BSW students perform with Welsh National Opera
Thursday, June 25, 2009
British School of Washington Year 6 students and members of the Cantus Britannicus, the BSW choir, had the opportunity to perform an opera this week. As part of an outreach programme from the Welsh National Opera (WNO) in conjunction with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, several members of the WNO arrived at school Wednesday morning to show students how a story is translated into an opera. After many warm-up activities, students learned the tale of the West Wind and were accompanied by members of the orchestra. Students had the opportunity to learn individual and group parts for the final story and were joined by an opera singer to play the part of the wind. After only a morning's rehearsal, the students performed to the rest of the school and prepared for their larger performance the next day on the National Mall.
The next day, students had the opportunity to explore the Smithsonian Folklife Festival before performing. Though the original opera singer from the day before had lost her voice, the student still performed an exceptional show with a marquee full of onlookers.
The school would like to send a special thank you to all of the members of the Welsh National Opera for a wonderful two days and opening our eyes to the world of opera and life in Wales.
