreographed dance or two.

While Goethe’s drama took decades to complete and represented a lifetime’s worth of knowledge and philosophy (and, incidentally, is largely responsible for his Shakespeare-level status in the German-speaking world), Gounod’s Faust has a slightly more modest history. Already a devotee of the original Goethe play by age 20, Gounod ultimately became interested in Faust as an operatic subject thanks in part to an 1850 play by author Michel Carré entitled Faust et Marguerite.

The idea of centering the story on Faust’s ill-fated romance with Margaret (sometimes called “Gretchen” but known as “Marguerite” in French) likewise appealed to frequent Gounod librettist, Jules Barbier, who mixed together aspects of both the Goethe and the Carré plots to help create a sweeping melodrama wrapped inside a powerful moral fable. Originally only a mild critical success upon its debut in 1859, the opera gathered steam throughout Gounod’s life and today has earned a permanent place in the international operatic canon.

Some recordings and resources you may want to check out:

Faust with Francisco Araiza, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Evgeny Nesterenko, conducted by Sir Colin Davis

Faust with Franco Corelli, Dame Joan Sutherland, and Nicolai Ghiaruov, conducted by Richard Bonynge

The original text. Technically a play, this two-part saga is almost too big for the stage and is mostly revered as one of the crown jewels of German literature (though it was written at a time when Germany as we know it today did not yet exist). Nearly 60 years in the making, Goethe’s Faust remains a gold standard when it comes to narratives of inner struggle and outer consequence. (Faust’s literary descendants include Frankenstein, Prometheus Unbound, and The Picture of Dorian Gray.)

Marlowe’s sixteenth-century version. Though originally a German folktale, the Faustian myth made its way to England fairly quickly and famously arrived on stage in Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, an Elizabethan fantasy with a heavy dose of morality.

“Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel.” Margaret/Gretchen’s weaving scene and the painful connection it draws between a spinning wheel and an obsessive mind provided the source material for several pieces of classical music. Perhaps the most famous example is Schubert’s “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” which features a repetitive piano accompaniment as a stand-in for the spinning wheel. Here’s a sample:

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All photos by Lynn Lane for Houston Grand Opera.

Writer: Eleni Hagen

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

-

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Timothy O’Leary General Director

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director

Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

WNO's Presenting Sponsor

This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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OPERA / 2018-2019

EUGENE ONEGIN

STUDENT GUIDE

Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Libretto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Konstantin Shilovsky Based on the novel by Alexander Pushkin

School show: March 5

Teacher and Parent Guide: Eugene Onegin

Who’s Who

Main Characters

Eugene Onegin, a young Russian nobleman (baritone—a middle-range male voice) Tatiana, a wealthy young woman from the country (soprano—the highest female voice) Olga, her sister (mezzo-soprano—a middle-range female voice) Madame Larina, their mother (mezzo-soprano) Filippyevna, Larina’s servant and Tatiana’s nanny (mezzo-soprano) Vladimir Lensky, a poet, Onegin’s good friend, and Olga’s fiancé (tenor—the highest male voice) Prince Gremin (bass—the lowest male voice)

So, What’s Going On?

Outside of the opera house, Eugene Onegin lives a whole other life as one of the most celebrated pieces of Russian literature of all time. Written over a span of eight years by the eminent national author Alexander Pushkin, the unusual novel-in-rhyming-verse is equal parts satirical social commentary and pure, unadulterated nostalgia. Its central tragic love story (boy meets girl, boy snubs girl only to discover, too late, he actually loves her) is about as good as dramatic irony gets, and its heroine, Tatiana, is viewed by many as the ultimate moral ideal—a perfect example of grace and dignity under pressure.

Act 1

The Russian countryside: Larin Estate, early 1800s.

Meet the Larin sisters. These two ladies couldn’t be more different—Tatiana (tah-tee-YA-nah) is dreamy and loves to read, Olga (OHL-gah) is feisty and likes to dance…you get the idea—but neither of them can resist a good song. Together with their mother, Madame Larina (lah-REE-nah), they celebrate the fall season along with a chorus of servants preparing for harvest.

Enter Eugene Onegin and his friend, a poet named Vladimir Lensky (LEHN-ski). At just under 20 years old, former city dweller Onegin is the new owner of a nearby estate (thanks to an inheritance). But Onegin is bored. With everything. Books, parties, polite society…nothing seems to please him. Least of all, women. Still, he agrees to visit the Larin sisters with Lensky, who’s happily engaged to Olga.

Onegin does Lensky the favor of entertaining Tatiana while the lovebirds flirt among the Larin woods. And while Onegin thinks Tatiana is somewhat interesting, he doesn’t find her captivating enough to give up his bachelor ways.

But here comes the first twist: After just one conversation, Tatiana is instantly and permanently smitten with the cynical and distant Onegin. (Yup, you read that right.)

A short time later, a sleepless Tatiana impulsively decides to write an impassioned letter to Onegin, pouring out her heart on paper and confessing her undying love, claiming her future is now in his hands.

Take a listen…

Tatiana completes her letter to Onegin and considers her fate. Listen for the repeated melody that descends the musical scale and pay attention to how it transforms over the course of the scene. Also, listen to how Tatiana’s voice rises to impressive heights when she’s feeling hopeful and sinks down low when she sings about Onegin’s possible rejection.

Tatiana asks her nanny, Filippyevna (fee-LEEP-nyehv-nah), to help her deliver the letter to Onegin and, for days, waits anxiously for his reply.

When he finally does respond, things don’t go well.

Deciding to break the news to her face to face, Onegin returns to Tatiana’s estate and does his best to let her down gently. But his “It’s not you, it’s me” approach falls short when he implies that, though he’s attracted to her, he’d soon grow tired of her. Arrogantly dismissing her love as youthful folly, he cautions her to control her emotions. (Yeah, it’s pretty brutal.)

Take a listen…

Onegin tells Tatiana he’s not the man for her. Check out how the lightly swirling wind instruments (think flute and clarinet) and Onegin’s balanced phrases (with very few high or low extremes) are used to signify how smooth and callous he is in contrast to Tatiana’s earlier anguish.

Act 2

A few months later, Onegin unwisely lets Lensky drag him to a dance in honor of Tatiana’s name day (a Russian Orthodox tradition that’s sort of like a birthday party). Onegin equally unwisely asks Tatiana to dance, and as soon as they’re spotted together, gossipy whispers are heard among the crowd.

Take a listen…

Country high society gathers at the Larin Estate for a ball. During this catchy waltz, listen for the way the chorus sings its own melodies instead of following the main dance tune. This helps achieve the effect that the party guests are gossiping under their breath while live music plays in front of them.

As the guests wonder aloud if the conceited Onegin is good enough for Tatiana, Onegin decides he’s had it. Annoyed at Lensky for bringing him in the first place, Onegin resolves to flirt shamelessly with Olga for revenge.

Olga and Onegin get a bit too close during the next few waltzes, and Lensky is frustrated and confused. He demands Olga save the next dance for him, but she announces she plans to dance with Onegin one more time to punish Lensky for being overly jealous.

The flirting between Olga and Onegin continues during a French poet’s performance of a song for Tatiana, and Lensky is beside himself. In front of the entire ballroom, he denounces Onegin as an evil seducer of women and challenges him to a duel (…yikes). Realizing he’s gone too far but still wanting to save face, Onegin accepts.

Take a listen…

Lensky recalls happier times with Olga while contemplating what the duel holds in store. Listen for the brief interlude where the music suddenly sounds more hopeful and calm. Paradoxically, this is when Lensky considers what the world would be like without him. Why do you think the composer chose to have such peaceful music accompany such grim lyrics?

Just before dawn, the two men meet in the snowy countryside. After briefly recollecting how close they once were and how angry and bitter they’ve become, they take aim and fire… and Lensky falls to the ground dead.

Act 3

Moscow: some years later.

Onegin, haunted by the memory of Lensky, has tried to bury his sorrows in travel. Wandering aimlessly, he’s arrived in Moscow hoping for some distraction (good luck with that, buddy).

At a ball in the city—much more upscale than the country dance at the Larin Estate—he runs into Prince Gremin (GREH-min), a relative of Onegin’s who’s recently been married to…wait for it…Tatiana. Onegin is shocked to discover Tatiana isn’t at all like he remembers; where she once seemed simple and naive, she now appears regal and mature. Even more strange? She barely seems to remember him.

And here’s the second twist: Onegin finds this newer, more self-possessed Tatiana irresistible. That’s right, now that she’s avoiding him, he’s fallen hard…and he’s completely aware of the cruel irony.

Determined to take one final stab at happiness, Onegin decides to write Tatiana his own letter in the hopes of winning her back.

But will his words be enough to undo the damage he’s done? Can Tatiana forget what’s passed and run away with him? Will first love triumph over honor?

Good to Know

Picture this: A well-meaning but slightly misguided young woman writes a love letter to a successful man. He’s flattered, but rejects her. Later, though, he recognizes his actions toward the young woman were less than kind, and, in an effort to make amends, asks the young woman to spend her life with him.

Sound familiar?

If you’re thinking this is a replay of the opera summary you’ve just read, you’re wrong. (But nice try.) It’s actually the story of what was going on behind the scenes when the opera was composed.

When a singer friend of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (cheye-KOFF-skee, 1840–1893) suggested the composer write an opera based on Eugene Onegin, the iconic Russian novel by Alexander Pushkin (POOSH-kin, 1799–1837), Tchaikovsky thought it was a “curious” but risky idea. Yet once he read the book, he found himself inexplicably drawn to Pushkin’s innocent heroine and the novel’s straightforward themes of young life and love—so much so, that he decided to get composing right away. This was perhaps in part because, only weeks before, Tchaikovsky had himself received a love letter much like the one Tatiana writes to Onegin in the story. And, like Onegin, Tchaikovsky had chosen to distance himself from his young admirer, Antonina.

But (also kind of like Onegin) Tchaikovsky changed his mind. His courtship with Antonina was complicated and tumultuous, and yet—perhaps inspired by his deep respect for Tatiana’s character—Tchaikovsky eventually proposed marriage. The date of Tchaikovsky’s proposal and the composition of Tatiana’s famous “Letter Scene” came within days of each other. Antonina accepted. The marriage didn’t last long, but the opera remains a success to this day.

Learning to Listen

Going to the opera means you’ll have to start listening in a new way if you want to take in everything the music and the voices have to offer. And guess what? This is less difficult than it sounds.

Try thinking of opera singing as its own type of language or speech. When we’re speaking, our emotions can change the way our voices sound from moment to moment—and one word can have a thousand different meanings depending on how we say it (loudly, softly, quickly, slowly, with a high- or low-pitched voice, etc.). The same is true for the characters in an opera. Each voice you’ll hear will have its own special flavor depending on who the character is and what he or she is saying.

Tatiana, for example, is a shy young woman with a very romantic streak. Her voice, therefore, will be on the higher side (to provide a clue that she’s innocent and wistful) but will occasionally soar above the orchestra (to represent her passionate hopes and dreams). Her singing will also sound weightier and more dramatic when we meet her as a mature woman in Act 3.

Onegin, on the other hand, is a brooding young aristocrat with a serious attitude problem. His darker baritone voice (a departure from the typical heroic sound that’s usually represented by the higher-voiced tenor) indicates he’s a bit more confident and experienced than the standard romantic lead. His short, elegant phrases also tend to suggest his character is mostly calm and in control.

When in doubt about how a character is feeling or what they’re thinking, always pay close attention to exactly how they sound. (The instruments in the orchestra will give you hints as well.)

Check This Out…

In this production of Eugene Onegin, the title character is often seen alone on stage. What clues, if any, do you think this device gives you about his character? Does it force you to look at him in a new way? Do you believe Onegin is a different man in private than in public?

Both Pushkin’s story and Tchaikovsky’s opera pay special attention to the contrast between rural and urban lifestyles. How do the sets and costumes in this production help remind you which scenes take place in the country and which take place in the city? And does the music take on a different quality once the action moves to Moscow? (Hint: Listen for the lively waltz music in Act 2 versus the more syncopated dance—known as a polonaise (pohl-oh-NAISE)—in Act 3.)

The director of this Eugene Onegin opted to have the end of Act 2 feed directly into the beginning of Act 3. What effect, if any, do you think this has on the audience? Does the upbeat, frenzied music at the start of Act 3 help you forget Lensky’s death in Act 2? Or does it make the aftermath of his murder feel that much worse?

Onegin’s pompous and restrained singing style goes completely out the window the moment he realizes he’s in love with Tatiana. Does his aria at the end of Act 3’s ballroom scene recall the scene in which Tatiana writes her infamous love letter? How so?

Think About This…

Tchaikovsky excelled at hummable melodies (if you don’t believe us, just think about The Nutcracker or Swan Lake for a second), and, in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, memorable tunes often made several returns throughout an opera. Can you identify any recurring musical themes in Eugene Onegin? If so, why do think they repeat themselves when they do? Does their recurrence cause you to remember a specific character or event? (Hint: Listen closely to Tatiana’s “Letter Scene” in Act 1 and Lensky’s solo aria in Act 2; melodies from both of these pieces will show up more than once.)

Throughout the novel of Eugene Onegin, Pushkin made no secret of the fact he loved and admired his heroine, Tatiana. Tchaikovsky likewise found himself “in love with her image” (as in, moved by her plight) and ended up honoring her with a near-20-minute solo in his opera. Why do you think Tatiana inspires so much affection? Do you agree with her choices at the start of the opera? What about at the end?

Lensky’s aria in Act 2 has been regarded as one of the opera’s most crucial moments since the piece debuted in 1879. Beyond the melancholy musical themes that cascade downward (as if the singer were sighing), the aria—and the Pushkin verse that inspired it—also tackles the age-old subjects of fleeting youth, impending death, and what happens when a person dies. Do the lyrics of this aria remind you of any other literary or musical works?

Take Action: Bring the Letter Back

Letters clearly play a major role in Eugene Onegin just as they did in Tchaikovsky’s real life (in addition to his correspondence with his fiancée, Tchaikovsky struck up a literary relationship with a woman who would become his long-time friend and patron, but who would refuse to meet him in person). In the opera, Tatiana and Onegin each serve as both writer and receiver of a painfully honest letter—and the results are entirely mixed. And with good reason. A long-form letter acts as a window into another person’s emotions and can leave both writer and reader feeling exposed.

But that’s not always a bad thing.

In the age of texting and Twitter, it’s become less and less common to express yourself using more than a few characters, words, or sentences. Why not try and break that 280-character barrier and explore writing about your feelings over several paragraphs…or even pages?

Pick a current topic, news story, or cause you’re passionate about and construct a long letter (we’re talking over 500 words) about why it moves you or why it holds your interest. Don’t be afraid to dig deep and expose your innermost thoughts on the matter. Dive into the subject and look at it from as many angles as possible. Try and put down on paper exactly how it makes you feel and why. (Extra points if you write it out by hand instead of type it.)

If you’re comfortable, share your letter with friends and family, or take things a step further and send it to a local legislator or journalist who you think might be willing to hear your opinion on an important issue.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with the Eugene Onegin Extras.

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All photos by Todd Rosenberg for the Lyric Opera of Chicago

Writer: Eleni Hagen

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Timothy O’Leary General Director

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director

Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

WNO's Presenting Sponsor

This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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OPERA / 2018-2019

EUGENE ONEGIN

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

Washington National Opera Open Rehearsal Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Libretto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Konstantin Shilovsky Based on the novel by Alexander Pushkin

Student Guide: Eugene Onegin

Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: We’ve Got You Covered

Hey there, adults. We’re sure you’re already familiar with the concept of opera but, just in case you’re looking for a refresher or you want to go deeper, here are some thoughts that may be of interest:

Opera A 400-year-old genre born in Italy that was cultivated throughout Europe from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries and eventually made its way to the United States (that’s right, Americans write operas, too). As you’ve probably guessed, there will be singing. Lots of it. Just think of it as heightened speech. A soprano may hit a really high note when she’s angry or scared. A bass might lay down a low note when he wants to be extra menacing.

Outside of the opera house, Eugene Onegin lives a whole other life as one of the most celebrated pieces of Russian literature of all time. Written over a span of eight years by the eminent national author Alexander Pushkin, the unusual novel-in-rhyming-verse is equal parts satirical social commentary and pure, unadulterated nostalgia. Its central tragic love story (boy meets girl, boy snubs girl only to discover, too late, he actually loves her) is about as good as dramatic irony gets, and its heroine, Tatiana, is viewed by many as the ultimate moral ideal—a perfect example of grace and dignity under pressure.

It’s no wonder then, that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (cheye-KOFF-skee)—then a reasonably successful composer but only a moderately successful operatic composer—was almost instantly enchanted by Eugene Onegin. Indeed, he was so enthusiastic about the story that, legend has it, he began an outline for the opera almost the very minute he finished reading the book. He wrote to his brother Modeste on the subject, saying:

“I am under the spell of [Pushkin’s] verse, and I am drawn to compose the music as it were by some irresistible attraction. I am lost in the composition of the opera.”

Tchaikovsky’s music and Pushkin’s story turned out to be a match made in opera heaven (and it wouldn’t be the only time Tchaikovsky used Pushkin as inspiration—see The Queen of Spades, for example). Dubbed a set of “lyric scenes in three acts,” Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin gives audiences a glimpse into the most riveting moments of Pushkin’s sprawling drama, while occasionally softening the characters to make them more sympathetic. The composer’s facility with folk tunes helped him paint a vivid picture of country life, and his gift for soaring melody lent itself perfectly to Onegin’s more intimate scenes such as Tatiana’s now famous letter aria and Lensky’s heartbreaking lament. Add these elements together and you’re left with a romantic opera with a nationalistic flare that has international appeal. Eugene Onegin remains a beloved fixture in opera houses across the globe.

Some recordings and resources you may want to check out:

Eugene Onegin with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Nuccia Focile, and Neil Shicoff, conducted by Semyon Bychkov

Eugene Onegin with Thomas Hampson, Karita Mattila, and Piotr Beczala, conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek

Eugene Onegin with Bernd Weikl, Teresa Kubiak, and Stuart Burrows, conducted by Sir Georg Solti

The original novel. Widely considered one of the greatest pieces of literature Russia has ever produced, Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin draws on the likes of Byron and Shakespeare, resulting in a rhyming epic poem that explores art, love, social class, and authentic feeling in the early nineteenth-century Russian hinterlands.

Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, 2007. Captured at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, this video features Valery Gergiev (conductor) and Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Onegin) in a critically-acclaimed production that also stars soprano Renée Fleming and tenor Ramón Vargas.

You’re ready for Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

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All photos by Todd Rosenberg for the Lyric Opera of Chicago

Writer: Eleni Hagen

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Timothy O’Leary General Director

Francesca Zambello Artistic Director

Major support for WNO is provided by Jacqueline Badger Mars.

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of WNO.

WNO acknowledges the longstanding generosity of Life Chairman Mrs. Eugene B. Casey.

WNO's Presenting Sponsor

This performance is made possible by the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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CLASSICAL / 2018-2019

NSO OPEN REHEARSAL WITH Q&A SESSION

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

With Lionel Bringuier (conductor) and Gil Shaham (violin)

Student Guide: NSO Open Rehearsal

Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: We’ve Got You Covered

If you’re an adult accompanying young people to this performance and you’re new to the symphony, no problem. Maybe you’ve heard of Mozart and Stravinsky, but not this Roussel fellow… and how exactly do you pronounce Petrushka? (It’s [puh-TROOSH-kuh], by the way.) Maybe you just need a refresher on the difference between an orchestra (a group of musicians who play together on instruments like strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion) and a symphony (a large orchestra). Here’s a crash course with the basics to help you guide and discuss today’s performance:

The National Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1931 and is an artistic affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO plays 150 concerts a year and works in the community to help foster music education. In this open rehearsal, you’ll see conductor Lionel Bringuier and violinist Gil Shaham perform alongside the orchestra in three works: selections from a ballet by Roussel, a violin concerto by Mozart, and a ballet by Stravinsky.

Here are a couple of relevant links to get you started:

A Parents’ Field Guide to the Symphony

The Importance of Classical Music in a Modern World

Alright, you’re ready to hear the National Symphony Orchestra.

Standards Connections

Music – Connecting (Cn.11)

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Top Photo by Stefano Pasqualetti

Writer: Tori Friedrich

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Gianandrea Noseda Music Director National Symphony Orchestra

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of the NSO.

NSO Open Rehearsals are made possible in part by the generous support of A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; and U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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CLASSICAL / 2018-2019

NSO OPEN REHEARSAL WITH Q&A SESSION

STUDENT GUIDE

WITH LIONEL BRINGUIER (CONDUCTOR) AND GIL SHAHAM (VIOLIN)

School show: February 28

Teacher and Parent Guide: NSO Open Rehearsal

So, What’s Going On?

Instrumentalists sit tall, poised to play. The conductor lifts the baton and melodies float through the concert hall. Suddenly, the conductor cuts the instruments off. But why?

While attending an open rehearsal is like a concert in some ways, it’s very different in others. You’ll likely hear selections from all of the pieces the symphony plans to play at the concert, but unlike a concert, they won’t necessarily be played in order or from beginning to end. That’s because the purpose of a rehearsal is for the musicians to perfect their parts for an upcoming performance and practice as a cohesive group. You might notice that during the rehearsal, the conductor pauses to give instructions, speak to an instrument section or soloist, or even repeat part of the music. The conductor may give portions of a piece more attention than others, even leaving some portions out completely. That’s because, though there’s an audience, an open rehearsal isn’t really a performance, but a practice. It’s also an exciting way to learn about the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into a symphony performance.

During this rehearsal, conductor Lionel Bringuier (pronounced Bran-ghee-AY) will rehearse music from a program that features music by Albert Roussel (ROO-sel), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (MO-tzart), and Igor Stravinsky (struh-VIN-skee).

Here’s a preview…

The Spider’s Feast (symphonic fragments) was composed by Albert Roussel (1869–1937), a young French sailor who didn’t begin studying music until he was 25, when he became influenced by the work of impressionist composer Claude Debussy (deb-YOO-see).

Now if you hear “impressionism” and think of art, you’re not alone. Impressionist music was actually named for its similarities to the genre of painting known as impressionism which featured scenes from everyday life and nature. These painters captured life as if someone caught a quick glimpse of it. This “snapshot in time” was created with quick blurry strokes (instead of broad ones), lots of vibrant colors, and natural lighting. Simply put, the painter’s focus was on his or her quick “impression” of the subject as well as the object itself. And just like their artist friends, impressionistic composers set out to convey emotion and mood in a bold way.

Take a look at Claude Monet’s painting titled Impression, Sunrise. Learn more about the painting movement that inspired musical impressionism.

Now…back to music!

In 1912, Roussel wrote the music for the ballet Le Festin de l'Araignée (The Spider's Feast). Although he created the composition for the concert hall in “symphonic fragments,” he intended it to be performed as a complete work. As a ballet, it tells the story of a garden spider’s exploits and untimely death. It goes something like this:

A spider waits in a garden for its prey, while ants march across the garden, followed by two beetles. A butterfly dances the waltz, which is interrupted when it is caught in the spider’s web. Just as the spider begins its triumphant dance, an apple falls from a tree, returning the spider to its web. Two maggots bury themselves in the apple, while two praying mantises fight one another until they become tangled in the web. A mayfly hatches and dances, before collapsing, dead. The spider prepares to feast on its prey, but the beetles free one of the mantises, which kills the spider. The remaining insects give the mayfly a solemn funeral as night falls.

Listen to The Spider’s Feast and watch the accompanying imagery:

Violin Concerto No. 5 was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), believed to be a musical prodigy and one of the greatest composers of all time. Mozart’s musical ability was the stuff of legends—he possessed “perfect pitch” and, even as a child, could virtually pick up any instrument and play it without lessons or instruction. In fact, he taught himself to play violin on a miniature instrument built by his father. Mozart composed everything from operas to symphonies, and concertos to chamber music. Though he didn’t live long—he died at just 35—Mozart left a lifetime of music as his legacy.

Mozart composed Violin Concerto No. 5 in 1775 at age 19. It is the fourth violin concerto he wrote in his “year of the violin.” It premiered in Salzburg, Austria, during the Christmas season and is known by the nickname The Turkish for the “exotic” accents Mozart uses in the finale. Oddly, these exotic sounds aren’t exactly Turkish. Most of the melodies are drawn from Hungarian folk songs, and one was written by Mozart many years earlier for the Hungarian ballet, Lucio Silla.

Listen to Violin Concerto No. 5 with soloist Gil Shaham (yep, the same guy from this performance) and the Schwetzinger Orchesterakademie:

Learn more about Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major.

Petrushka was composed by Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), a Russian composer and musician whose works, including The Firebird and The Rite of Spring, are considered among the most influential of the 20th century. Stravinsky’s father was a famous opera singer, so young Igor spent many days at the St. Petersburg opera house. Still, he pursued a career in law, only giving up his legal studies after he saw success with his ballet, The Firebird. Nevertheless, Stravinsky’s music was considered controversial in his time. In fact, on the opening night of The Rite of Spring, the audience was so shocked by the music and the ballet’s choreography that there was a riot in the theater. (Really!)

Learn more about Stravinsky:

Petrushka (puh-TROOSH-kuh) was written in 1911 as a creative distraction when he was supposed to be composing The Rite of Spring. Playing around at his piano, he experimented with unusual chords, many of which were harsh and strange sounding. As hard as it is to imagine, the experiment evolved into music for Petrushka. For this ballet, Stravinsky collaborated with Alexandre Benois (ben-WAH) on the libretto (opera text) and Sergei Diaghilev (sur-GEY dee-AH-guh-lev), the Russian founder of the famous dance company Ballets Russes. The ballet was about Petrushka, a classic character from famous folktales all over the world. Known as Punch in England, Pulcinella in Italy, and Petrushka in Russia, the puppet is a trickster with a high, squeaky voice.

Stravinsky’s Petrushka draws on Russian folklore to tell the story of a puppet who comes to life and falls in love with a ballerina. Beginning in St. Petersburg’s Shrovetide Fair, Petrushka opens with three characters—a Ballerina, a Moor, and Petrushka—on a stage.

Caption: Along with co-writing the libretto with Stravinsky, Alexandre Benois worked on the set designs and costumes for Petrushka. This is his depiction of the Shrovetide Fair. (image source)

The Moor and Petrushka both love the Ballerina, but she rejects Petrushka, who becomes jealous and fights with the Moor. Petrushka is banished to his cell, which is dark and dank.

Caption: Petrushka’s Room as drawn by Benois. (image source)

The Ballerina enters, but Petrushka’s frantic movements scare her away, and he cries desperately. The scene changes to the Moor’s colorful room, where the Ballerina and the Moor are together. Petrushka, who has broken free from his cell, enters and attacks the Moor unsuccessfully.

The final scene takes the audience back to the Shrovetide Fair in the evening. The Moor chases and kills Petrushka, whose ghost later appears on the rooftop, mocking the audience and show master.

Another interesting note...

Petrushka was choreographed by Michel Fokine (fuh KEEN), the resident choreographer for Ballets Russes. Fokine created the ballet for Vaslav Nijinsky (ni-ZHIN-skee), considered one of the greatest and most original male dancers of the 20th century.

Caption: Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka.

Who’s Who

National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is made up of 96 musicians who perform around 150 concerts each year. Currently in its 87th season, the NSO performs across the country, but the Kennedy Center functions as its home base. The NSO has performed at the Kennedy Center every year since the KC opened in 1971. The orchestra is committed to music education and audience engagement.

Credit: Simon Pauly

Lionel Bringuier is among the most respected and engaging conductors of his generation. After studying cello and conducting at the Paris Conservatoire (beginning at age 13), he has appeared with ensembles across the globe, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Munich Philharmonic. He saw his professional premiere at age 14 and was the youngest Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Bringuier continues to prove that classical music is for all—young people included.

Credit: Luke Ratray

Gil Shaham is a renowned musician, known for immaculate technique combined with warm emotion. He is a Grammy® Award-winner and was named Musical America’s “Instrumentalist of the Year.” Though he was born in Illinois, Shaham grew up and began his musical studies in Jerusalem, debuting as a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony at age 10. After studying at Julliard and Columbia University, he has performed with many of the world’s premier orchestras.

Check This Out…

The Spider’s Feast (symphonic fragments) is one of Roussel’s earlier works and is heavily influenced by the impressionist style. You’ll hear music that stretches the rules of tonality (notes that “sound good” together) and has less defined sections.

Listen for…

Roussel’s unique orchestration: two flute parts (with a piccolo that doubles one flute an octave higher), two oboe parts (and one English horn that doubles an oboe part), two clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, timpani, percussion, harp, celeste, and strings.

uneven rhythms that make the piece interesting.

vivid representations of the story. See if you can pick out the ants’ march, the butterfly’s graceful flying, and the mayfly’s lively dance and solemn funeral. Roussel paints a picture with the music, even without the story being staged in ballet form.

Hear Roussel “paint a musical picture” of a butterfly dancing in “Danse du Papillon” (or “Dance of the Butterfly”):

Hear the final “scene” of the piece, titled “Night falls on the solitary garden,” in which Roussel’s unusual harmony is on display:

Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 has three movements (parts of the musical composition). One interesting thing about this concerto is the orchestration—the instruments Mozart chose for the work. The piece was originally scored for two oboes, two French horns, and strings (violin I, violin II, viola, cello, and bass). Here are some features to listen for in each movement:

I. Allegro aperto – Adagio – Allegro aperto

Listen for…

the opening tempo. Allegro means “brisk,” while aperto translates to “open.” Listen for the fast pace of the orchestra and its fullness.

the violin’s solo entrance. Notice the tempo change between the opening and this slow, dreamy section (marked as Adagio, or slow).

the exciting return to the Allegro aperto. In the cadenza—a solo inserted into the end of the section—the violin plays unaccompanied by the orchestra.

Hear the energetic Allegro aperto that opens the piece:

II. Adagio (E major)

Listen for…

long, beautiful melodies. This movement is regarded among Mozart’s most lovely passages.

the orchestra fade into the background as the melody features the solo violin.

Watch the first part of the Adagio:

III. Rondeau – Tempo di minuetto

Listen for…

a dance-like beginning to the movement in triple time (counted ONE-two-three, think a waltz or minuet).

an interruption. In this movement, Mozart employs a French rondo finale, which is traditionally “interrupted” by a section that is extremely contrasting. In this case, that interruption is a frenzied Allegro dance theme in duple meter (2 beats per measure… think ONE-two ONE-two, and so on). This is the “Turkish” style that gives the piece its nickname. Watch for the cellos and basses as they strike their strings with the wood of their bows to create the percussive sounds characteristic of Eastern European music.

Listen to the rondo movement. See if you can hear the difference between the opening minuet and the “Turkish” section that the piece is named for (hint: what do you hear at 3:41 in the video?):

To hear the entire concerto, check out American violinist Hilary Hahn’s take on the soloist’s part:

Stravinsky's Petruska was composed in four scenes or tableaux.

See excerpts from Petrushka played by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Watch the conductor’s facial expression and body language. How does it help the instrumentalists (and you) interpret the music?

First Tableau: The Shrovetide Fair

Listen for…

the use of Russian folk song melodies and dances.

the sound of a fuller orchestra, representing the public nature of the fair.

Listen to an example of a Russian dance included in this tableau:

Hear the entire First Tableau:

Second Tableau: Petrushka’s Room

Listen for…

a smaller “feel” to the instrumental ensemble, representing the private nature of the puppet’s room and Petrushka’s feelings. The bassoon conveys his sobs, while the trumpet’s screams accompanied by full orchestra represent Petrushka’s rage.

Watch the Second Tableau in the ballet Petrushka’s Room:

The “Petrushka chord,” a polytonal (using more than one musical key) chord that Stravinsky identified as Petrushka’s “insult to the public.” The first time it appears, the chord is played by pairs of clarinets; it is later reprised by the shrillness of trumpets as Petrushka’s emotions intensify.

Third Tableau: The Moor’s Room

Listen for…

the waltz representing the Moor and Ballerina’s dance together. Note how this Austrian dance music differs in rhythms and sound from Stravinsky’s style. This waltz is heavily borrowed from Austrian composer Joseph Lanner.

the chaotic quarrel after Petrushka escapes his cell and enters, introduced by muted trombones.

Listen to the Third Tableau:

Fourth Tableau: The Shrovetide Fair (Toward Evening)

Listen for…

the frenzy of the crowd, represented in Stravinsky’s busy instrumentation.

the moment Petrushka is killed by the Moor, noted musically with a dropped tambourine, then the dying sounds of the puppet (flute and piccolo).

the trumpets’ return as Petrushka’s voice when the puppet’s ghost reenters the stage.

Let’s hear it:

Think About This…

What do you feel is the biggest difference between attending an open rehearsal and a performance? What can you learn about the music from witnessing it in practice? Violin soloist Gil Shaham has said, “I think music has a way of capturing time.” Think of that statement in terms of what you’ve learned about the music of Albert Roussel. How did his music capture the time that he lived in France? How is the statement true in your own life? What music that you listen to or perform is symbolic of a particular time in your life?

Stravinsky changed people’s beliefs about what classical music should be or sound like—for both musicians and audiences. While his work was considered shocking during his lifetime, it is recognized today for expanding what classical music could be. Have you ever discovered music that challenged your perceptions? What was it, and how did it help you grow?

Take Action: Age Is Just a Number

Caption: Young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (image source)

The musicians and composers represented in this open rehearsal all have one thing in common: They each defied the probabilities for what is expected of a musician at their age. Lionel Bringuier is among the youngest modern conductors to find worldwide success; Gil Shaham was performing professionally at age 10. Stravinsky composed Petrushka before he was 30, and Mozart completed a lifetime of work before he died prematurely at 35. Roussel defied the expected in a different way. He didn’t enter the field of music until well after the age when others had already found success.

Where do you fit in? Perhaps you haven’t studied music or another type of art yet, or maybe you’re well on your way to becoming a professional artist. Either way, the examples of the composers in this rehearsal have something similar to offer: Age is just a number and it’s never too early or too late to find your passion and develop your talent. What is your passion? Perhaps you long to become a famous artist. Maybe you simply want to learn the guitar to jam with your friends. Brainstorm a plan for chasing your passion, then write it down. Share your brainstorm with a trusted friend or adult.

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Top Photo by Stefano Pasqualetti

Writer: Tori Friedrich

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Gianandrea Noseda Music Director National Symphony Orchestra

David M. Rubenstein is the Presenting Underwriter of the NSO.

NSO Open Rehearsals are made possible in part by the generous support of A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; and U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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THEATER / 2018-2019

SHE A GEM

STUDENT GUIDE

Written by Josh Wilder Directed by Paige Hernandez World Premiere Kennedy Center Commission

Teacher and Parent Guide: She a Gem

“When one of us makes it, we all make it. That’s the whole point of being a gem.” —Jaleesa

So, What’s Going On?

Tick-tack-tick-tack-tick-tack—the sound of twin jump ropes spinning up a cyclone makes a joyful noise for three girls on this side street in South Philadelphia. Krystin, Jaleesa, and Amber are practicing to show off their Double-Dutch skills at the upcoming neighborhood block party. They’re aiming for a special prize: to be a “gem,” a special figure of love and leadership within the neighborhood. Double Dutch, though, is way more than a game for the trio of friends, who live together in the foster home of Topaz, or Ms. T. It connects them, binds them, and creates a shared strength to celebrate, handle disappointment, and face any and every challenge.

Krystin, the team’s captain, especially faces some tough decisions. With her 18th birthday just days away, her time in Ms. T’s foster home is ticking down. Where will she go? Should she stay in school and shoot for college? Does she have a chance of turning Double Dutch into something more? Choices, self-doubts, and fears weigh heavy on her as she faces a transition from a caring environment to a future of unknowns.

Into the mix comes Symone, a pregnant teen from North Philly who brings her own Double-Dutch and stepping talents to the group. Right from the start, she and Krystin clash about who’s the better jumper and being forced to share a room. Yet, as they begin to polish their routine and settle their frictions, they start to see more clearly who they can be—but only if they can work and stick together. It also becomes clear that Symone is not there merely by chance. She carries ties to the neighborhood’s past, a mystery that affects the girls, their sisterhood, and the whole community.

“One of the themes of the play is the idea about how we have the power to choose or make our own families,” says the play’s director, Paige Hernandez. “How we work together to develop confidence and build self-esteem even when the odds are stacked against us.”

Think about…

Gems are precious or semi-precious stones. How do gems function as metaphors in the play? What are ways gems show up in the play’s dialogue, chants, and other parts of the show?

How do each of the girls change during the course of the play?

Who’s Who

A neighborhood double-dutch team who live together in a foster home:

Krystin, 17 Jaleesa, 16 Amber, 16

Symone, 17 a new girl from North Philadelphia Topaz (Ms. T), foster mother Ms. Mary, never seen…eccentric and mysterious, the O.G.gem

Check this out…

Professor Kyra Gaunt, PhD, is an ethnomusicologist at the University at Albany in New York. In this video interview, she shares some of the history of jump ropes and the unique culture of Double Dutch in urban African American communities.

You can also find a Q & A interview with Professor Gaunt in the Adult Guide.

A Short History of Double Dutch

Who were the first kids to ever jump a rope for the fun of it? You’d have to take a time machine back thousands of years. Various clues lead to Ancient Egypt and China. From there, it eventually skipped its way to Europe and the Netherlands, and the Dutch are credited with bringing it to North America in the 1600s. One of their jump-rope games evolved into “Double Dutch,” and American kids and teens have been turning twin ropes ever since. Girls in particular took to it, aided by a shift from long dresses to skirts with pantaloons around 1800.

Double Dutch really took off in the 1940s and 1950s, especially in northern U.S. cities. For many African American girls and young women there, Double Dutch became much more than a game. Using clotheslines, braided rope, and even super-long phone cords, they took it onto the streets where girls might jump from morning till night. The tick-tack-tick-tack of the ropes laid down a beat not only for jumping but for rhymes and game songs that became part of the tradition. Often turned away from guy-dominated sports, girls doing Double Dutch transformed jump roping into a realm all their own. They introduced moves, etiquette, chants, and traditions that passed from girl to girl and generation to generation.

In the 1970s, a couple of New York police officers, Ulysses “Mike the Cop” Williams and David Walker, sought to use this love of Double Dutch as a tactic to keep teen girls off drugs and out of trouble. Walker created the American Double Dutch League (ADDL), and for a while McDonald’s restaurants sponsored local and national Double-Dutch tournaments.

The competition could be intense. Teen girls were pushing what was possible between the ropes. They introduced back flips, handstands, and other acrobatic moves that were shared back and forth between them and breaking, the dance style of Hip Hop; and not by accident. Hip Hop and Double Dutch of the 1970s were developing side-by-side in the neighborhoods of New York, Baltimore, Chicago, and other U.S. cities, and the two gladly sampled from each other.

Today, Double Dutch has diverged onto two distinct paths. For the more competitive, it is an intense competition featuring uniforms and judges, becoming a sport that has spread worldwide. For others, “street Double Dutch” continues as a neighborhood tradition that binds together girls and women—especially African American girls and women—in a powerful, joyful tradition that brings together rhythm, song, dance, teamwork, and friendship.

Check this out… “Double Dutch is very present in my life,” says She a Gem’s Double-Dutch coach, Ebony Ingram. “I use it to learn about myself. It teaches a lot about persistence and fighting through pain. That’s part of it. You love it so much you’re never going to stop.”

then think about…an activity or passion you love so much you’re willing to keep going even when it causes pain, even when the going gets tough.

The word grit stands for perseverance, drive, and courage. Together with friends, identify people you know—personally or as public figures—who have overcome obstacles and demonstrated grit in pursuit of their goals. What common habits or traits do they seem to possess?

Discuss your favorite book or movie with others. Usually, the protagonists face their biggest challenges and most hopeless moments just before they succeed. Why are we attracted to such stories and characters?

The African Tradition of Scarification

She a Gem echoes some African ancestral traditions, like membership in a tribe or community, says the show’s director, Paige Hernandez. “The strongest parallel to Africa in the play is the idea of scarring,” she says. “It confirms identity, like a tattoo. It shows that you are part of a lineage. It can also be symbolic of your age and status in your given community.”

In parts of Africa, Papua New Guinea, North America, and elsewhere, ritual scarification has been an ancient practice, similar to tattoos in other cultures, as Hernandez notes. Under the guidance of their elders, different groups make superficial cuts in specific patterns. Ash or pigments may be inserted in the cuts before they heal as scars. For some groups, it has been a form of body art that marks them as a member of their family or community.

For some women and men, getting scarred could also be a rite of passage. It might mark life-changing moments like the death of a child or bravery in battle. It represented their ability to not just endure pain, but to demonstrate they had spiritual strength and a willingness to sacrifice for the community. However, the practice of scarification in many cultures has been in decline in recent generations.

Scarring as a symbol shows up in She a Gem. Scars are specifically borne by women who become gems, like Ms. T. At one point, Jaleesa says,

There’s this scar that [Ms. T] has on her face that nobody can miss it. It starts here and it goes all the way down to here. Like its some kind of sign. I asked Ms. T one day what happened and she just looked at me and said, “I got it playing Double Dutch. “That rope cut your face like that?” “No,” she said.

Think about…

Scars are both symbols and a theme in She a Gem. For the characters with scars, how did they get them? What might they represent?

What are reasons people get tattoos, piercings, or dramatic forms of permanent body art? What aspects of their identity are they trying to communicate—to themselves as well as others?

Write a short piece about how your friends signal their allegiances through language, clothing, hairstyles, music, or other means? Then, take it a step further: How do leaders of the group indicate their status?

Setting the Scene for She a Gem

A play’s setting is everything that appears on stage—scenery (background), furniture, and props. “It’s often the first thing in a production that the audience sees,” says Deb Sivigny, who designed the set for She a Gem. Sets can be realistic or fanciful, complex or simple—it all depends on the production needs of the play and the creative vision of director.

She a Gem takes place on a side street in South Philadelphia. Sivigny wanted to get a feel for the neighborhoods there to help her create the “onstage Philly” where the action happens. Unable to visit in person, she instead went for “Google Walks” down South Philadelphia streets using Google Maps (google.com/maps). She snapped “photos” of the buildings and row houses, seeking details that would help her bring the community to life.

She began sketching, using her imagination to create not just a look but a feel. She then rendered the set in model form so she and the director, Paige Hernandez, could view it in three-dimensions.

What to Look and Listen for

Compare what you see onstage with the following photos, sketch, and model from set designer Deb Sivigny’s development process.

Caption: Images from Google Maps.

Caption: Concept sketch for She a Gem. Credit: Deb Sivigny

Caption: Digital Rendering for She a Gem. Credit: Deb Sivigny

Check this out…

Set designer Deb Sivigny says, “My job is to interpret where words can’t go.” What are experiences you have had that require something more than words to express them? What are other art forms that tell a story “where words can’t go?”

Then look and listen for…

The uses of color in the set, costumes, lighting, and language.

The phone lines arcing above the stage, and what they resemble.

The three onstage buildings in She a Gem. What does the set and its buildings tell you about the neighborhood and the changes it has seen?

Projections on the set and its buildings. Consider what these projections represent and how characters interact with them.

The use of music, rhythm, and chants, and what they reveal about the girls and their relationships.

The sound of thunder and specific moments when it occurs during the play.

When the actors interact with each other and when they speak directly to the audience. How do the characters’ monologues differ from their dialogues?

Similarities and differences between the sounds, moves, and ideas of Double Dutch and Hip Hop.

Then think about…

At the beginning of the play, Krystin says: “What does Double Dutch mean to me? Freedom. Jumping inside this whirling circle of danger; of hurt; of pain. Getting to dance with all that. I think it’s brave; and ‘if you wanna be brave then you gotta get off them ends and jump!’” What might Krystin be seeking freedom from? What represents freedom to you personally? What does it mean to be brave—not like in action movies, but in real day-to-day life? How are freedom and being brave related?

Double Dutch takes serious teamwork. Besides turning and jumping, what are ways the girls demonstrate teamwork in other aspects of their lives? How do you demonstrate teamwork in your life?

What conflicts arise among the characters? What causes them, and what are ways the girls deal with them?

What are ways different generations connect and communicate during the play?

The play speaks to the power we have to make our own families. What does family mean to you? What does it mean to “make our own families” as we grow up?

Take Action

Be a Gem

Several gems are mentioned in the play: amber, diamond, ruby, pearl, onyx, jade, opal, jasmine, etc. Do some research on precious and semi-precious stones. Which one (or more) do you feel a special connection with? Why? Name it, explain it, and share your thoughts in writing, or with family and friends.

Take a Virtual Walk

Different views offer different perspectives. Input your home address or the address of your school in the Google Walk feature on Google Maps and take a tour of the streets and neighborhood. Look for things you’ve never noticed before and write them down along with thoughts and feelings. Share them with your family and friends.

Design Your Neighborhood

Give your neighborhood the set-design treatment like Deb Sivigny did for a South Philadelphia neighborhood in She a Gem. Imagine you were going to represent your street, community, or school onstage. What buildings, trees, streets signs, or other physical details would you include? Turn loose the artist in you—take photographs and draw sketches or maps. Consider creating a model of your set where your personal story is taking place.

Jump!

Has it been a while since you’ve jumped rope? To get into the swing of She a Gem, find your old rope or unwind a length of clothesline. No need to go all Double Dutch if that’s not your thing. But see what it feels like to jump again—on your own or with friends. One of the beauties of jumping rope? All you need is some space and a little rhythm and your body comes alive.

Double Dutch Chants

Silly, funny, creative—Double-Dutch chants make their own music. Try them out with your friends!

“Rollercoaster” Down, down baby, down down the rollercoaster. Sweet, sweet baby, I’ll never let you go.

Shimmy, shimmy ko-ko pop. Shimmy, shimmy, pow! Shimmy, shimmy, ko-ko pop. Shimmy, shimmy, pow!

Grandma, Grandma, sick in bed. She called the doctor and the doctor said.

Let’s get the rhythm of the head, ding-dong. Let’s get the rhythm of the head, ding-dong. Let’s get the rhythm of the hands (clap clap). Let’s get the rhythm of the hands (clap clap). Let’s get the rhythm of the feet (stomp stomp). Let’s get the rhythm of the feet (stomp stomp). Let’s get the rhythm of the hot dog. Let’s get the rhythm of the hot dog.

Put it all together and what do you get? Ding-dong, (clap clap) (stomp stomp), hot dog. Put it all backwards and what do you get? Hot dog, (stomp stomp), (clap clap), ding-dong!

“Cinderella” Cinderella dressed in yella, Went downstairs to kiss a fella, Made a mistake and kissed a snake. How many doctors did it take? 1, 2, 3, … (Jumper counts until she misses.)

“Miss Susie” Miss Susie had a baby, She named him Tiny Tim. She put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim. He drank up all the water, He ate up all the soap, He tried to eat the bathtub, But it wouldn’t go down his throat.

Miss Susie called the doctor. Miss Susie called the nurse. Miss Susie called the lady with the alligator purse.

In came the doctor. In came the nurse. In came the lady with the alligator purse.

Mumps said the doctor. Measles said the nurse. Hiccups said the lady with the alligator purse.

Miss Susie punched the doctor. Miss Susie kicked the nurse. Miss Susie thanked the lady with the alligator purse.

“She a Gem” by Josh Wilder

CHALLENGE! CHALLENGE! 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10 – GIRL CAN YOU MATCH THIS? FOOT! AND BOUNCE! AND HOP! AND TURN! AND CRISS! AND WALK!

HEY BABY BABY WHAT DO YOU SEE? WHEN YOU WALK DOWN THE STREET DO YOU NOTICE ME? JUST LIKE THE EARTH’S ROUND JUST LIKE THE SKY’S BLUE THERE’S A BEAUTIFUL GIRL OH, YOU SEE HER, TOO?

SHE A GEM SHE A GEM SHE GOT A CUTE FACE SHE GOT THE BEST SNEAKS HER STYLE’S THE BEST TASTE SHE WALK THROUGH YA DREAMS LIKE A MOVIE SCENE HAIR LAID BILLS PAID JUST WAIT AND SEE

LADY ON ONE FOOT! (jump on one foot) LADY ON TWO FOOT! (jump on two feet) THROW ‘EM UP (raise hands) GETT’M UP THROW ‘EM UP GETT’M UP

IF YOU WANT A GEM YOU GOTTA SEARCH THE SEAS THE MOUNTAINS AND THE CLOUDS THAT’S WHERE WE BE PRECIOUS PRETTY HARD TO FIND FLAWLESS ROYAL IT’S OUR TIME TO SHINE

ONE! Like a diamond! TWO! Like a ruby! THREE! Like a pearl! FOUR! Hey girl! FIVE! Stay alive. SIX! Onyx. SEVEN! Go to heaven EIGHT! At the gate! NINE! She fine! TEN!

Get Your Write On

Read the Double Dutch chants above, paying attention to their rhythm, rhyme, and humor. Write your own and try it out with your own rope-jumping or step routine.

Professor Kyra Gaunt, PhD, talks about “memories in objects.” For her, holding the ends of the ropes triggers memories of jumping Double Dutch as a girl. She says such objects can be things like favorite toys or jewelry, but also books, songs, sounds, or anything that helps us remember significant moments in life.

Interview…an older person about a “memory object” in her or his life. What is it? Where did it come from? What is its story?

Write about…a “memory object” in your life. What memories does it bring up? What does it mean to you? What feelings does it trigger?

Write…a piece of fiction. Imagine finding an important personal “memory object” 50 years in the future. Describe it and the memories it triggers for you, and how it connects your fictional future with your present. Or considering writing the story from the object’s point of view.

Go Deeper/Learn More

If you’re not up to speed on the ins and outs of Double Dutch, check out Stan’s Pepper Steppers “Double Dutch Basics.”

Watch competitive Double Dutch and be amazed.

Read some truth about the early ties between Double Dutch and Hip Hop. “Double Dutch’s Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins.” By Lauren Schwartzberg. Vice. March 31, 2015.

Foster care, including group homes, are part of a government system to take care of children and teens who cannot live with their families, for whatever reason. Curious about the program and how it operates? Check out:

Group homes: “Giving Group Homes a 21st Century Makeover” by Teresa Wiltz. June 14, 2018. The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Foster care: “Foster Care”; Child Trends.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with the She a Gem Performance Extras.

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Writer: Sean McCollum

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

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She a Gem is part of the Kennedy Center's Human Journey representing Identity.www.kennedy-center.org/humanjourney

The Human Journey is a collaboration between The Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art, which invites audiences to investigate the powerful experiences of migration, exploration, identity, and resilience through the lenses of the performing arts, science, and visual art.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Bank of America is the Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences.

Additional support for She a Gem is provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

© 2019 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts