WORKSHOPS
ON RIGOLETTO
Each
workshop lasts four sessions, one hour each, and it is designed for pupils
from 9 to 11 years old.
First
and second sessions.
'Discovering
Opera: Rigoletto'
We
work on telling the story of Rigoletto and prepare the pupils for listening
to the Opera.
The
story will be told by a narrator and some parts will be sung by an Opera
singer, who will guide children to the listening to some arias of the opera.
Sound tracks, auditions and video material will show students how music
and voice can be used to express emotions.
The
story telling will be animated thorugh props, eventually costumes, and
some students will be directly involved in a sort of dramatisation of Rigoletto.
Third
session
Insight
into the history of Opera, in particular of Rigoletto
The
first half-hour will be devoted to the presentation of the context where
Rigoletto has been set: the city of Mantova, the Gonzaga's castle, the
composer, Italy during the Risorgimento, the opera theatre, using slides
and video.
Students
will be invited to put questions and tell their ideas about Italy, their
experiences and knowledge of Opera.
Fourth
session
An
introduction to the voices and music
Four
medleys from Rigoletto will be used:
'Questa
o quello' - 'Caro Nome' - 'Cortigiani' - 'Bella figlia dell'amore'
as
a starting point to discover and recognize the voices of opera (soprano,
tenore, baritono, basso). Pupils will then be invited to use instruments
to play a contemporary rearrangents of these medleys.
The
workshop aims at:
-
introducing the students to the complexity of opera (theatre, singing,
music, cultural heritage)
-
provide a starting points for futher developments to be carried out by
teachers in the classes. Each session infact could be expanded in workshops
on dramatisation, singing, music composition, or become a starting point
for staging a small-scale opera production.
Use
Rigoletto as a basis for cross-curricular activities
Teaching
suggestions for activities which could take place after the workshop.
Drama
Session
of three to five days ending with students actually taking the responsability
for a small opera-based project on Rigoletto in a class.
Visual
art
Students
illustrate
the story of Rigoletto, using different colours, drawing technics and material
Students
project and build objects, props and costumes to be used for a small production
of Rigoletto in front of other classes.
History
and Geography
An
insight into Italy during the Risorgimento and the places where Rigoletto
is set.
Literature
A
writing workshop: students are asked to rewrite the story of Rigoletto
as a thriller, setting the story in modern times.
Starting
from the story of Rigoletto the teacher could work on characters and themes
and see how student interpret them according to their own experiences.
For example: the relationship between the daughter (Gilda) and the father
(Rigoletto); about the Duke, who is a 'libertino'? Discussion on the moral
values such as the 'onore', as it is felt differently by characters such
as Monterone, Rigoletto, Sparafucile and by students themselves.
Singing
and Italian language
Students
learn to sing some of the medleys used in the fourth session of the workshop.
They sing them in Italian and become familiar with the sounds of the language.
This can used as a first approach to the Italian language as a foreign
language.
Media
Material
used during the workshop and the results of the work (slides, audiocassete,
texts on the history of the opera, scores with the rearrangements of the
four medleys, comments of the students and eventually the video recording
of the workshop) will be collected and could be used to create a CD Room
on 'Discoverying Rigoletto'- a flexible model for educational projects
on opera.
Seminar
with teachers
'Opera
at school and School at the opera'
The
seminar is designed to all teachers who work or wish to work with their
students on opera and on cultural project.
During
the seminar the following points will presented:
European
educational experiences on opera
Two/three
practical projects will be illustrate through video and material
The
workshops and seminar will be conducted by:
Emanuela
Rossini - responsible for educational theatre projects and director of
Alta Marea series 'Sounds, Voices and Instruments in the Theatre'
