art of the opera, The

One of the meaningful childhood experiences I remember was in 1954 when my fifth grade teacher read a synopsis of an opera that would be presented on the radio from New York City's Metropolitan Opera House. Every Friday, she would discuss whether it would be a comedy or tragedy, and then she would summarize the plot. It was unlikely that many of her students would actually listen when it was aired on Saturday, but I certainly attribute pt of my interest and love of opera today to that exposure 36 years ago.

Music exposure continues to be important, and I incorporate it regularly into my teaching at Graham Elementary School in Los Angeles, just as I did when I taught secondary art. Since my own academic background is in history and the visual arts, I often make interdisciplinary curriculum connections that include music and the visual arts.

Dreams of Paris. Paris is a distant dream in the life of a South Central Los Angeles sixth grade student, but it was at the beginning of a correlated unit I used to introduce the arts in the modern era. A short slide show featuring Parisian scenes was presented, including the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Church of Sacre Coeur, the Moulin Rouge and the Eiffel Tower. The significance of steel construction and elevators in changing the face of architecture in the modern world was introduced.

Wagner--the egoistic man, his artistic temperament, his nationalistic spirit- was introduced next. The first connection I made between opera and the modem world was by using the Paris opera house, l'Opera. Along with the significance of Parisian opera on Wagner's early work, I mentioned that I had seen Wagner's opera The Flying Dutchman at the Paris opera house. I knew it would interest the kids because it's about love and intrigue on a ghost ship.

Then, I introduced art with the Chagall painting that incongruously dominates I'Opera's interior. For my elementary students, a way to relate to my opera experience was to relate the seat and box that I occupied to the one that's seen occupied by the two Judges on the Muppet Show.

Captivating tunes. The most captivating opera for children is Lohengrin. The prelude to act three is catchy, and they were already familiar with "The Wedding March." This is a fantasy love story about a Knight of the Swan who defends a woman's honor, falls in love a and prepares to marry her. But the woman breaks the spell by asking forbidden questions such as "Who are you?" and "Where are you from?" The knight disappears and the woman plummets from a cliff to her death.

In reality, Lohengrin's plight led Ludwig of Bavaria to plunge his country into bankruptcy. This brought about the next connection: the similarity of one of Ludwig's castles to the castle at Disneyland.

Magical connections. Using and relating magic and high interest stories and events to commonly known places and happenings enhances the learning experiences of students of all ages.

From Lohengrin, I continued to Die Walkure, relating it to some commercial uses, such as its use in the movie Apocalypse Now. Then we discussed Stravinsky and his Rite of Spring. I used these magical selections to illustrate the concept of dissonance, one of the musical objectives of the Los Angeles schools. Then, I related dissonance to discordance in contemporary art and music. Their reactions to dissonance included the words "weird," "unusual" and "strange."

Visual aids. My next connection was with the visual arts. After reviewing artists that we had covered since the beginning of the year, from Michelangelo to David, I briefly covered Monet's "Impressions Sunrise" and then continued to Chagall. As I mentioned, the ceiling of l'Opera helped to make the connection with modern art. I also made connections between Stravinsky and Chagall by comparing their similar lives as Russian peasants.

Several examples of Chagall's works were exhibited and an art composition was the final hands-on experience. Thinking about Chagall, Cubism and Surrealism, the students used colored paper strips and crayons to illustrate the sequential progression of their own lives. The experience, along with the music examples, provided a holistic, multi-sensory experience for the students.

Related learning activities in the unit included a review of previous art and music presentations starting with the Renaissance, which we had studied at the beginning of the year. The students did surprisingly well; they could recall artists and musicians while giving anecdotal information about each.

Shared learning. The terms Lohengrin, Ludwig of Bavaria, Wagner Stravinsky, Paris scenes and Chagall were used in a cooperative learning lesson that preceded the hands-on art experience. The students broke into groups and discussed four of the six terms. Each group shared their answers with the class. This review encouraged them to recall information and the shared-learning experiences allowed for group interaction and peer tutoring.

The final art project included a story or poem that was related to each student's art composition of his or her own life.

Music transcends time. I have used essentially this same lesson with elementary students, high school and graduate art students. Without a doubt, the most responsive and appreciative group was the elementary children. They looked forward to my music presentation; they listened attentively and responded with amazing memory, even concerning information learned months earlier.

Music seems to transcend time. The opera experiences that I had 36 years ago could very well be the opera experiences that some of my students will have today.

Overall content objectives. (From Los Angeles Unified Pubic Schools publication X-107).

a) Compare expressiveness in visual arts to expressiveness in music (listening and comparing)

b) Explain main ideas and supporting ideas it in pictures and stories (analysis)

c) Write two or more sentences in paragraph form on the observation/interpretation of a picture (written analysis)

d) Appreciate musical and dramatic presentations (synthesis)

e) Identify contemporary music through its dissonant harmonies (understanding and analysis)

f) Realize that art has a past, that it has changed over time, and that it's the result of continuous development and change (knowledge and understanding)

* Motivation. Show slides of Paris scenes; play record music including Wagner's Lohengrin, Die Walkure and Stravinsky's Rite of Spring; summarize the story of Lohengrin; share examples of Chagall's art.

* Directed lesson. After the motivational presentations, students are directed toward group work on answering questions dealing with art, music and biographies of the artists and musicians. The teacher models examples.

* Guide group practice. The students work in groups to answer questions about the presentation. After sharing their answers, an art project is introduced on a Chagall style using colored paper strips and crayons.

Independent practice. Students complete the art project using colored paper strips to illustrate scenes from their lives.

* Supplementary activities

a) A dictionary center activity is set up using vocabulary terms from art and music

b) A writing center activity is assigned using fantasy and unusual experiences

c) Art center activities are used for drawing and analyzing "Surrealist" art

Evaluation based on:

a) Observation of involvement and response

b) Group-written paper on music and visual-arts topics

c) Individual artwork

d) Individual paper on art, music and biographies of artists and musicians

e) Evaluation of oral sharing of artwork and written interpretation of students' stories or poems

David L. King is a former teacher of Graham Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA. He currently teaches special education at Capri Elementary School in Encinitas, CA.

Copyright Early Years, Inc. Mar 1994
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