Classical Music

Cub reporter and Time Out reader Jimmy O’Keeffe (aged nine and three quarters) went along to watch a rehearsal of Stephen McNeff and
Mike Kenny’s operatic adaptation of the fairytale ‘Gentle Giant’ by former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo. Jimmy was given unique backstage access – here’s what he thought.

The book as an opera
I like all of Michael Morpurgo’s books and I was interested to learn that this particular tale was chosen because the daughter of the composer [Stephen McNeff] likes the story, too. I wondered whether this opera was any different from the story. To my surprise, I found it to be similar, yet as I was told by the director [Harry Fehr] some scenes had to be changed to make it into an opera. One addition was that Miranda [Jessica Summers] – the giant’s girlfriend – had a bigger role in the new story and the scene with the Stardust Seller [Clare McCaldin] was longer.
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A day at the opera
This was the first time I have taken an interest in opera; I was put off before because I always thought they were too long, sung in a foreign language and mainly for adults. This has opened my eyes to a world of music that I could easily understand. The performance was just over an hour long. At the rehearsal, I learned a lot about the way the opera was created, from the way the sets were made and used, to the way that the performers all mucked in together – some of them had two or three different roles to play.

Opera for children
I was told that this opera has been created for children, and I really think that more shows like this should be staged for young people, perhaps visiting schools around the country, as I feel that it would be good for more kids to see this type of thing. An idea would be for more children to be involved in opera – from writing to acting, singing and dancing. I think that making sets and costumes would be fun, too.

On asking whether there had been any other operas staged for children, I discovered that a version of the classic story Pinocchio is also being performed [at Sadler’s Wells]. But some operas are very lengthy, such as ‘Carmen’, which I don’t think I would be able to concentrate on for too long.

Opera as performance
I was really impressed by everyone, including the giant [Joseph Carey], who had to carry a kind of large puppet on his shoulders and operate strings to get the giant’s head to move and talk. Another thing I liked was the music. It was conducted by Tim Murray. He said that only a few instruments would be used in the show; and at the rehearsal, Tim managed to play the piano and conduct at the same time.

Viva opera!
I had a wonderful time at the rehearsal and I was made to feel very welcome. I really hope that I can see the show when it opens. I am sure that it will be a massive success with children and parents, and I really hope that more children’s operas will be staged soon.

‘Gentle Giant’ is on at the Linbury Studio, Royal Opera House, Feb 29-Mar 2.