Art City Elementary wants to thank the Utah Opera Company for presenting "Who wants to be an Opera Star?" on Friday, March 6th. Many students said "I don't want to go", but after the assembly they were really excitted and said "we didn't know it was going to be a game show." Many students came away from the assembly singing and pretending to be opera singers and with a little more appreciation for the opera.

The Utah Opera Young artist ensemble for 2009-2010, included, Chanel Wood, Soprano; Melissa Treinkman, Mezzo-soprano; Aaron Blake, tenor; Brent Turner, baritone; Willem van Schalkwyk, pianist. (biographical information on the artists check online at http://usuoeducation.org/teacher_materials

"Who wants to be an Opera Star?" is an introduction to opera: The art form that combines drama, the visual arts, dance, orchestral music and singing. Operas use words, action and music to tell stories full of conflict and emotion, and they are usually entirely sung.

"Who Wants to be an Opera Star?" used the framework of a television game show. The assembly runs as a series of questions and competitions, with four singers in the roles of MC and contestants. Studio audieence members (the students) learned about voice types, arias, duets, trios, and quartets. They also participated in identifying emotions, sinding melodies, and clapping rhytms in musical selections taken from some of the world's favorite operas.