OPERA CLEVELAND'S MUSIC! WORDS! OPERA! PROGRAM  In 1991, Opera Cleveland (then called Cleveland Opera) established the Music! Words! Opera! (MWO) program and piloted it to schools in Lorain County.  We intentionally selected the broadest possible range of school demographics:  one urban (Lorain), one small community (Oberlin) and one rural community (Columbia Station). MWO was initially funded by with support from the Nord Family Foundation as part of the foundation’s goal to support high quality, interactive arts programs containing stimulating and unique creative experiences for Lorain County students.  Following the resounding success of that year, the project began its first three-year expansion.    Other community and education-focused Lorain County funders were invited to join with Nord and the opera company to help build and support the program.  The Community Foundation of Lorain County  joined to support MWO and has remained a generous and thoughtful supporter of the project for 14 years.  Such committed foundation support has permitted Opera Cleveland to subsidize the program to schools that require lower rates to participate.  Most importantly, ongoing support from funders in the county has empowered teachers and more than 7,000 students K-8 (including a number of at-risk students) to create and present more than 200 original operas, with music and lyrics generated by students.    The reading, writing and communication skills utilized in opera creation parallel skills in a number of other academic subjects.  Assessment studies, letters and evaluations from participants repeatedly note that the opera projects positively impact students’ learning in a wide range of subjects, as well as improve student test scores, attendance and Ohio Proficiency outcomes.  Staff regularly observes and evaluates program activities with outside assessment studies, including a 2003 OPERA America research study on the effects of the MWO program on students.   Teachers who become involved in the MWO program are supported by Opera Cleveland staff and Music Mentors.  Teachers attend annual training sessions and can elect to receive up to two Ashland University graduate credits for their participation in training sessions and work on the project. Teachers and mentors are encouraged to use the company’s loaning library of videos, recordings and materials to use during the project and help them make links between opera other academic curriculum.    Opera Cleveland is committed to intergenerational relationships, and encourages schools to invite parents, grandparents, and seniors to participate in the project.  These intergenerational relationships bring added depth to the MWO activities and build community support for the schools and enthusiasm for the opera and the arts in general.    THE MUSIC! WORDS! OPERA! PROCESS   Teachers or Principals approach the Opera Cleveland education staff; MWO processes are discussed and classrooms selected.   Classrooms and teachers are matched with a Music Mentor from the opera company and a preliminary meeting to select an opera to study (such as Hansel and Gretel) and discuss the opera’s “Listen and Discover” opera lesson plans. Teachers come together for a three-hour introductory session where opera staff and Music Mentors introduce the entire year’s project schedule, sample lessons, literary links and academic connections. Teachers are given MWO collateral materials such as study guides for their selected opera, as well as related books, recordings, and videos from the Opera Cleveland resource loaning library.   LISTEN & DISCOVER: This is the part of the project where the teachers and students study the story, characters, and music of one opera.  Operas that are explored by K-8 classes include famous operas:  Hansel and Gretel, The Magic Flute, The Barber of Seville, Madame Butterfly or Aida. Each opera is introduced in an 8-10 week period and covered in approximately 10 or 11 lessons.  Lessons point to the different characters and their motivations and conflicts and the power of music to reflect the actions in the story and set the mood.  During “Listen and Discover” the Music Mentors come to the classroom twice to meet the students and begin lessons with music and activities.   Music Mentor activities include: Using the voice and vocalizing Character movement and dance Introduction of musical themes   CREATE & PRODUCE: As the students and teachers are experiencing the musical style and story in an opera, they begin to discuss a story or topic on which to base a brand new opera.   Libretto:  Once the opera focus is decided, teachers and students work together to develop a framework for their story (called a libretto in opera) with a clear beginning, middle – with a conflict or crisis –  and ending.  In the beginning, the libretto is outlined and sections written by student groups of varying sizes.  Composition:  As the writing proceeds, the opera Music Mentor meets with the students and teachers for twelve one-hour sessions in the classroom to edit and shape the students’ words into prose that can be set to music.  Working in a variety of ways, the mentors literally compose with the group as a whole.  They guide the students to speak the prose in heightened speech enunciation, marking where the inflections rise and fall.  Little by little a melody emerges from the students working together as a whole.  At times, individual students confidently contribute a new melody for the next line of prose.  If more than one melody is suggested, the mentor invites the students come to consensus by voting for the tune they think works the best. Production:  While finishing the opera story and music, the students -- guided by teachers and opera music mentors -- learn about stage terms and opera production.  They begin to plan how they would like to present their opera and which props and costumes will illuminate their story and characters.  They sing and rehearse their opera over and over -- often after school -- sharing themes and music with their families and friends.    Because they have created the entire opera themselves, it is easy to remember the opera’s sequence of scenes, words, and music. Some operas a very short:  5 to 10 minutes.  Others are nearly an hour long with complicated scene changes.  Nevertheless, memorization almost takes care of itself.  Teachers and Music Mentors help the students plan and execute the staging and choreography. Many times, the entire group sings everything while individuals portray the characters and actions.  Some groups contain students who are comfortable with solo singing roles and are supported in doing just that.   Community Sharing:  The final presentations for fellow classmates and families are met with overwhelming cheers of Bravo! and full admiration. Audience members are treated to posters of students’ research and evolution of the libretto as well as individual student diaries and photos of every step in the development and writing of their opera.  More importantly, songs are sung over and over and remembered for years.  One second grade teacher moved to middle school and in his first year there encountered former students in the hall who upon seeing him broke into the hit song from their opera.  The memory of the opera and collaborative process stays with students beyond the experience.   MUSIC! WORDS! OPERA! CHANGES STUDENTS   Opera Cleveland acknowledges that evaluation and outcome measures are integral to determining the success of in-school programs.  The education and outreach staff has been collecting data from teachers, Music Mentors and most importantly, students, for 17 years.  The information we’ve collected shows an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the program.   Data shows that students and teachers become engaged and enjoy the experience.  They gain knowledge and skills that transfer beyond the Music! Words! Opera! experience.  A research study was conducted by High/Scope Education of Cleveland Opera’s program in Lorain County elementary schools between 1993 and 1997, providing the following data: 92% of parents rated the program as either helpful or maybe helpful to their children’s overall learning and development – children participated more actively in learning, gain confidence in their abilities and learned to work more cooperatively. 92% of parents rated the program as either helpful or maybe helpful in enhancing their children’s academic learning and skills. 77% of parents want to see the program continue in schools. 69% of teachers rated the program as enhancing students’ motivation to learn. 77% of teachers rated the program as enhancing students’ classroom skills. 69% of teachers rated the program as effectively contributing to the students’ emotional and social development. 85% of teachers assessed the program as effectively enhancing students’ arts awareness, appreciation and experiences.   From principals of partner schools:   “The opera program was a big learning experience for the teachers as well as the students.  From the students’ learning, the teachers realized that students are capable of doing anything.  The teachers can raise the expectations of the students.”   “It has developed the students’ self-esteem and promoted group interaction.  The children become responsible to each other and everyone had an important role to play.  There was a positive response from the parents and the community.”   From students:   “I learned to keep working on something and get it done… It takes teamwork to get things done… Things get done better if you listen.  You need to cooperate – not always get your own way… I learned to try my best.”   From a parent:   “The shine in the children’s eyes and their pride in their production was worth the program alone.  More important, their creative skills have overflowed into writing and their lives.  The program brings families to school who might never otherwise come, and once they come, it can only mean increased communications with the school and a continued active interest by the families, insuring greater success for their children.”   As you can see, the Music! Words! Opera! program successfully merges arts and academics with activities that engage students through a variety of interactive teaching methods.  Opera Cleveland is proud to continue this program with Lorain County schools, giving students the opportunity to create and perform their own original operatic masterpiece!