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My DD8 trys to sing some songs in an opera style for about an year now. She is very serious about it. DH and I find this funny but, don't laugh at her.

We just got an opportunity to go to a local opera for free and I thought I would bring my DD.

Has anyone exposed their young ones to Opera? Is this a good idea?

I think it is great that you have that resource and opportunity available!

I think it is great idea. I have not done it with my children yet. But I have the best memories from my own childhood. My grandma used to tell me the stories beforehand, I think it helped me to enjoy the performances more. But then I have been to some operas here in the U.S. where they actually have a screen with translated text, so maybe no need to know and talk about the story in advance.

I think it's a great idea, with the caveat that unless the performance is presented as family or kid-friendly you might want to check out the content of the opera first (and its length!). Some of the themes are not suitable for all ages, and even if in another language a sharp kid will get the drift and could be upset.

I think it might help my son engage to know the story first before attending, and maybe even listen to parts of the music, so he could recognize parts he knew.

DS5 and I sing made-up-on-the-fly operatic style songs together sometimes, maybe you can join in to keep from laughing!

Great suggestions, I will follow up on the suggestions.

I think it is wonderful how open minded she is. Part of the fun is the Mom and daughter time. This will also give her a chance to wear her fancy dress.

I've taken a 9 yo to the opera and had an absolute blast. I think some exposure to the content in advance was useful to understand the story. I truly thought that my kid would want to leave early, but we stayed til the end and it was great.

Hmm....that's an idea.

Mr W (3.5y) likes to listen to it on his radio at night. He sat through Wizard of Oz at 8 months on TV. He also sits through American Idol and Dancing With the Stars since an early age until today.

I know minniemarx and her sons do opera.

Oh, it's glorious!

We always do lots of preparatory work ahead of time--reading synopses, listening to recordings, watching DVDs, reading the educational material that our opera company puts out in the press kit--then have a good sleep the night before, put on your fancies, and have a marvelous time!

We do some live theatre, too (especially Shakespeare), and as many classical music concerts as I can afford to take them to (living near a university with an excellent music school is a big help--lots of free and cheap concerts there). Frenchie and I want to share as much of the best that's out there with the lads.

I'll be on a board break again for a while, dealing with family illness--enjoy your night at the opera, onthegomom!

peace
minnie

We've struggled to find opera that has themes appropriate for our sensitive kids. Minnie, do you screen for content, or just show it all?

Ours do love the Met's Magic Flute (abridged, in English, out on DVD).

DeeDee

Our 6 year old LOVES opera - she runs around singing it (in her own 6 year old style of course) all the time. I mean ALL the time. We took her to a children's opera company performance of The Magic Flute and they had a meet-and-greet with the cast afterwards. That was it - she was hooked.

We play opera for her in the car (when she is not listening to books on tape) and took her to an outdoor performance of arias this summer. We have not yet taken her to a full fledged performance yet as we try to figure out which would be the most appropriate. I believe there must be a connection with the intense emotions as someone else mentioned. DD loves any type of live performance - she sits in rapt attention for hours - and is usually the first to spring to her feet yelling Bravo! when something especially strikes her. I love the looks from people seated nearby when that happens