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St. Pete Opera’s ‘Pinocchio’ opens Friday
Although the phrase “opera for children” might suggest nothing less than a musical oxymoron, the annual St. Petersburg Opera Company children’s production isn’t Turandot Jr., or Rigoletto and the Rascals, or any other potentially questionable hybrids of two disparate genres of entertainment.
The show, which begins its annual run Saturday at SPO headquarters on 1st Avenue S., is Pinocchio. Author John Davies put together a re-telling of the classic fairy tale with its zany cast of characters, with dialogue framed around classic arias, duets et cetera from operas by Offenbach, Mozart, Verdi and Donzinetti.
But Davies wrote new English lyrics – they’re now character songs that further the tale of the little wooden boy who has difficulty telling the truth.
And the cast is made up of professional opera singers.
Although there are numerous public performances between Nov. 12 and 20, the cast – and the live chamber orchestra – will also spin the tale of Pinocchio, Geppetto and the others for hundreds of Pinellas County Schools third-graders in special weekday shows.
“It’s so rewarding to watch them see art that isn’t necessarily behind a screen,” says SPO’s Stephen Ray, who’s directing the show for the third time. “Something that’s live and in-person, that if they needed to get out of their chairs to go touch the people onstage, they could do that.”
“It brings more of a life to what they’re watching onstage; in a movie, or a TV show, you can’t interact with it. This is real and tangible and it’s something you can actually feel.
“And in live theater, every moment in every show is different, even if you’ve seen it several times. Being able to introduce children to that is very rewarding. To see that they’re enjoying it, and getting something out of the music we’re bringing to them.”
Although some cast members are returning for the second or third time, those who’ve seen the show before will notice some new faces (and voices) for 2022. A lot of it has to do with scheduling, and which vocal artists are available at this time of year.
It’s always fun, says Ray, to switch things up and create something new-ish. “Once you build the foundations, it’s pretty much letting everybody play within the playground that you’ve built. Everybody brings something a little different to it.
“We might change a few things here and there, just to go towards their strengths, but ultimately it’s not having to re-invent anything – the foundations we’ve built for the show are so secure, it’s just letting the new person run around to see what they can take out of the playground.”
He likes to keep the 60-minute show fast-paced and funny, as well as educational (there’s a moral lesson to be learned) and delightfully musical.
“ The way I try to direct shows is to put enough humor in there for the adults as well as the kids,” Ray insists. “If the adults aren’t enjoying it, they’re probably not going to come back and see it again.”
Several families. he says, attended his version of the show several times in previous years. “And they’ll be back again this time, I’m sure.”
All information and tickets are here.
