Singing Its Praises

Hoping to bring high culture to a generation raised on video games and MTV, a group of educators and actors introduced 2,000 Oxnard elementary students to the opera Friday. For many, the sopranos and tenors awaiting them were a world away from the pop and hip-hop icons they were used to.

But the Ventura College Opera Workshop was prepared. They cut a three-hour opera to 40 minutes. They combined singing with speaking and tried to involve the audience. They even performed in English.

“I feel our schoolchildren aren’t being exposed to the arts as much as they deserve,” said Linda Ottsen, a music teacher at Ventura College and producer of Friday’s opera, “Tales of Hoffman.” “I want the kids to know what senses can be stimulated by an opera experience.”

The group will perform for nearly 8,000 elementary schoolchildren between March 2 and April 6. Students from Ventura, Oxnard and Ojai will see the opera. Grants from local businesses and arts foundations paid for coloring books about the opera that were handed out to students.

Before the show, the cast of 28 mostly local actors and singers strolled around in 18th century costume backstage at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center.

“I was raised in an operatic household, so I know what it’s like to hate opera,” said Patricia McPherson, a family counselor who plays Antonia, a woman who will die if she sings again. “Most kids are like ‘Ooh’ at first, and then they say, ‘You sing too much.’ But opera lets you experience emotion more than anything else you can do.”

Julie Maechler, stage director for the performance, said operas try to be large, dramatic visions.

“It’s very complicated and complex to sing,” she said. “Like the ballet, it’s not for everyone.”

Out front, hundreds of sixth-graders filed into the auditorium.

“It’s not really my favorite art form,” said Larry Brandenburg, a teacher at Rose Avenue Elementary School. “You never know, maybe it will spark an interest in the kids. Maybe they will think, ‘I might like to do this.’ ”

Francisco Alvarez, 11, wasn’t the typical opera buff. He carried no program, didn’t own a pair of opera glasses and wore big, baggy pants. But he was up for a good time.

“I’ve seen a puppet show,” he said brightly.

Students were advised by school officials to clap and not shout when they saw something they liked. The lights faded and the show began.

The opera was written in the mid-1800s by Jacques Offenbach, a French composer of German descent. It tells the story of Hoffman, a poet who sits in a cafe recounting his three lost loves. His romantic adventures feature a singing doll, a magician, an evil doctor and a singing portrait. Throughout the performance, a white-haired muse professes her love for Hoffman, but he ignores her.

The students seemed mostly enthralled.

“It was cool; it was so emotional,” said Jose Camacho, 11, of Rose Elementary. “It was sad also, because the fairy loved Hoffman and he didn’t love her.”

Alejandra Rodriguez, 11, of Kamala Elementary School, said she had watched opera on television and has considered performing in one. Her classmates Maria Rios and Nora Oy said they liked the costumes.

“I think it is great to expose kids to this,” said Ricardo Sanchez, a teacher at Dennis McKinna Elementary School. “I think they should be exposed to every kind of art form.”

Laura Asbury, who played the silver-clad muse, won the hearts of many children.

The theater studies major at Ventura College received letters from students who watched her perform last week.

One Saticoy fourth-grader wrote, “I liked the way you said, ‘I love you.’ That was very dramatic.”

Others told her she was cute, funny and pretty. One girl left her phone number for the cast, should they ever wish to get in touch.

David Hodgson, who played Hoffman, is a singer attending Ventura College.

“I hope they don’t hate opera,” he said of the students. “I hope it didn’t bore them. There is a universal language in music.”