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Lesson Outlines
Operatic Movement Activity (Anvil Chorus from Verdis Il
Trovatore)
1. Select an operatic piece that is likely to sound familiar to
participants from commercials, cartoons, etc.
In this case, we will be using Verdis Coro di zingari, from the
operaIl Trovatore, which iscommonly known as The Anvil Chorus.
Selections may also be chosen to directly correspond to
curriculum.
2. Listen to the piece, and decide on simple movement sequences
that reflect the mood of the piece and
will be engaging and accessible for learners to follow.
3. Lead learners in starting with a neutral posture and
mirroring the leaders movements.
4. For advanced sessions, if time allows, participants may want
to improvise movements that the groupfollows. (Today this activity
will be trainer-led only in the interest of time.)
5. When possible, apply this movement activity to class routines
and curriculum, as well as to a broader
class project, such as the creation of a mini-opera.
Listening and Writing (Puccinis O Mio Babbino caro) - 3
minutes
- Before listening to the excerpt, establish the rules of the
free-write:
1. Your pencil must be moving at all times.
2. If you get stuck, simply write the prompt over and over again
until
you get un-stuck.
3. Dont worry about where the writing goes--begin with the
prompt, but
if you end up finding yourself writing about what you will make
for
dinner, that is okay. Let it happen. Just dont stop writing.
4. You do not have to write in complete sentences, with
correct
spelling, or make grammatical sense. The writing does not
have
to be legible to anyone other than yourself.
- Give the prompt: This is what I need, this is how I
feel...
- Write as though you are imagining you are the woman
singing.
- Start the music excerpt right away--the less time there is to
think beforewriting, the better.
- When the music is done, finish the sentence you are on and
then stop.
Operatic Drawing or Painting Activity
1. Select an operatic piece that is likely to sound familiar to
participants from commercials, cartoons, etc.
In this case, we will be using Rossinis Largo al factotum, from
the operaIl Barbiere di Seviglia,which is commonly known as The
Anvil Chorus. Selections may also be chosen to directly
correspond to curriculum.2. Arrange participants with art
supplies and direct them to listen to the music while drawing or
painting
the images or feelings that the music evokes.3. Play the
selection while students work. Sometimes instructors like to play
the piece before the
participants begin to draw or paint, as well.
4. Post the artwork in the class or on a bulletin board when
appropriate, and use it for sets, or the
progressive creation of sets in broader operatic activities,
such as the creation of mini-operas.
Establishing Character - 10 minutes
- Begin by thinking back to the movement excerpt. Brainstorm a
list of
nouns/adjectives to describe the movement.
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- What kind of person would make those kinds of movements?
- These words describe character 1. Give character 1 a name.
- Create a list of descriptive words about that person/group of
people.
- Share words and phrases from the writing exercise.
- Are there any commonalities in the group for what they
need/how they feel?- Create a list of descriptive words to describe
the person with those wants and
feelings.- This list describes character 2. Give character 2 a
name.
- Share the drawings from the third segment.
- What are the similarities? What are the differences?
- Create a list of descriptive words to describe the place that
the drawings of the
group might represent.
- This list of words describes our setting.
Creating Story - 15 minutes
- How is Character 1 related to the setting? Do they live there?
Are they
traveling? Do they have a good relationship with this place or a
hard one? Why?
- Create two lines expressing their relationship to the
place.
- How is character 2 related to the setting? Answer the same
questions as above,and create two lines expressing their
relationship to the place.
- What is Character 1s relationship to Character 2? How do they
know each other?
How do they feel about each other?
- One day, something happens between the two characters that
causes character 2 tosing her aria. What happens?
- Write two lines that show this event.
- After her Aria, Character 2s relationship to her setting
changes. What change is this?
Does she leave? Does she stay? Does she see the same place in a
new light? Why?
Create two lines that show this change in attitude toward
setting.
Improvised Recitative Activity
Recitative can be defined as a vocal passage of narrative text
that is sung with natural patternsof speech. Even very young
participants can be taught to improvise recitative, with or
without
accompaniment. Improvised recitative can be very useful in the
creation of mini-operas, the practice of
un-inhibition, and the strengthening of musical
orientations.
You may want to start with a Vocal Warm-Up. An easy and
enjoyable one is making animalsounds in a sing-song way and leading
participants into moving naturally from the animal sounds to
their singing voices: Hoo hoo for an owl growing into Oo Oo on
sol mi at different pitch levels
(high and low), a nasal Mrroww for a cat growing into sol fa mi
re do on different pitch levels, Mm
mm mm mm for a high, whimpering dog becoming hummed melodies on
different pitch levels.
Segue into improvised recitative after warming up:
- Explain that sung conversation and communication are two of
the most important parts of opera. Then,
using your singing voice and an instrument if available,
improvise questions on simple melodies, such as
What is your favorite after school snack on notes like do, mi,
sol, and la, and encourage students to singthe responses to the
questions. When the whole class is involved in sung dialogue, teach
an easy response
that the whole class can sing together after the question is
asked and answered to create an ensemble effect.
Point out that this is opera in action.
Improvised recitative as part of story telling/mini-opera is a
natural outgrowth of this activity. For example,
Great! Now sing me what the troll says to the magical tree at
sunset.
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This activity can also be modified to fit any curriculum content
(i.e. sing, What is 240 divided by 2 or What
happened in 1492?).
Bonus activity: Play excerpts of recitative and aria for
participants, and ask them to identify which is which.
Please turn over.
