| Blackstock Vineyards sincerely thanks all our supportive visitors who contributed to funding for the Atlanta Opera Field Trip. One hundred fifty local fourth graders were treated to the rare and unique experience of seeing a live opera performance of the 19th century Italian version of Cinderella—“La Centerentola”.
This was the first Opera for all of these children and some, believe it or not, had no memory of ever having been to Atlanta before. The consensus? The girls LOVED it, and the boys thought it was “OK” (it is, after all, a chic story). The boys did think the mechanical set changes were cool and one group of boys thought the Cobb Energy Centre bathrooms were “awesome”!
“Due to limited funding, this is the only field trip opportunity taken outside the County by the school this year” noted Principal Shan Cash. And David Harris, Blackstock owner and organizer added, “This was an experience that everyone should feel great about contributing to. The excitement and energy of the kids before, during, and after was it’s own reward.”
Teachers took full advantage of the learning opportunity. A history lesson of the Italian Renaissance, a class reading of the full script of the opera, and a short primer on opera composition, were among the topics covered in the classroom.
Noted teacher Jonah Oliver, “The Atlanta Opera Company was very supportive with providing advance learning materials for the children.” She adds, “The opera itself combined the experience of a live stage play with impressive set changes, on-stage actors, a live orchestra, a full chorus, and even a reading assignment with the subtitles. The sheer pageantry and costuming was also a rare experience for the children. It was just fabulous”. |
