operas

Operas for Children features 7 new and original children’s operas by award-winning composer Edward Barnes. The list below shows essential information; click “More information” for details, videos, and more about each opera

children's opera - A Muskrat Lullaby - by composer Edward Barnes

a muskrat lullaby

Miles and his friends, Bird, Spider and Toad, love to sing, but no one wants to hear them practice. “Take that music to the swamp” the townspeople tell them. But down by the swamp where the alligators live, the singing quartet gets a different reception.

opera essentials

5 ROLES

ENSEMBLE

1 ACT

30 MINUTES

children's opera - The Old Man Who Loved Cheese - by composer Edward Barnes

the old man who loved cheese

Wallace P. Flynn has a passion – he just loves the taste of stinky, smelly, malodorous, noxious CHEESE! His family abandons him, his neighbors call the police. Even the skunks have to move. What will it take to make Wallace stop eating the food he loves most? 

opera essentials

6 ROLES

ENSEMBLE

1 ACT

35 MINUTES

children's opera - The Vagabond Queen - by composer Edward Barnes

the vagabond queen

A clever queen must rescue her husband, the King, from the prison of a mysterious foreign ruler. Disguising herself as a vagabond minstrel, she charms her way into the foreign ruler’s heart and manages to get the King released. But little does her husband know the true identity of his rescuer.

opera essentials

5 ROLES

1 SINGER

1 ACT

20 MINUTES

children's opera - Papagayo - by composer Edward Barnes

papagayo

The parrot, Papagayo, has a really loud voice. So loud that his raucous cries disturb the sleeping night creatures of the jungle. But when a hungry monster starts eating up the moon, bite by bite, the terrified night creatures summon Papagayo and his voice to the rescue.

opera essentials

4 ROLES

ENSEMBLE

1 ACT

30 MINUTES

children's opera - The Hiding Tree - by composer Edward Barnes

the hiding tree

Two sisters are the only people who remain on an island in the middle of the sea after a people-eating monster devours the island’s entire population. One sisster is caught by the monser, while the other escapes to a tree. How each sister comes to the aid of the other makes for a magical story of love and survival.

opera essentials

3 ROLES

ENSEMBLE

1 ACT

30 MINUTES

children's opera - Mystery on the Docks - by composer Edward Barnes

mystery on the docks

Two mean looking rats slink into Ralph’s diner. And before the night is over, they’ve kidnapped Ralph and the world-famous opera star, Edwina Bombastina. But Ralph and Edwina are determined to be rescued, and they have at least one trick up their sleeve!

opera essentials

3 ROLES

ENSEMBLE

3 ACTS

30 MINUTES

children's opera - A Place to Call Home - by composer Edward Barnes

a place to call home

The story of four different teenage refugees and their journeys of escape, arrival and assimilation in the U.S. The opera follows the choices the refugees make as each struggles with cultural identity, conformity, new language and friends as they rebuild their lives in a complex new world.

opera essentials

4 ROLES

ENSEMBLE

1 ACT

60 MINUTES

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7 New and Original Children’s Operas

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