Another in Lewis&Clark series

An original Lewis and Clark opera for kids

A bunch of St. Louis-area kids get a unique chance this month to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery. They are in the cast of an original kids' opera about the exploration.

The "Dream of the Pacific" opera will be performed for the first times this month at the St. Louis Art Museum. There will be student performances Feb. 5-6 and 9-13. Two "world premiere" performances will be at the Museum Feb. 7 at both 2 and 4 p.m.

In June, additional performances will be given by Opera Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Theater on the campus of Webster University. Those performances will be Monday, June 21, at 7 p.m. and Tuesday, June 22, at 1 p.m.

The same cast will present the opera in both February and June.

(For information on how to attend an opera performance, see sidebar below. Also, your teacher might like to know about free class lesson plans that explain the opera.)

Ten-year-old Sarah Baldessari is the youngest member of the cast. She's thrilled to be able to learn the opera music from the person who wrote it, local composer Stephen Mager.

Sarah said, "I would have liked to meet Bach or Beethoven and hear what they thought about the music they wrote." She gets her wish with composer Mager, who also is the music director for the opera performances.

The 5th grader from Twin Oaks Christian School said the composer/director "relates well to kids and it's good to hear him tell us what his music means.".

The original opera was co-commissioned by Opera Theatre of St. Louis and the Omaha (Neb.) Opera. It is in honor of the 1804-06 exploration of the Louisiana Purchase territory from St. Louis west to the Pacific Ocean.

(Young Saint Louis.com has featured past articles about the bicentennial celebration in October, November, December, 2003, and January, 2004. To read those articles, click on to the Past Stories tab on the YSL.com home page and go to those past months.)

Baldessari and other opera cast members were picked during auditions. The kids come from throughout the St. Louis area, including Illinois.

Eighth-grader Michele Dumoulin is from St. Jacob, Ill. The Triad Middle School student signed up for the audition at the suggestion of her voice teacher, Patrice Stribling-Donald.

She's one of two members of her family in the cast. Her 16-year-old brother, Edward, is a member of the Corps of Discovery all-boy chorus. Michele is singing in the Voices of the Waters and Mandan Women and Children choruses.

Michele also likes the idea of working directly with the opera's composer. She said, "I really enjoy the opera and the composer is really fun to work with."

Eighth-grader Aaron Levin of Creve Coeur is a member of the pit orchestra which will accompany the opera singers. The Ladue Middle School student is a percussionist in the opera's orchestra.

He will play the different types of drums, bells and cymbals in the performance.

Aaron said it's exciting to play in front of an audience. "You get to test out if you've done it right," he said.

Thirteen-year-old Austin Hope of Brentwood is also in the Corps of Discovery chorus. He said he will be singing in five of the 14 scenes in the opera. He said he doesn't expect to be too nervous during the performances.

"I get very nervous if I perform solo or in a small ensemble," he said. Like many of the opera cast members, Austin is involved in instrumental music as well as singing. He has played the cello for seven year and taken voice lessons for five.

Thirteen-year-old Ashreale McDowell plays the cello and dances. In the opera chorus, she'll be singing second alto.

Ashreale is an eighth-grader at Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School in the city of St. Louis. She said she likes to dance but that led to her most embarrassing performing experience.

"We danced at school and I had to be dressed in a tutu," she said.

However, that worked out fine. "I did a good job and the principal invited us to dance at church. We did a classical dance to the tune of 'Silent Night,'" she said.

Thirteen-year-old Nathanael McClure of High Ridge has appeared in a previous Opera Theatre performance. "I was in Opera Theatre's 'Tosca' last summer. So they sent me a letter asking if I'd like to audition for the new opera," he said.

The Northwest Valley Middle School student said he's a baritone now. "My voice changed last summer," he said.

Nathanael said he wants to be on Broadway when he grows up. "I saw 'Phantom of the Opera' when I was seven. Ever since then I've be in love with Broadway," he said.

photo1: Sarah Baldessari
photo2: Michele Dumoulin
photo3: Aaron Levin
photo4: Austin Hope
photo5: Ashreale McDowell
photo6: Nathanael McClure

About opera performances, lesson plans

The "Dream of the Pacific" opera performances in February and June are open to the public. Also, Opera Theatre has created 25 lessons to explain the opera to students in their classes.

To get student tickets, call (314) 963-4248. For "world premiere" performances, as well as those in June, call the Opera Theatre ticket office at (314) 961-0644.

In addition to commissioning the opera, organizers also have created 25 individual lesson plans that teachers can use to explain the opera. These lessons can be downloaded free by going to the opera's website at www.lewisandclarkopera.org.