The fuss over ‘Faust’ in Colorado

ALL music teacher Tresa Waggoner wanted to do was broaden the artistic horizons of her Bennett, Colo., elementary school students. But she got into a devil of a mess a few weeks ago when a video selection she played for them, 12 minutes from a 33-year-old series called “Who’s Afraid of Opera?,” contained scenes from Gounod’s 1859 “Faust.”

Although the video features famed soprano Joan Sutherland talking to three hand puppets, some of the first- to third-graders were allegedly traumatized by seeing Mephistopheles, a.k.a. the Devil, bargaining with Faust for his soul. The kids reportedly had nightmares. Their parents complained.

“It created a kind of firestorm,” says George Sauter, the Bennett school district supervisor. “We have people on both sides of the fence. Some are saying it’s trying to promote the devil. Other people are defending the arts to the hilt.”

Bennett, a bedroom community about 30 miles east of Denver, has a population of roughly 2,000.

Waggoner, a former opera singer hired to teach choral music, has been put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. Sauter will report his findings at the school board’s Feb. 16 meeting. The board could reinstate or dismiss her.

“I was definitely not sensitive to the conservative nature of the community, and I’ve learned that,” Waggoner told the Denver Post last week. “However, from what has been said about me, that I’m a Satan worshipper, my character, I can’t believe all this.... My intention was just to expose the kids to opera.”

-- Chris Pasles